New York:
Controversial plans to build a mosque near the site of the New York towers destroyed in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks cleared a big hurdle on Tuesday as a city panel voted to end protected status for an existing structure on the site.
The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously in favour of an application to end the protected status of the 1850s Italian Renaissance palazzo-style building near the site of the former World Trade Centre.
The commission voted 9-0 in favour of removing the building at 45-47 Park Place from the landmarks list, said the body's chairman Robert Tierney. The building now houses only an abandoned clothing store.
Many applauded the decision, but others shouted "shame" and one women held a placard saying: "don't glorify murders of 3,000, no 9/11 mosque" and "Islam builds mosques at the sites of their conquests."
Supporters say the project will help build bridges between the West and the Muslim world and transform both the drab lower Manhattan street and the way Americans have looked on Muslims since the deadly attacks in 20011.
Boasting a mosque with sports facilities, a theater and possibly day care, the multi-story Islamic centre would be open to all visitors to demonstrate that Muslims are part of their community, not a separate element.
But the proposed mosque's location, just around the corner from the gaping Ground Zero hole, where nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001, has angered many New Yorkers who see it as an affront.