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PrintSeptember 5, 2010
Ground Zero Bargain Mosque
The New York Post reports today that one or more competing commercial real estate buyers were willing to pay more than three times the $4.8 that Sharif al-Gamal paid for the property.
The Post states:
"New York developer Kevin Glodek was livid when he found out the building sold for a fraction of what he offered in 2007 -- $18 million cash -- and wondered whether money changed hands under the table, according to sources close to the deal.Glodek and his partners wanted to build a 60-story condo tower with retail space on the Park Place site, had inked a purchase agreement and even had keys to the existing building, according to sources and documents obtained by The Post."
This raises -- once again -- questions.about the legitimacy of the buyer and the seller, Kukiko Mitani, the widow of Melvin Pomerantz. By selling for an official price of $4.8 million, she would only have to pay taxes on the smaller amount. One can speculate whether there were other financial considerations not reported to the government in this deal. I have no evidence of such irregularities, but every day seems to reveal a new mess -- and mess of questions -- regarding this proposed mosque property near Ground Zero.
