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| SPLIT: Developer Sharif El-Gamal (inset) owns the right half of this complex, all of which he plans to raze for a mosque and community center, but leases the left from Con Ed, which hiked the rent. |
New York - Pay up or get out. Con Ed has given the Ground Zero mosque an ultimatum: Pay the $1.7 million you owe in back rent, or we’ll terminate your lease and take back our property. Con Ed and mosque developer Park51 have an unusual, uneasy alliance, sharing ownership of a site slated to be one of the most controversial projects in city history. The utility owns a former substation on the western half of the property, at 51 Park Place, and the mosque developers own a five-story building on the eastern half. The buildings were connected years ago and used to house a Burlington Coat Factory store. 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.” Full Story>>
Con Ed says it will evict Ground Zero mosque unless developer pays $1.7 million in back rent http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/evict_threat_for_mosque_lIbVwVeDv8FaBnnPEyuLmN#ixzz1b1zvyUAy
