The plan to build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero may have hit a major snag, according to the New York Post, which reports that lead developer Sharif El-Gamal owes $224,270.77 in back property tax on the site.
The delinquency may represent a violation of El-Gamal's lease with Con Edison, which owns one of the two buildings on Park Place envisioned as the site of the mosque. Con Ed is now looking into possible lease violations.
Another obstacle in the plan’s path is the requirement that the MTA approve the site, which is located above the 2 and 3 subway lines. Any construction that involves excavation of land above a subway line must meet rigorous inspections standards.
Both issues could be circumvented by the Cordoba Initiative’s choosing another site for their mosque, a move that would also put to rest the intense opposition of New Yorkers and the country as a whole to their planned location. However, it has become increasingly clear the choice of the current site was quite deliberate and designed to ratchet up hostilities.
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