Dear Friend: Thank you for writing to share your thoughts and concerns about the proposed mosque and Islamic cultural center to be built at Park Place and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, several blocks north of the World Trade Center site. Our Administration strongly supports the right of faith groups to open houses of worship, or community centers, in whatever location they choose, provided it complies with all applicable laws. New York has long been America's most tolerant and diverse City, welcoming the best, brightest, and hardest-working individuals from around the world – no matter their identity or beliefs. As a City, we win by choosing to uphold the principles of freedom and respect that lie at the foundation of this tradition – and that the terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001. Winning the war on terrorism requires us not only to defeat our enemies, at home and abroad, but also to continue upholding the values that make America great. Last month, the local community board voted by an overwhelming margin (29-1) to endorse the project. Of course, the approval process has many steps yet before it is finalized, and many questions remain unanswered. I understand that this is a particularly sensitive issue, and I am hopeful that more dialogue about the center will increase the understanding and cooperation that is so integral to the vitality of New York City. Thank you again for writing to share your opinions on this matter. Sincerely, Michael R. Bloomberg Mayor
Palin sparks Twitter fight on mosque By: Maggie Haberman July 18, 2010 08:00 PM EDT
Sarah Palin, who waded into a New York political fight by endorsing Ann Marie Buerkle in NY-25, is drifting into a decidedly higher-charged battle: The fray over a planned mosque near Ground Zero.
"Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing," she tweeted Sunday.
The building’s planners, the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative, have said it’s modeled on religious and community centers such as the YMCA, and that the 13-story, $100 million building would also include an arts center, gym and a swimming pool, as well as a mosque. It would be two blocks away from Ground Zero.
The project, which has become an increasingly partisan issue in New York, received a renewed burst of national attention when CBS and NBC rejected an ad from the National Republican Trust PAC that crosscut footage of the 9/11 attacks with the sounds of Muslim prayer.
"On Sept. 11, they declared war against us," a narrator says. "And to celebrate that murder of 3,000 Americans, they want to build a monstrous 13-story mosque at ground zero."
While a recent poll showed a majority of New Yorkers oppose the plan to build the mosque built near Ground Zero, an aide in Mayor Michael Bloomberg's City Hall hit back at Palin, first tweeting “@SarahPalinUSA mind your business."
The aide, policy hand Andrea Batista Schlesinger, followed that up with:
"@SarahPalinUSA whose hearts? Racist hearts?"
Schlesinger deleted both tweets shortly after posting them.
"Andrea was only speaking for herself, and she has the right to her own opinions," said Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser.
Schlesinger posted threee new tweets Sunday evening, explaining why she wrote, and took down, her Palin response:
"Deleted post bc I regretted curt response. But fact is, I believe this city belongs to everyone - and no one more than another"
"Unlike @SarahPalinUSA, I was born here grew up here. Was showing off to a visitor today - look at how beautiful and diverse my city is."
"I felt pain of 9/11, the trauma. I got through it by believing in my city. Not through fear and hate."
Bloomberg has defended the plan for the mosque, arguing that blocking it would impinge on religious freedom, and he's denounced calls to look into the group's funding – led by Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio in a bid to engage his rival, Democrat Andrew Cuomo — as "un-American."
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Close this window Jump to comment formHere is the mayor's reply, fresh in the email:
Dear Friend:
Thank you for writing to share your thoughts and concerns about the proposed mosque and Islamic cultural center to be built at Park Place and Broadway in Lower Manhattan, several blocks north of the World Trade Center site.
Our Administration strongly supports the right of faith groups to open houses of worship, or community centers, in whatever location they choose, provided it complies with all applicable laws. New York has long been America's most tolerant and diverse City, welcoming the best, brightest, and hardest-working individuals from around the world – no matter their identity or beliefs. As a City, we win by choosing to uphold the principles of freedom and respect that lie at the foundation of this tradition – and that the terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001. Winning the war on terrorism requires us not only to defeat our enemies, at home and abroad, but also to continue upholding the values that make America great.
Last month, the local community board voted by an overwhelming margin (29-1) to endorse the project. Of course, the approval process has many steps yet before it is finalized, and many questions remain unanswered. I understand that this is a particularly sensitive issue, and I am hopeful that more dialogue about the center will increase the understanding and cooperation that is so integral to the vitality of New York City.
Thank you again for writing to share your opinions on this matter.
Sincerely,
Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor
Monday, July 19, 2010 6:49:00 pm