Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is back to looking for room and board when he makes a visit to the United Nations General Assembly next month. Officials confirmed Friday that Gadhafi will not be staying in an Englewood mansion under construction after the town’s mayor and residents protested his arrival.

Washington, D.C.-based representatives of Gadhafi told New Jersey Congressman Steve Rothman the leader decided against coming to Englewood.

“I am very pleased that Moammar Quaddafi will apparently not be coming to Englewood. His appearance would have presented unnecessary safety and security issues for the residents of Englewood and the Libyan diplomats,” said Rothman.

“I want to thank President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the literally dozens of their appointees I have had the pleasure to work so closely with over the past seven days in achieving this result. I also want to thank the Libyan government for their hard work and consideration in resolving this matter in such a positive fashion,” he added.

Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes had threatened to go to court to prevent Gadhafi from staying in the recently renovated mansion.

“If the U.S. State Department won’t shut this down, we will,” Englewood Wildes said. “New Jersey’s governor, its two U.S. senators and its U.S. congressmen are all on board on this.”

Libyan intelligence is widely believed to have orchestrated the 1988 attack on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed all 259 aboard — including 38 people from New Jersey.

Gadhafi has worked to try to rehabilitate his image in recent years but angered the U.S. and Britain last week with the warm welcome given to the Lockerbie bomber, who was released from a Scottish prison and returned to Libya. A cheering crowd at the Tripoli airport greeted Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was accompanied by Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam. Scotland released al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds because he is dying of cancer.

Already, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, U.S. senators and representatives from New York and New Jersey have protested Gadhafi’s plan to stay at the sprawling estate in the upscale community of about 12 miles from Manhattan when he addresses the UN next month. Gadhafi is expected to pitch a ceremonial Bedouin-style tent on the grounds for entertainment purposes, after a request to erect it in Manhattan’s Central Park was rejected due to logistics and security concerns, according to officials.

The Libyan government, which bought the Englewood estate in 1982, is renovating the property extensively in anticipation of Gadhafi’s first visit to the United States. It’s expected to be the culmination of a yearslong effort to repair his international image, which has included denouncing terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. He’s ruled the oil-rich North African kingdom since 1969.

(Source: CBS2 HD)