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Con Ed says it will evict Ground Zero mosque unless developer pays $1.7 million in back rent
NYPOST ^ | Oct. 16, 2011 | ISABEL VINCENT and MELISSA KLEIN

Posted on 10/16/2011 12:33:26 PM PDT by Beaten Valve

Pay up or get out.

Con Ed has given the Ground Zero mosque an ultimatum: Pay the $1.7 million you owe in back rent, or we’ll terminate your lease and take back our property.

Con Ed and mosque developer Park51 have an unusual, uneasy alliance, sharing ownership of a site slated to be one of the most controversial projects in city history.

The utility owns a former substation on the western half of the property, at 51 Park Place, and the mosque developers own a five-story building on the eastern half. The buildings were connected years ago and used to house a Burlington Coat Factory store.

Park51, which leases the substation from Con Ed, wants the two buildings so it can knock both down and build a $100 million, 15-story community center.

But the plan hit a major obstacle in August when Con Ed raised the rent from $2,750 a month, a rate set in 1972, to $47,437 a month, retroactive to July 31, 2008, The Post has learned.

When the mosque failed to fork over the $1.7 million, the utility fired off a letter demanding the money by Oct. 4 and threatening to evict.

Park51 principals responded with a lawsuit to stop the increase, calling Con Ed’s rent demands “outrageous.”

“Whether it is bowing to political pressure or seeking to retain the valuable premises for itself, Con Ed appears intent on proceeding with its wrongful termination,” argued Sharif El-Gamal, the lead Park51 developer.

Gamal said Con Ed’s move also wipes out his ability to eventually buy the substation building, where the Park51 developers have converted the first floor into a prayer space. They turned the first floor of the adjoining building into a cultural center and recently debuted their first event, a photography exhibit.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: New York; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: conedison; mosque; muslims; park51
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1 posted on 10/16/2011 12:33:35 PM PDT by Beaten Valve
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To: Beaten Valve

So, who owns the land underneath each structure?


2 posted on 10/16/2011 12:34:55 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: Beaten Valve

I would suspect that someone in ConEd finally woke up and realized how big a mess this had turned into. Raising the rent makes perfect sense.


3 posted on 10/16/2011 12:37:51 PM PDT by pepsionice
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To: Beaten Valve

Hey, maybe they can pass a hat around Zuccotti Park!


4 posted on 10/16/2011 12:42:51 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand (...then they came for the guitars, and we kicked their sorry faggot asses into the dust)
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To: pepsionice

Exactly...


5 posted on 10/16/2011 12:43:58 PM PDT by Issaquahking (Cain/West 2012)
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To: Beaten Valve
$47,437 a month, retroactive to July 31, 2008,

Wow, is that legal?

6 posted on 10/16/2011 12:49:28 PM PDT by DejaJude
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To: pepsionice
Con Ed’s move also wipes out his ability to eventually buy the substation building, where the Park51 developers have converted the first floor into a prayer space. They turned the first floor of the adjoining building into a cultural center and recently debuted their first event, a photography exhibit.

Any more news on the plans to open a gay bar catering to jihadist rump rangers called "Suspicious Packages" nearby? Now that there may be space available, this may be the time to move forward!

http://www.dailygut.com/?i=4696

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/08/10/ground-zero-mosque-spokesman-to-gutfeld-your-gay-bar-wont-build-dialogue-because-it-doesnt-consider-our-sensibilities/

7 posted on 10/16/2011 12:50:30 PM PDT by Sooth2222 ("Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself." M.Twain)
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To: Beaten Valve

Take it back Con Ed, take it back!


8 posted on 10/16/2011 12:53:17 PM PDT by NoGrayZone ("Get ready for an aberration of historic proportions" - Herman Cain)
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To: Sooth2222

Love Greg Gutfeld!!


9 posted on 10/16/2011 12:56:36 PM PDT by Beaten Valve
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To: NoGrayZone

Can we start a donation fund and pay the rent if they evict the Mosque?? That would be a worthwhile donation.


10 posted on 10/16/2011 12:58:19 PM PDT by No Socialist
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To: DejaJude
Wow, is that legal?

That's for the lawyers to work out. But $2,750 a month, a rate unchanged since 1972, was an insane giveaway. $2,750 a month, for a WHOLE BUILDING in the Wall Street area? There are people paying that for an apartment in that area.

11 posted on 10/16/2011 1:00:36 PM PDT by PapaBear3625 (When you've only heard lies your entire life, the truth sounds insane.)
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To: No Socialist

I just want those effers out of there. I was there protesting the building of it. Sickens me to believe it has actually opened.

I want to go down there and just throw bacon upon their front steps. I’d probably be arrested for it.....but in the meantime, OWS is unlawfully occupying a private park and NOTHING is done.

I hate this upside down world we are living in. Just hate it.


12 posted on 10/16/2011 1:05:15 PM PDT by NoGrayZone ("Get ready for an aberration of historic proportions" - Herman Cain)
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To: Beaten Valve

Soros will cover the 1.7 Mil, but who will keep paying the monthly rent?


13 posted on 10/16/2011 1:07:26 PM PDT by Lockbar (March toward the sound of the guns.)
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To: DejaJude
$47,437 a month, retroactive to July 31, 2008,

Vaguely complicated. The 'rent' is a bulk lease payment, Park51 says it should be 25k a month, ConEd says 47k. ConEd's point is that the reduced rate was for a very limited time before exercising the option to buy - not only has the group not exercised that option, but they've failed to get their non-profit status, failed to pay any lease rate, and ConEd's exercising it's right to collect prevailing market value for the property.

There's less and less of a leg for Park51 to stand on - admittedly, a lot of what's happening right now is posturing before the November court date over the disagreements the two had earlier this year. ConEd's saying, 'hey, if you got deep pocket supporters, better tap them, pay us off, and you can move forward with your project. If you don't, time for you to roll up and get out of our way.' Either way, ConEd, even if the court date doesn't go it's way on lease rates, will demand immediate payment and start evicting them. And Park51's hoping to nail down 5 million in federal funds to continue their project.

14 posted on 10/16/2011 1:09:58 PM PDT by kingu (Everything starts with slashing the size and scope of the federal government.)
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To: pepsionice

What a joke! $2800 a month for a large, attractive building in that hallowed ground. The cheezy, corrupt, greasy dead-eyed imam can’t come up with that? Or is he just dissing the infidels? I pay about $300 less for our tiny place!


15 posted on 10/16/2011 1:11:13 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Let's have a Cain Mutiny!)
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To: miss marmelstein

Read that wrong! Gosh, I wish we had editing abilities here.


16 posted on 10/16/2011 1:14:20 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Let's have a Cain Mutiny!)
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To: PapaBear3625
No kidding, my daughter is paying $4,000.00 per month for a one bedroom, 788 sq. ft. apartment in Manhattan. I keep telling her to move to Jersey or one of the outer boroughs, but she refuses to even consider the idea from her old man. I just shake my head.
17 posted on 10/16/2011 1:17:20 PM PDT by ydoucare
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To: PapaBear3625
There are people paying that for an apartment in that area.

More like one room w/a kitchenette within it.
18 posted on 10/16/2011 1:24:53 PM PDT by presently no screen name
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To: PapaBear3625
$2,750 a month, for a WHOLE BUILDING in the Wall Street area? There are people paying that for an a tiny studio apartment in that area.

Fixed. :)

19 posted on 10/16/2011 1:37:14 PM PDT by NativeNewYorker (Freepin' Jew Boy)
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To: ydoucare

...and if you want to *buy* an apartment, you’re looking at $1,000/sq foot and up...


20 posted on 10/16/2011 1:39:36 PM PDT by NativeNewYorker (Freepin' Jew Boy)
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