NEW YORK CITY-Donald Trump made an offer to Hisham Elzanaty, one of the investors of the Park51 site proposed for an Islamic center, according to published reports. The deal reportedly came in at the price paid plus 25%, all in cash. Elzanaty rejected the $6-million offer, despite paying a reported $4.8 million for the site.
Elzanaty's $4.8 million paid for roughly half of the site, and he has been reported as saying that he would like to see the cultural center built, but that he is in it for profit. He has been quoted in the Associated Press offering a casual estimate at $18 million to $20 million for a purchase price of the property.
Following the rejection of the offer, both men went on the offense, accusing one another of being unrealistic in the press. Trump told the Wall Street Journal that Elzanaty could likely hold out for more money and later on CNBC called Elzanaty a "low-level" real estate developer without money looking to flip it. Meanwhile, Elzanaty's lawyer said it was a "cheap attempt to get publicity" on Trump's part and they did not consider it a serious offer. There are also questions as to whether or not Elzanaty would have enough control to stop construction. Trump also noted that should the mosque be moved, it should be at least five blocks from Ground Zero. The distance might seem arbitrary, but would be one-and-a-half times the distance of the current site.
The former Burlington Coat Factory at 45-51 Park Pl. has stirred much emotion in the city, as it sits only a few blocks away from Ground Zero, and there are plans to build a 13-story Islamic cultural center and mosque there. The protest is led by some of the families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and sympathizers in the City of New York and across the nation. The group feels it is insensitive to raise a mosque so close to the site of the tragedy perpetrated by the radical Islamist group al-Qaeda. Gov. Paterson notably offered for the state to pay to build the mosque, but farther away, while Mayor Bloomberg has come out in favor of religious freedom, as well as his stance of any developer's right to build where they want in New York City.
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