Con Edison wants a judge to green-light the eviction of the would-be developer of the controversial mosque near Ground Zero — because, the utility claims, he doesn’t have a prayer of paying the $1.7 million that he owes in back rent.
At a hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court, Con Ed lawyer Scott Mollen yesterday portrayed Sharif el-Gamal as a deadbeat slumlord and far too cash-strapped to pay back what he owes.
“They’re $1.7 million in arrears, and they have not come close to demonstrating they have the ability” to pay up on the rent at 51 Park Place, Mollen told Justice Richard Braun.
Mollen asked the judge to lift a restraining order barring Con Ed from booting Gamal from the site.
Gamal’s lawyer, Matthew Hearle, insisted that his client “has the means” to pay but hasn’t done so because he is challenging Con Ed’s “inflated” figures.
Con Ed owns a former substation on the western half of the property, and the mosque developers own a five-story building on the eastern half. The buildings, which used to be connected years ago, at one time housed aBurlington Coat Factorystore.
Gamal’sPark51leased the substation with an eye toward buying it. It would then knock down both buildings to build a mosque and community center.