Lower Manhattan mosque moves forward

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- A proposed mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site got a boost Tuesday from the New York City Landmarks Commission.

The commission, in a 9-0 vote, refused a historic declaration for the building now on the site, the New York Daily News reported. The 152-year-old former warehouse most recently housed a Burlington Coat Factory store.

Commission spokeswoman Elisabeth de Bourbon told the New York Post the decision was based entirely on the merits of the existing building and not on any future plans for the site.

A Muslim group plans to build an Islamic center to be known as Cordoba House, after the Spanish city where Christians, Jews and Muslims once lived together. The building would include a study center, restaurant and other facilities.

The project has become a lightning rod with opposition from former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Rick Lazio, a Republican candidate for New York governor, accused the commission of being "stooges" of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, WNYC-AM, New York, reported.

"We would betray our values and play into our enemies' hands if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else," Bloomberg said at a news conference after the vote. "It is my hope that the mosque will bring our city even closer together and repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks on 9/11 were consistent with Islam."