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Ground Zero mosque property up for vote
NEW YORK, A New York City preservation commission vote will likely move the so-called Ground Zero mosque closer to reality, a member of the panel said Monday.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to take up a proposal Tuesday that would designate a 19th century building now on the site as a landmark, effectively blocking construction of the controversial mosque and Muslim community center. But board member Stephen Byrns told ABCNews.com he expects the vote to be "overwhelmingly against" the historic preservation designation.
Byrns didn't say how he intends to vote on the issue, only one of several hurdles the Cordoba Initiative faces.
The mosque project -- close to where the twin towers of the World Trade Center stood until smashed into and toppled Sept. 1, 2001, by jetliners commandeered by Muslim extremists -- has drawn heated criticism from an array of city residents, politicians, members of a major Jewish group and Americans at large who view it as a slap in the nation's collective face.
Byrns told ABC his vote forecast was predicated on "a little bit" of conversation with his colleagues on the board "and looking at the issue."
He said the board would not weigh "how close is too close," but rather the "historical and architectural significance" of the Italian Renaissance palazzo building erected between 1857 and 1858 that housed a Burlington Coat Factory.
The leaders of an existing mosque in the neighborhood, Masjid Manhattan, has issued a statement pointing out they are not affiliated with the Ground Zero mosque project and that their members "condemn any type of terrorist acts."
NEW YORK, A New York City preservation commission vote will likely move the so-called Ground Zero mosque closer to reality, a member of the panel said Monday.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to take up a proposal Tuesday that would designate a 19th century building now on the site as a landmark, effectively blocking construction of the controversial mosque and Muslim community center. But board member Stephen Byrns told ABCNews.com he expects the vote to be "overwhelmingly against" the historic preservation designation.
Byrns didn't say how he intends to vote on the issue, only one of several hurdles the Cordoba Initiative faces.
The mosque project -- close to where the twin towers of the World Trade Center stood until smashed into and toppled Sept. 1, 2001, by jetliners commandeered by Muslim extremists -- has drawn heated criticism from an array of city residents, politicians, members of a major Jewish group and Americans at large who view it as a slap in the nation's collective face.
Byrns told ABC his vote forecast was predicated on "a little bit" of conversation with his colleagues on the board "and looking at the issue."
He said the board would not weigh "how close is too close," but rather the "historical and architectural significance" of the Italian Renaissance palazzo building erected between 1857 and 1858 that housed a Burlington Coat Factory.
The leaders of an existing mosque in the neighborhood, Masjid Manhattan, has issued a statement pointing out they are not affiliated with the Ground Zero mosque project and that their members "condemn any type of terrorist acts."