Sharif El-Gamal and Park51 rendering (building source: SOMA Architects)

A Manhattan judge has dismissed a lawsuit by former New York City
firefighter Timothy Brown who is trying to halt the construction of the Park51 Islamic community center near
Ground Zero by overturning a decision by the New York City Landmarks
Preservation Commission to deny landmark status to a 150-year-old
building on the Park Place site.

According to the New York Times, it could prove to be the last legal challenge to the project. The building, damaged in the attacks of Sept. 11, was once home to a Burlington Coat Factory store.
Justice Paul Feinman termed Brown “an individual with a strong interest in preservation of the building,” but failed to see that he had any special legal standing in the case. [more]

Park51 developer Sharif El-Gamal says he’s “hungrier than the other guys,” and when it comes to available capital for his $100 million Lower Manhattan project, that may be true. According to the Post, an IRS application recently filed by his Park51 group seeking tax-exempt status noted that the developers expect to raise $7.5 million this year. Next year, the projected contributions double to $15 million, but are still a far cry from what El-Gamal will need to get his planned Islamic cultural center, slated to go up two blocks from Ground Zero on the site of a former Burlington Coat Factory store, off the ground. [more]

Two co-founders of the controversial plan to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero are mulling a new, rival proposal in the wake of a split with developer Sharif El-Gamal. According to the New York Times, Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, said at a luncheon yesterday that she and her husband, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, are considering an interfaith cultural center project either at 51 Park Place, the current site of Gamal’s planned Islamic center, or elsewhere in Lower Manhattan. Comments

Park51 developer Sharif El-Gamal and the former Burlington Coat Factory site at 45 Park Place

The developers of the controversial Park51 Islamic cultural center at the site of a former Burlington Coat Factory near Ground Zero are suing the retailer for $4.5 million for damaging the building’s façade. According to the Daily News, the developers have filed a suit in Manhattan Supreme Court accusing Burlington of hurriedly tearing down two signs that had been bolted to the building after the proposed mosque became “the focus of media attention” in late 2009. [more]

The developers of the controversial mosque near Ground Zero may have cleared the Landmarks Preservation Commission last week, but it turns out that they only own half the site they intend to build on, according to the Post. The $100 million project is slated to go up on the site of two buildings on Park Place, one of which is still owned by Con Edison. Developer Soho Properties purchased 45-47 Park Place in 2009 for $4.8 million and paid an extra $700,000 to take over the 99-year lease for Con Ed’s 49-51 Park Place, which is connected. The lease is akin to ownership, Soho Properties said, and demolition is allowed under the terms. Also included is an option to purchase the property outright. In February, Soho Properties head Sharif El-Gamal told Con Ed that it would like to follow through with the purchase, and the company is now setting its price. But a sale could set off another firestorm of controversy as the proposed deal would have to be approved by the Public Service Commission, where it could be subject to a vote by a five-member board controlled by Gov. David Paterson. [Post]

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A proposed 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero was unanimously approved by Community Board 1′s financial district committee last night despite grumblings from some who said the project was offensive for families of 9/11 victims, according to the Daily News. The $100 million glass-and-steel Cordoba House would be built on the site of the old Burlington Coat Factory, at 45 Park Place near Broadway, and would have a 500-seat performing arts venue, swimming pool and basketball court in addition to the mosque. [more]

Even though the stock market is rising, national and local landlords are bearing the brunt of the recession, especially when the tenants are jewelry retailers. A National Jeweler article noted that the top 50 North American jewelry chains have closed 891 retail locations in 2009. Last week, the fine jewelry retailer, Finlay Enterprises and its subsidiary Finlay Fine Jewelry, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company had 182 department store-based jewelry departments and stand-alone jewelry stores at the end of the second quarter ending August 1, including 67 Bailey Banks & Biddle, 34 Carlyle and four Congress specialty jewelry stores and 77 licensed counters with Bon Ton department stores. [more]