Patrick Hedlund of DNA Info sums up last night’s debate at Community Board 3 over the Muslim community center proposed near the World Trade Center site. In a 17-12 vote, CB3 chose to support Community Board 1’s decision to endorse the project. Many conservatives, including Sarah Palin and Tea Party activists, have made a political issue of the Cordoba Center, which would include a mosque.
Among those voting against the resolution last night, Orthodox Jewish members of CB3. DNA Info reported:
(CB3 member) David Adams asked that the group behind the $100 million religious center find some way to commemorate the 9/11 attacks and wondered if the mosque could be more sensitive to people’s concerns. “If they don’t show distancing of themselves [from the perpetrators] at that location, it could be really painful,” he said.
In a recent interview on NY1, State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he believed the project is protected by the U.S. Constitution, and said he is committed to “protecting a fundamental Constitutional right.” When asked whether he supported the center, Silver responded, the issue was not whether he personally “had a problem with it.” He said the matter is not a political question but a legal one.
