Sunday, August 22, 2010

Staggering Fecklessness in Lower Manhattan

Test your knowledge on the Ground Zero mosque controversy with my little quiz.

Meanwhile, putting aside the controversy over the mosque, John Podhoretz attempts to gin up disgust for the fact that after 9 years there is no 9/11 Memorial at the Ground Zero site.

It's a fair cop. But then the amount of time it takes anything to get built these days when politicians get heavily involved is staggering. And not just in New York City. I'm thinking about the Haverford Hospital Site and the Town Center at Ellis Preserve.

UPDATE: More and more it is looking like all this hubbub is about a project that is quite unlikely to ever get off the ground. Politico.com is reporting that as of two years ago, the Cordorba project had all of $18,255 raised.
The group also lacks even the most basic real estate essentials: no blueprint, architect, lobbyist or engineer — and now operates amid crushing negative publicity. The developers didn't line up advance support for the project from other religious leaders in the city, who could have risen to their defense with the press.

The group’s spokesman, Oz Sultan, wouldn’t rule out developing the site with foreign money in an interview with POLITICO — but said the project’s goal is to rely on domestic funds. Currently, they have none of either.
It has occurred to me that the whole thing is a P.R. stunt that may or may not have backfired depending on the motives of the promoters.

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