Vote Paves Way for Ground Zero Mosque

A community board nixed a landmark designation for a building that would be used for a mosque near the former World Trade Center site.

In a heating meeting, Community Board 1 voted 24-11 Tuesday to recommend that the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission deny historic designation to the building. The designation would complicate the mosque's construction.

Opponents of the mosque favored the designation, claiming the mosque would be an affront to all Americans affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

One supporter of the project called opposing the mosque "an egregious assault on American freedom," according to The New York Post.

The mosque is a project of the nonprofit Cordoba Initiative, which says it promotes cross-cultural understanding between Islam and the West. Cordoba purchased the property for $4 million. It plans to build a $100 million Islamic center.

The board voted overwhelmingly last spring to back the project even as it drew emotional opposition from some local residents and relatives of 9/11 victims.