The Deacon's Bench
The building that housed it may soon be history.
The lower Manhattan building that once housed the controversial “Ground Zero Mosque” will soon be reduced to rubble.
An application was filed with the city Buildings Department on Monday to demolish the site at 51 Park Place in Tribeca, which had been home to Park51, an Islamic cultural and prayer center, city records show.
The application by the building’s owner, Soho Properties, also requested approval to tear down a nearby building, at 45 Park Place, according to records.
Park51 opened in September 2011 amid a storm of controversy from critics who objected to a Muslim institution being located roughly two blocks north of Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center was destroyed by Muslim radicals on Sept. 11, 2001.
But Park51’s long-term prospects have recently been in flux as Soho Properties purchased another nearby property, at 43 Park Place, and rumors swirled about a potential redevelopment plan.
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