By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The downtown mosque might have the backing of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but it hasn't yet been cleared by the building's part-owner, according to the New York Post.
The developers of the controversial mosque proposed near Ground Zero own only half of the site. The other half is owned by Con Edison, the newspaper reported.
The revelation comes despite developer Soho Properties telling officials it owns the property.
Any sale by Con Ed would have to be reviewed by the state Public Service Commission.
The news has surprised members of Community Board 1, which passed a resolution supporting the mosque in May.
"We never heard anything about Con Ed whatsoever," board chairwoman Julie Menin told the Post.
Developer Soho Properties bought 45-47 Park Place for $4.8 million in 2006, and paid an extra $700,000 to take over the lease for the building next door which is owned by Con Ed, the Post reported.
The company told Con Ed this year it intended to use a purchase option in the lease to buy the building outright.
But the utility is now appraising to determine the property value, and no deal has been completed.
If a purchase offer is made, it would need to go the Public Service Commission, where it could face a vote from a five-member board controlled by Gov. David Paterson, the Post said.
Representative Peter King, who opposed the plan, told the Post he was disturbed by the latest development.
"I wonder what else they are hiding,” he said. “If we can’t have the full truth on this, what can we believe?”
