Excerpt:
The controversy over construction of a cultural center that includes a mosque near Ground Zero has emerged as an attack point for GOP underdog Rick Lazio in his race for governor against Democrat Andrew Cuomo.
On Tuesday Lazio testified before the New York City Landmarks Commission in favor of designating landmark status to the 150-year-old building on Park Place that is the proposed site of the center, which would be a setback for the Cordoba Initiative and the American Society for Muslim Advancement, which sees the $100 million, 15-story Cordoba House as its version of the 92nd Street Y.
If the former Burlington Coat Factory building, heavily damaged on 9/11, is designated a landmark, the project would be subject to severe restrictions.