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Hard Times At the Ground Zero Mosque
Human Events ^ | 10/17/2011 | John Hayward
Posted on October 17, 2011 10:32:08 PM EDT by neverdem
Park51, the organization looking to develop the $100 million “Ground Zero Mosque” at the site of the old Burlington Coat Factory in New York City, has become embroiled in a remarkable “retroactive rent” dispute with Con Ed.
Park51 owns the five-story building that takes up half of the Burlington Coat Factory site, while the utility company owns the other half. Con Ed has been leasing its half to the mosque developers for $2750 per month, but in August they decided to raise the rent just a tad, as reported by the New York Post:
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.”
(Emphasis mine.) I’m no fan of the Ground Zero Mosque project, but… a $1.7 million retroactive rent increase? I’m almost afraid to ask, but does that sort of thing happen a lot in New York City?
Tom Liddy of DNAInfo.com offers some more background on this exciting adventure in Big Apple property management:
The dispute hinges on the appraisal of 51 Park Pl., which is owned by Con Edison, but leased by Park51. The group, which operates an interfaith center on the first floor of 45 Park Pl. next door, had hoped to build a $100 million center...
(Excerpt) Read more at humanevents.com ...
NYC is definitely the center of most things.
