9/11 Firefighter Sues to Block Work at "Ground Zero" Mosque

AP/Swoan Parker

A scheduling note: Today's joint pro-Walmart, anti-mosque demonstration has been called off, because the snowstorm preemptively nixed a City Council Walmart hearing scheduled for today. (That hearing has been postponed to February 3rd, and all protesters who share a love for Walmart and a hate of the proposed Islamic community center near Ground Zero are expected to rally then.) And in other mosque news, firefighter Timothy Brown, who filed an anti-mosque lawsuit against the city in August, has taken legal action to block developers from doing any construction at the site.

Not that there's any work happening there anyway—at this point the mosque, which is expected to cost $100 million, is more of a mental construct, or a Rorschach inkblot in which opponents and supporters see whatever they choose to see. Some look at the murky, theoretical mosque and perceive the universal virtue of freedom of religion, others descry a mockery of everything their "real America" has come to represent: 9/11 and always low prices. Brown's motion, filed on his behalf by Pat Robertson's astroturf group the American Center for Law and Justice, also accuses Mayor Bloomberg of failing to respond “in a timely manner” to a public-records request.

A lawyer for the American Center for Law and Justice tells the Times, "With developers moving forward with their plans and the continued lack of response by the city, we’re seeking an injunction from the court to halt the destruction of any of the buildings at issue in the case." Brown is suing the Landmarks Preservation Commission for refusing to landmark the Lower Manhattan building that would be razed to build the Islamic community center; he is also suing Bloomberg and the Department of Buildings.

The property's developer says there have been no renovations or construction at the site, but in the spring he plans to open part of the first floor for public use as a "multicultural art exhibit."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on January 12, 2011 11:33 AM

Comments [rss]

Adam Moreira

I feel for Tim Brown, but he has no standing to challenge the Buildings Department ruling, as he isn't party to it. That's life.

robingee

God, that girl is an idiot.

Polite New Yorker

You don't see Glock making plans to open up a store at the Safeway shopping center in Tuscon. What makes a mosque near Ground Zero a good idea? They have every right to build one there, but should have the decency not to.

TimeDown

So should Walmart not open a store near there either? They sell guns and ammo.

TimeDown

I hope the judge sees through this lawsuit's facade and grants attorney's fees to the other side.

Mordicai

That photo will always make me despair. Come on people. I think we can expect America to be a LITTLE bit better than Saudi Arabia.

JarekAF

Irony Alert:

Notice the sign, "You can build a mosque at ground zero when we can build a synagouge in Mecca."

Why you'd want to put a synagouge in Mecca is beyond me.

But when you look at that quote, it's obviously just stupid. It's not just a mosque, it's more a community center, like the 92nd street Y, and it's not AT ground zero, it's in the neighborhood.

But now for the irony, on this very day, like literally right now, Israel is bulldozing an historic hotel [like, this hotel albiet widely despised by some, really is an historic building, unlike the shitty burlington coat factory building], that is reveered by arabs, that is an arab neighborhood in east jerusalem, and is going to be replaced with housing for jews.

But, it's just arabs and muslims who are having their hotel bulldozed for jews to live in, so, it's not like they have feelings.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-e...

jtp2106

I can always tell I'm reading a John Del Signore article within the first 3 sentences. It's like playing Name That Tune with a bit of smug mixed in.

jibbly

Seriously? Still? What's next, the hipster grifter is seducing morons in wburg out of their money again?

splicernyc

I can understand why right wingers shed tears that they are being unfairly scapegoated for the act of a deranged criminal. It's not like they'd do the same to anyone else.