A controversial plan to build a $100 million mosque and community center just two blocks north of Ground Zero could be undone by history.
The 152-year-old building at 45 Park Place that would be torn down for the mosque is under the protection of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which has had a pending application on its books since 1989 to grant it landmark status.
A Landmarks spokeswoman said that the application had been on hold for more than two decades but that a hearing would be scheduled and a vote would follow on the designation.
The landmarking issue is a potentially big obstacle for a project that both the city and the mosque’s backers had said could be built “as of right,” with no interference from city land use laws.
If the commission approves landmark designation, it would be highly unlikely that the building could be torn down to make way for Cordoba House, a proposed 13-story mosque and community center.
And until a vote is taken, the building has temporary landmark protection.
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday continued to support the project, despite the latest wrinkle.
“Anybody who wants to build a house of worship in this city, we’d love to do it,” he said. “They have to comply with the zoning laws. In this case, I think the community board’s already been consulted and they overwhelmingly like the idea.”
The 11 members of the landmarks commission are appointed by the mayor.
Cordoba House has been proposed by the American Society for Muslim Advancement, whose director, Daisy Khan, yesterday said she didn’t believe the landmarking issue would prevent the project from moving forward.
Landmarks officials reached out to the building’s former owners last year before the mosque plan was public, and Cordoba House backers were told of the pending review.
The building was purchased last year for $4.8 million by the Islamic group.
Recent history could also conspire against the proposed mosque by contributing to the building’s legacy. On Sept. 11, 2001, a piece of landing gear from one of the hijacked airliners crashed through the roof of what was then the Burlington Coat Factory.
The project has come under fire, with some 9/11 families protesting the location of a mosque so close to Ground Zero. A rally opposing the project is planned for June 6 near the site.
Additional reporting by Ada Calhoun