ACLJ: NYC Mayor Bloomberg's Document Release Reveals Inappropriate Involvement Between Mayor's Office & Mosque Developers

December 23, 2010

(Washington, DC) The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which has filed a lawsuit to stop the Ground Zero Mosque, says that Mayor Bloombergs newly released response to its Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests validates the substance of its suit and reveals an inappropriate involvement between the Mayor's Office and developers of the mosque.

"The documents released underscore what we've believed all along - that the Mayor was working behind the scenes - in a secretive manner - to promote and advance a project that offends most New Yorkers and most Americans,"   said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.  "The fact that the Mayors Office waited four-and-a-half months to respond to our FOIL request and then released only a portion of the documents right before Christmas validates the substance of our claim and clearly indicates that the Mayor continues to hide the full nature of his involvement in this process.  The documents raise serious questions about the role of the Mayor in this project.  This is hardly the end of the FOIL issue.  We intend to seek a full disclosure from the Mayor in court shortly after the New Year."

The ACLJs lawsuit on behalf of Tim Brown, a firefighter and first responder who survived the Twin Towers collapse, alleges that New York Citys Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) acted arbitrarily, abused its discretion, and violated administrative law by allowing political pressures to influence its decision not to landmark a building where the proposed Mosque would be built.  The suit was then amended to add Mayor Bloombergs Office for failing to respond to the ACLJs FOIL request from July 30. 

The 21 pages of disclosures released by the Mayors Office reveal 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. 

The disclosures, however, are perhaps most significant for what they did not provide.  The Mayors Office claimed two exemptions under the Public Officers Law, including one for intra-agency and inter-agency communications.   The ACLJ will seek a court order to discover the undisclosed documents.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.