Ground Zero Mosque to be delayed?

Timothy Brown, left, and Brett Joshpe at Ground Zero

The American Center for Law and Justice asked the New York Supreme Court today to grant an injunction blocking any construction activity at the Ground Zero Mosque site pending resolution of its lawsuit brought against the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, city agencies and the mosque's developers.

ACLJ counsel Brett Joshpe also asked the court to grant discovery in the case, charging the mayor's office with failure to provide all the documents responsive to a Freedom of Information Law request for communications between the mayor, the developers and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

ACLJ is suing to block construction of the mosque on behalf of client Timothy Brown, a firefighter and 9/11 first responder who lost nearly 100 friends when the World Trade Center towers collapsed after being rammed by airliners hijacked by Islamic terrorists.

"There is a disturbing pattern of stonewalling by the city and mayor's office in providing information about what's clearly been a politically tainted process from day one," said Joshpe. "The limited release of documents by the mayor's office underscores our concerns. 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.

"We filed this case in August, and the city has yet to file an answer," Joshpe explained. "We are stuck in limbo and we don't want anything to happen to this building without the case being heard.

"The documents we are especially looking for are communications between the mayor's office and other agencies, especially the Landmarks Commission," Joshpe told WND. "The papers they have provided reveal extremely close collaboration between the mayor's office and the builders of the mosque, exactly what our case claims."

"The mayor's office provided advice on media and political strategy" to help the mosque's developers persuade the Landmarks Commission not to declare the existing buildings on the site to be historic landmarks, Joshpe asserted. Had the buildings been "landmarked," construction of the mosque on the site would have become impossible.

"We don't know what the universe of documents is out there," said Joshpe, explaining why ACLJ needs the court to order discovery. "They have provided no information about how many documents, how many pages." The ACLJ counsel added that the mayor's attorneys "claimed two exemptions to our FOIL request, one for inter- and intra-agency communications and one for unwarranted invasion of privacy. ... Internal communications in the mayor's office could shed some light on the political pressure."

"They used their office to involve themselves in a process in which they should have remained silent," Joshpe contended. "That determination should have been made strictly on the basis of precedent and architectural and historic value of the buildings, not political pressure from the mayor. He clearly did get involved, he clearly exerted political pressure, he clearly influenced the process."

Mayor Bloomberg's legal office sees it differently.

"The Landmarks Commission acted properly. These allegations are simply
an attempt to divert attention from the fact that the lawsuit is
baseless," said Connie Pankratz, deputy communications director for the New York City law department.

The proposed Ground Zero Mosque project, formally known as Cordoba House, is spearheaded by Cordoba Initiative head Feisal Abdul Rauf, imam of a New York City mosque, and his wife, Daisy Khan. The structure would be erected on a site currently occupied by several buildings located at 45-51 Park Place in lower Manhattan, two blocks from the site where the Twin Towers were destroyed during the 9/11 terror attack.

Critics say Rauf has extensive ties to Islamic terrorists, and describe the mosque as a "victory monument" celebrating the 9/11 attack.

"This is one of about 10 buildings that suffered major damage on 9/11 and are still standing," Joshpe observed. "A wheel from one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center went through the roof and top floors. This building was already more historically significant than others in the neighborhood, and even more so after 9/11.

"Buildings that aesthetically look virtually identical and have far less historical importance in the neighborhood are already landmarked," said Joshpe. "One is a virtual replica that was unanimously landmarked.

"We don't want there to be any demolition without the case being heard on the merits," added Joshpe. "We don't want the architectural integrity of the buildings to be destroyed."