As promised, Pat Robertson's astroturf group The American Center for Law and Justice has filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court on behalf of Timothy Brown, a firefighter who says the Landmarks Preservation Commission is guilty of "an abuse of discretion" in deciding not to grant landmark status to 45-47 Park Place, the site of a proposed Islamic center and mosque. Brown survived the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, but his two best friends and 93 other firefighters died.
The landing gear from one of the planes struck on the roof of the building, and Brown, who has worked to achieve landmark status for other buildings damaged in the attack, argues that the landmarks commission "failed to account for this momentous historic event in a departure from administrative precedent." (City Room is hosting a pdf of the lawsuit.)
"I believe this mosque will never be built," Brown tells CBS. "I strongly believe that. The families will never allow this to happen." Asked about Mayor Bloomberg's rousing speech about the American principals of freedom of religion, Brown says, "If we were all living in Disneyland, then... what he was saying would be a wonderful thing." (It's true, the Founding Fathers of Disneyland would have welcomed the Muslims with open arms).
CBS also gets some good quotes from men on the street, like Henry Muller of Queens, who insists it doesn’t matter that he can’t prove a connection between the Islamic radicals behind 9/11 and the Muslims developing the proposed center—they're still a threat. "Do I have the facts? No," says Muller. "Can I rule it out? Absolutely not. And I do believe quite a few people will agree with me on this…In my 51 years, my gut never failed me." And last night Russell Simmons, who lives across the street from the World Trade Center site, appeared on Keith Olbermann's show to state the obvious: "It's about religious freedom. It's pretty simple."
But what about building codes, the Post wonders. The tabloid has learned that the building's certificate of occupancy dates to 1987, and is for a retail store only. And yet it has been used for Friday prayer gatherings since 2009. How can we allow such blatant scofflawery in the shadow of Ground Zero?! Well, Buildings Department spokesman Tony Sclafani says the building's owners have been receiving temporary permits for a place of assembly. "Right now, they are in compliance," he said. "This is a common practice."
