Pat Dollard

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New York Times:

With Gov. David A. Paterson by his side, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Wednesday distanced himself from an effort by Mr. Paterson to persuade the developers of a Muslim cultural center and mosque in Lower Manhattan to build farther away from ground zero.

Mr. Paterson on Tuesday made the suggestion of offering state-owned property far from the site of the former World Trade Center as a means of resolving a fierce national debate over freedom of religion and the memory of Sept. 11 victims.

But Mr. Bloomberg brushed aside the proposal, saying the governor was free to offer the land but could “speak for himself.”

“I’m just telling you, I’ve always believed the government should not be involved in deciding who you pray to, what you say, or where you say it,” the mayor said at a news conference in City Hall to announce a renovated Delta terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Mr. Paterson, in a lengthy and meandering defense of his proposal, reiterated that he believed that the developers had the right to build as planned, two blocks north of ground zero. But he said the imam behind the project, Feisal Abdul Rauf, should reconsider in light of the strong emotional objections of many Americans.

“We’re not talking about mixing church and state,” Mr. Paterson said. “I hope that the type of cultural understanding that they’re trying to promote when they build the center can be practiced right now.”

The governor said a staff member had spoken recently with leaders of the $100 million center, known as Park51, about the possibility of building someplace else. They were not interested, Mr. Paterson said.

“What I wanted to do was to have a conversation about how other people are feeling,” Mr. Paterson said. “We really are all victims, and perhaps we just need to understand each other.”

Mr. Bloomberg, by contrast, has emerged as one of the chief proponents of building the center at the site near ground zero. Last week, Mr. Bloomberg, with the Statue of Liberty in the background, delivered a passionate defense of the center and the freedom of religion.

A majority of registered New York City voters oppose the proposed mosque’s location, according to a Marist Poll published on Wednesday.

But a deeper look at the poll, which had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3½ percentage points, showed that in a breakdown of respondents from the five boroughs, Manhattan was the only one to support the mosque’s location, by 53 to 31 percent.