Judge blocks eviction of Ground Zero mosque

A judge ruled that landlord Consolidated Edison cannot boot the Park51 Community Center from its home over $1.7 million in back rent. The ruling gives the developer 20 days to pay up

By Rebecca Olles

A judge blocked Consolidated Edison Inc. from evicting the Park51 Community Center—better known as the Ground Zero mosque—from its current space, which is owned by the utility. The decision gives the center’s developer time to pay rent it owes or to challenge Con Ed’s complaints within 20 days.

The utility raised the rent 5.5% retroactive to 2008, and calculated that Park51 owed $1.7 million in back rent as a result. Having given the developer until Oct. 4 to pay the rent, Con Ed had planned to evict Park51. The tenant, claiming the appraisal was incorrectly calculated, filed for a Yellowstone injunction, which asks the court to temporarily delay the eviction.
Judge Richard Braun of New York Supreme Court granted the injunction, but allowed Con Ed to double the monthly rent to just over $25,000 and ordered Park51 to post a bond of $881,519.
Con Ed’s lawyer, Scott Mollen, argued that the Yellowstone injunction should never have been granted and suggested that the developer, Sharif El-Gamal, would not be able to come up with the money it owes within the time period. The utility also argued that the developer is facing four other lawsuits from companies that include Valley National Bank and Citi Bank.