The developer behind the controversial Cordoba House Muslim community center has rejected Gov. David Paterson’s proposal to relocate from their proposed site a few blocks away from Ground Zero, in exchange for state land to build on elsewhere.
According to NY1, developer Sharif El-Gamal said:
While we have a tremendous amount of respect for our governor, and we are always interested in hearing what our leaders have to say, and what their ideas and proposals are. But this has always been about serving Lower Manhattan.
Yesterday, in an effort to diffuse some of the controversy over the so-called “Ground Zero mosque,” Paterson said: “Frankly, if the sponsors were looking for property anywhere at a distance that would be such that it would accommodate a better feeling among the people who are frustrated, I would look into trying to provide them with the state property they would need.”
Paterson’s remarks came amid a tide of anti-mosque sentiment in New York, and throughout the country. Sarah Palin, John McCain, and other politicians have all opposed the Cordoba House’s construction.
Jillian Rayfield
Jillian Rayfield is a Reporter/Blogger for TPM, and started as a News Intern in May 2009. She graduated from Cornell University in May 2008 with a degree in Film, and worked as a Research Assistant for a market research firm in London in between.
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