Back to Court to Stop Ground Zero Mosque

Our legal case to stop the building of the Ground Zero Mosque in New York City is moving forward with an important filing today at the Supreme Court of the State of New York, where we already have filed a lawsuit challenging the project.

Today's filing is posted here.  We're asking the court to enjoin the mosque's developers from performing any demolition or construction at the site and we're requesting court-ordered discovery in the case.

As you know, we represent Tim Brown, a New York City firefighter who survived the 9-11 terrorist attacks, in this case.

Our filing today comes just weeks after Mayor Bloomberg's Office released just a portion of documents in response to the ACLJ's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request - documents that the ACLJ contends validates the substance of its suit and reveals an inappropriate involvement between the Mayor's Office and developers of the mosque while acknowledging that it was not releasing all documents responsive to the ACLJs request.   

It's our position that this 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.  In fact, 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.

Our lawsuit names New York Citys Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the New York City Department of Buildings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the mosque's developers. 

In our affirmation to the court filed today, we cite the Respondents' failure to answer its petition in a timely manner.  The affirmation also cites two complaints to the Department of Buildings noting unauthorized work without proper permits at the mosque site and the developers' application for $5 million in public funding through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation as an indication that project is moving forward. 

As you recall, our lawsuit alleges that the LPC abused its discretion and acted arbitrarily in its deliberations last summer about whether to landmark a building that was damaged on 9-11 and which would need to be demolished to develop the Ground Zero Mosque.  You can read our lawsuit which is posted here.

In responding to our FOIL request, the Mayor's Office released limited communications two days before Christmas - documentation that reveals that City Hall had direct communications with the mosques developers, explicitly tried to assist with the political process, and was involved with discussions between the developers and the Community Board 1.  An email from the developers attorney, Shelly Friedman, also acknowledged that Robert Tierney, the Chairman of the LPC, was seeking "political cover" from politicians in order not to landmark the building. 

This challenge continues to move forward and we could be in court on this latest filing as early as next week.  We will keep you posted.