Opposition to Moammar Gadhafi’s possible visit to Englewood, NJ grew Monday with Sen. Frank Lautenberg asking the State Department to restrict the Libyan dictator’s travels to the area around the United Nations next month.

Lautenberg joined several local leaders in trying to prevent Gadhafi from staying at a Palisade Avenue estate that his country has owned since 1982.

Derided for sponsoring terrorism, including the Pan Am 103 bombing that killed 270 people in 1988, Gadhafi will visit the United States for the first time next month to speak at the U.N. General Assembly.

“Given recent events, I believe the State Department should ensure that Colonel Qaddafi’s entry into the United States is for official U.N. business only and does not allow him to travel freely,” Lautenberg wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

A State Department spokesman said his agency has the power to restrict travel to leaders from countries deemed hostile, like Cuba and North Korea, but may not have any say over Gadhafi. In 2006, the Bush administration removed Libya from the list of nations that sponsor terrorism and resumed full diplomatic ties with the country.

“We’re still evaluating everything, but where he stays will likely be up to him,” said Fred Lash, a State Department spokesman.

Gov. Corzine expressed outrage at the possibility of a Gadhafi visit to North Jersey. “Anyone who embraces convicted terrorists is not welcomed in New Jersey,” said Robert Corrales, a spokesman for Corzine.

The rumored visit has already been condemned by Rep. Steve Rothman, Mayor Michael Wildes and members of the Englewood City Council.

The eccentric leader has asked for permission to pitch a large Bedouin tent in Central Park. If he is denied, there is speculation that he will set up his temporary home on the grounds of his country’s 4.7-acre estate that is undergoing major renovations after years of neglect.

Englewood police are already planning to deal with crowd control and security should Gadhafi visit, said Councilwoman Charlotte Bennett Schoen, whose ward includes the mansion. Gadhafi’s visit to Rome in June was met with violent protests.

Gadhafi’s rumored visit is particularly upsetting because 38 Flight 103 victims were from New Jersey. Relatives of victims were enraged by the release last week of the bombing’s ringleader, Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi, who was greeted as a hero by Gadhafi upon his return to Tripoli.

The rabbi who lives next to the mansion on Palisade Avenue said Monday that he plans to sue Libya for cutting down trees on his property during the recent construction work.

(Source: NorthJersey.com)