Apologies, apologies! In yesterday’s post, I said that Park51, the proposed mosque in downtown Manhattan was to be located on Park Row (two blocks east of the World Trade Center site); in fact , the proposed location is Park PLACE, which is two blocks north of the site.
So sorry to add to the misinformation about this issue, especially since misinformation was what I was complaining about. (My cheeks are burning.)
I live in downtown Manhattan and should definitely better. The problem is that Park Place is an undistinguished street which, frankly, I often overlook even when I am walking around. It houses a jumble of junky little stores (other than the wonderful Tent & Trails- a camping equipment store). Park Row, in contrast, a slightly more prominent street, mainly houses all the arms of J&R music.
My basic argument from yesterday is the same; downtown Manhattan is relatively small; Ground Zero is relatively large within it. This means that virtually everything downtown is “near” to Ground Zero. And yet, at the same time, the spaces are big enough, the crowding of buildings within those spaces is intense enough, that the differentials between blocks feel immense. Immense enough that, even putting arguments of religious tolerance and what the country and city stand for aside, the claim that the mosque would somehow be a shadow on Ground Zero doesn’t make much sense, especially given the invasive, and sometimes ghoulish, commercialism that currently haunts parts of the site.
ManicDDaily 
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