A 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center is planned near the World Trade Center site, in a building that was damaged by airplane debris on Sept. 11, 2001.
A Lower Manhattan community board committee said Wednesday that it supported the $100 million project. It is aimed at creating a space for the neighborhood’s growing Muslim population.
Supporters say the history associated with the damaged former department store was one reason to pick it.
But some 9/11 victims’ families said they were offended by the idea.
Massapequa resident Rosemary Cain called the plan “despicable.” She lost a son on 9/11.
The American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative said the project would help to improve relations between the West and Muslims.