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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lorne who wrote (88777)	8/6/2010 7:48:07 AM
From: lorne	2 Recommendations Respond to of 224741

Case demands Ground Zero mosque ruling be annulled 'Denial of landmark status was an arbitrary and capricious abuse of discretion' August 06, 2010 By Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily wnd.com A lawsuit has been filed with the Supreme Court of New York seeking to annul a decision allowing plans to move forward for a Muslim mosque near the Ground Zero site of the 9/11 Islamic terror attacks. "The denial of landmark status to the building was an arbitrary and capricious abuse of discretion and contrary to decades of administrative precedent," says the complained filed by the American Center for Law and Justice. The organization represents Tim Brown, a firefighter and first responder who survived the 9/11 attacks but lost 100 friends when Muslims hijacked American jets and flew them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. Almost 3,000 Americans were killed that day. The lawsuit charges the city commission violated its own policies and procedures in rejecting a landmark designation for the building, which would have derailed plans to build a massive, $100 million mosque on the site. "What's clear is that this legal challenge points out the fact that the city did not follow its own rules and procedures in the case," the organization announced. The complaint was filed under Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules, and seeks a judgment "annulling, vacating and setting aside the determination of Respondent, LPC as against the weight of evidence, contrary to administrative procedure and precedent, and violative of statutes, rules and regulations governing the landmark process in the City of New York." Among the claims are that New York failed to properly review and consider public comments, that it hurried the vote on the project and that it refused to recognize the significance of the site's links to the Islamic terror attacks of 9/11. The complaint documents the building had been under consideration for landmark status long before 9/11, when a piece of one of the crashed jets landed in the building. "The building stands as an iconic symbol to an uninterrupted linkage of the rise of American capitalism with our current quest to preserve our freedom and democracy. The building, therefore, should stand as part of the commemorative and educational experience of our shared political, cultural and historic heritage," according to the complaint. "The land use process of New York City now threatens to do what the terrorists failed to accomplish and destroy a building that has been under consideration for landmark status for twenty (20) years," the petition says. "Where an administrative agency does not follow its own precedents in deciding a case involving the same factors as other cases, the agency must set forth its reasons for the departure, or the reviewing court must reverse the agency decision as arbitrary and capricious as a matter of law," the complaint said. The case is challenging the city's move to allow a planned 13-story mosque. The ACLJ also represents thousands of Americans who have signed on to the Committee to Stop the Ground Zero Mosque – which opposes building an Islamic mosque on a site it says should be used to honor and preserve the memory of Sept. 11 and its victims. Earlier this week, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission decided to allow the demolition of the 152-year-old building on the site to clear the way for the mosque. In written testimony supplied to the city, the ACLJ said there are thousands of buildings in New York already given landmark status, including 18 West 11th, where the "terrorist organization Weather Underground detonated a bomb." "The World Trade Center Site has been determined eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Six (6) federal and state agencies have recognized the historic significance of the area," the group's testimony said. "In this matter, the building links America's rise as an economically ... free country to the current fight to maintain freedom and liberty in the face of terrorism," the ACLJ said. "The building stands as a testament to an uninterrupted linkage of the rise of American capitalism with our current quest to preserve our freedom and democracy. The building, therefore, should stand as part of the commemorative and educational experience of our shared political, cultural and historic heritage." The ACLJ pointed out that the federal government's Heritage Emergency National Task Force, designated to help libraries, museums and others archive important historical artifacts, still is "engaging in a complete inventory of historic artifacts buried or lost in the buildings surrounding the World Trade Center." In an earlier interview with Associated Press, New York Rep. Peter King also suggested there might need to be a further investigation of the funding of the $100 million mosque. "It's a house of worship, but we are at war with al-Qaida," King said at the time. "I think the Sept. 11 families have a right to know where the funding comes from; I think there are significant questions." A spokesman for a Muslim activist organization this week told Fox News there was to be no mosque, only a community center, contradicting weeks of affirmations about the plans. The project is headed by the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Institute. But the institute's chief, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, has refused to reveal where the money for the building is coming from. And he once suggested in a television interview that U.S. policies were a contributing factor in the Sept. 11 attacks. King said in the earlier report, "Right at this moment in history, it's bad form to put it there. There are things you are allowed to do, but that aren't appropriate to do."