chanel
Silver Member
But all of that support does not change the fact that the Cordoba Initiative, the group behind the center, has not yet started raising the $100 million it needs.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the initiatives spiritual leader, said Tuesday he would look to donors both in America and from Muslim communities around the world to raise the money.
Another obstacle is the potential landmarking of 45-47 Park Place, the former Burlington Coat Factory building, which Rauf hopes to tear down to build the Cordoba House.
The city Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on landmarking the 152-year-old building back in 1989 but never made a final decision. Even after all these years, the building is still calendered, which leaves its future in limbo.
The LPC will hold a hearing as soon as July to decide whether to landmark the building or remove it from consideration, said Lisi de Bourbon, LPC spokeswoman.
Read more: Mosque Near Ground Zero Still Faces Long Road Ahead - DNAinfo.com
Now they are saying it is not a "mosque" but a Muslim community center similar to the YMCA and Jewish Community Centers. How many $100 million Y's are there?
Personally, I don't think it's going to happen. But NYC is a strange place.