By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — Most New York State residents oppose the mosque and community center planned near Ground Zero, but many see both sides of the issue and could change their mind, a new poll found.
Sixty-one percent of New York State residents told the Siena Research Institute that they oppose the Islamic community center, while just 26 percent supported it.
"Concern over sensitivity, and concern over the feelings of those most affected by the attacks, trumped religious tolerance," said Don Levy, director of the Siena Research Institute, in a phone interview Thursday morning.
Still, nearly 40 percent of state residents said both the supporters and the opponents of the project have a legitimate position, and they understood how people could see the center as both "a monument to religious tolerance" and "an offense to the memory of those killed n the attacks on 9/11."
"I don’t think the case is closed," Levy said. "It will be fascinating to continue to watch. That gap in the middle weighing both sides of the question will be forced to pay attention and make up their mind. I think it will move more toward 50-50."
Last month, Quinipiac University released a poll that showed Manhattanites supporting the project.
Siena found that Republicans across the state were most likely to oppose the center, with 81 percent against it and just 11 percent supporting it.
Levy said he was most surprised to find that only 56 percent of New York State residents said they were following the issue very closely or somewhat closely.
The Siena poll refers to the project as a "Muslim Community Center" and "Cordoba House" but does not use the word "mosque." Levy said he wanted to use the same language as the people building the center.
Siena surveyed 622 New York State residents via telephone calls last week. The poll has an error margin of 3.9 percentage points.
