So it turns out the Cordoba Center (the proposed mosque at Park Place) has another hurdle to overcome. The Post is reporting that Soho Properties only owns half of the parcel, and the other half is owned by Con Edison. The organizers of the mosque are pleading ignorance and claim to have no prior knowledge of this. The building is being leased by Soho Properties, but is now being appraised for a potential sale to the group and is expected to fetch between $10 million and $20 million. Sharif El-Gamal, Soho Properties' principal paid $700,000 for the 99-year lease in 2009. The walls between 45-47 Park Place and 49-51 Park Place were knocked down to create the Burlington Coat Factory that used to occupy the space.
Opponents of the controversial development are using this news to attempt to sway public opinion against it. Republican Congressman Peter King says that the mosque and it's developers are "operating under false pretenses" adding "I wonder what else they are hiding...If we can’t have the full truth on this, what can we believe?”
· Half Baked Mosque [NY Post]
· Ground Zero Mosque Coverage [Curbed]
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