The following is a NY Post exclusive:
A Manhattan lawyer with ties to the Saudi royal family is sounding out officials and community leaders about a plan to move the controversial Ground Zero mosque to the West Village.
Attorney Dudley Gaffin is claiming King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia might want to buy shuttered St. Vincent’s Medical Center and transfer the mosque to a new Islamic cultural center he would build on a plot at the site, say sources who have heard Gaffin’s pitch.
The king, worth more than $20 billion, would also save the hospital, reopening most of the units that closed when St. Vincent’s filed for bankruptcy on April 14, the sources said.
They say that Gaffin, who heads his own firm in lower Manhattan, is floating the idea to gauge what the reaction might be — and to ready a bid to rival the Rudin Organization, which is trying to snap up St. Vincent’s in bankruptcy court with an eye on tearing down six hospital buildings for luxury housing.
“He’s asking what it would take to put in a bid,” said one community leader who did not want to be identified.
“He says the king wants to do this as a p.r. move — to save the hospital and move the mosque away from the World Trade Center site,” the source added. “He wants to show that Muslims can do good works.”
“[Gaffin is] talking about the Saudis,” said another source, a politically connected lawyer. “I don’t know if any conversations have taken place [with them].”
The cost would be at least $300 million — the combined amount that the Sisters of Charity, which owns the hospital, owes the biggest secured creditors, GE Capital and TD bank.
“He wanted to know what it would cost,” said the community leader.
Gaffin said the mosque and cultural center would likely be built in a space now occupied by a shuttered nursing facility on 12th Street, just east of Seventh Avenue.
Sources said Gaffin claimed to have broached the topic with Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, but reps for both denied it.
“No one here has heard of this,” said Bloomberg spokesman Marc LaVorgna.
Reps for Abdullah, one of the world’s wealthiest men, did not return calls seeking comment.
The 87-year-old king is currently in town after recuperating from back surgery he had at New York-Presbyterian hospital on Dec. 3.
Abdullah previously said he would not get involved with the Ground Zero mosque.
(Source: NY Post)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
5 Responses
Suggestion to the Saudi king: Build all the mosques you want in Meka and Medina and keep your murderous religion within the confines of the Arabian Penninsula.
Suggestion to Dovid2: Learn to tolerate other religions and to avoid spouting hatred on the internet. While I am no supporter of Islam, I am able to recognize that intolerant generalizations such as yours are bad both for America and for Jews. How would you feel if someone posted that Rabbis should build all the synagogues you want in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and keep your (chose a Jewish stereotype)religion within the confines of Israel. I suspect you would be as appalled at that blatant stereotype and unfettered hatred as I would be.
2) I am sure 1 apologizes for your liberal view where everything YOU don’t like is offensive to you. The problem is you liberals who generally live in Mr Rogers Neighborhood of Make Believe fail to see/understand that most of everyone else doesn’t like the fact that the HaMosque cleric is extremely radical in his views. Start reading & listening to real news sources instead of the Slimes & you may be enlightened.
Mr. Levin,
Let me first state that I am actually a conservative and generally laugh at anyone who calls me a liberal.
With regard to your comment, the “HaMosque” cleric is irrelevant to my post since I was “offended” not by Dovid2’s opposition to the Mosque near ground Zero (which I am against as well) but rather I was offended by his statement which appeared to imply that NO mosques should be built outside the Arabian Peninnsula and that all brands of Islam are are Murderous religion (if this is not what he meant than he should have been more clear – hatred can never be tolerated).
I am sure you can quote me all sorts of facts why Islam/muslims are the worst religion in the world and dangerous to America. Here is something for you to consider in most of the world we Jews are the ones who are considered the most dangerous to a country. We are accused of dishonest dealings in money, corruption via the movie industry, and control of the media. They, too, can point out all sorts of instances to prove their point (from Bernard Madoff, to Speilberg, to Mortimer Zuckerman)
What saves us (HaShem saves us, so let me say “the method through which Hashem saves us) is that MOST people are either able to see through these generalizations, or they are sickened by the concept of active discrimination against a group (e.g., allowing no shuls/yeshivas in America).
As such, it is sad whenever I see Jewish people spouting such hatred and intolerance against others. I support measures to combat Radical Islam – including such controversial things as wiretapping and the separation wall in Israel. Remember, what we are talking about here was a statement against all muslims that I was offended by. This has nothing to do with being a liberal. It has to do with being a mentch!