New York – Gov. David Paterson offered state help Tuesday if the developers of a proposed mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks agree to move the project farther from the site.
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Paterson, a Democrat, said that he doesn’t oppose the project as planned but indicated that he understands where opponents are coming from. He said he was willing to intervene to seek other suitable state property if the developers agreed.
“I think it’s rather clear that building a center there meets all the requirements, but it does seem to ignite an immense amount of anxiety among the citizens of New York and people everywhere, and I think not without cause,” Paterson said in a news conference in Manhattan.
“I am very sensitive to the desire of those who are adamant against it to see something else worked out,” Paterson said.
The developers declined to comment. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who last week made an impassioned defense of the project planned for lower Manhattan, also had no immediate comment.
Paterson said he expects the state Public Service Commission, which must sign off on the project, to follow the law and not politics in its review.
Paterson noted that “we really are still suffering in many respects” from Sept. 11 and that impassioned feelings were bound to emerge from a mosque just a couple of blocks from where nearly 3,000 people died at the hands of Muslim extremists.
He noted that Muslims died in the Sept. 11 attacks, too, and that “we have to remember that sometimes it’s the fanaticism of religion that have driven people to do what they do, not the worship of the religion itself.”
A Marist College poll released Tuesday found that 53 percent of New York City voters polled oppose constructing the mosque there. Just 34 percent favored the plan in the poll, which also showed a slide in Bloomberg’s traditional high approval ratings.
The Marist poll surveyed 809 New York City residents July 28 through Aug. 5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Now…let us see if the Muslim people will agree to move their mosque elsewhere. If not, what is their point exactly? Wow, a democrat that is actually listening to the people of New York. Something still seams a little fishy about that. Yeah, nothing about this is a good idea. Its gonna end up costing the city of New York a whole lot of money to provide security. Its going to do nothing but provoke violence. Extremists from all over the world from both sides are going to flock to it and their will be riots and violence at ground zero when there should be peace and serenity.
““I am very sensitive to the desire of those who are adamant against it to see something else worked out,” Paterson said.”
FINALLY… someone is willing to listen to rank and file Americans. Kudos to Gov. Paterson for appealing to the developers in the name of sensitivity to ALL. He’s not saying no to their mosque – he’s saying, it needs to goOK, but let’s find somewhere else. The developers will look bad if they say no, for supposedly promoting tolerance except for those who oppose them. Bloomy etc. keep calling for “tolerance” toward the mosque – well, it can be a two way street. If the developers balk, their alterior motives will be exposed.
very smart of patterson! and sily Bloomy for not thinking of such a simploe solution, and instead understanding ONLY the Muslims rights! thats how u look when u wanna sound tollerative.
Some points need to be made about all these comments about Moslems, as not all Moslems are terrorists.
Indodesia is the largest Moslem country in the world, and they are busy right now arrresting, trying, and sentencing their own home-grown jihadis to long prison terms.
Each and every Pakisani and Afghan soldier and civilian murdered by the Taliban is a Moslem.
The terrorists are Arab or Pakistani or Afghan. Moslems from Indonesia or Malaysia or Bangladesh have had nothing to do with terrorism. Shouildn’t they have a mosque when they visit here?
I don’t much like Wahhabi Islam, but bear in mind that Saudi Arabia has been America’s ally against these terrorists: they have committed terroist acts there on numerous occasions, and I recently read that al Qaeda y”sh is urging Saudis to try to assassinate the Saudi King.
My point is that most Moslems are not terrorists, and it’s not right to lump them all together.
I am defending them because I’m a “B”T” who grew up in a place with lots of anti-Semitism, and I learned a long time ago that nothing justifies hatred for no reason–it just generates more hatred.
All I can say is: “kudos” to paterson,he suggested a very normal , rational solution.