By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The American branch of the Anne Frank Memorial Museum will move to 100 Church Street, across the street from the planned Park 51 Islamic cultural center, according to the New York Post.
Anne Frank Center USA, which runs the museum commemorating Frank's life, currently has museum space in SoHo but had been searching for a larger venue in order to reconstruct Frank's famous "secret annex", the Post reported.
The windows of the museum's new, 2,500 square foot, ground-level location reportedly look onto the proposed Park 51 building.
Museum backers were in negotiations to lease the space for $125,000 a month, the Post reported.
Construction of the Islamic center and mosque has been mired in controversy, with critics protesting the proximity of the proposed community center to Ground Zero and mounting demonstrations against its approval.
Most recently, the center's developers sued Burlington Coat Factory, the former tenants of 45 Park, for allegedly removing signs and damaging the exterior of the building in a malicious move against the mosque.
But officials with the museum told the Post that Park 51 did not factor into their decision.
"We've been working very hard to find a new location that will be more accessible to our exhibits," Hyman Enzer, a board member with the museum, told the paper.
