A proposed Ground Zero mosque will hit its first -- and likely only -- city hurdle tomorrow when theLandmarks Preservation Commissionholds a hearing to determine whether a historic building now at the site should be protected from demolition.
But the battle will draw few if any of the city’s preservation groups, which for now appear ready to sit on the sidelines rather than weigh in on the fate of the 152-year-old building at 45-47 Park Place, which would be demolished to build the mosque.
“The debate isn’t about the architecture of the building, it’s about the use,” said Peg Breen of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, one of several city groups that have championed the preservation of historic buildings.
The commission will be holding a hearing tomorrow on a proposal to designate as a landmark the five-story building, which features cast iron and a stone facade. The former shipping warehouse and showroom has been under consideration since 1989.