Controversial 'Ground Zero Mosque' Likely to Clear Major Hurdle, Commissioner Says

Aug. 2, 2010— -- A controversial mosque near the site of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center towers is expected to clear a major hurdle despite an outcry from many New Yorkers, some politicians and a major Jewish group.

The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to reject a proposal on Tuesday to landmark a 19th century building that current stands on the site where a Muslim group wants to build a community center that would be home to the so-called "Ground Zero mosque."

Landmarking the building would require the structure be preserved and prevent the Muslim group from tearing it down to make way for its proposed mosque.

Board member Stephen Byrns declined to say how he will vote, but told ABCNews.com he expects the vote to be "overwhelmingly against" landmarking the building.

Byrns said his prediction was based on "a little bit" of conversation with his colleagues on the board "and looking at the issue."

The issue is an old Burlington Coat factory, an Italian Renaissance palazzo building that was erected between 1857 and 1858.

Critics of the proposed mosque claim that having it so close to the site of the terror attack that was carried out by radical Muslims would be insensitive and cruel to the thousands of New Yorkers who lost loved ones when the Twin Towers fell.

Byrns said the board would not be considering "how close is too close" to Ground Zero. It's decision, he said, will be confined to the "historical and architectural significance" of the structure.

The commission's vote would be one of the first major hurdles for the proposed complex, called the Cordoba Initiative, which has been met with fierce resistance from many to its construction plans.

While the Cordoba's plans have become a lightning rod for politicians from Buffalo to Alaska, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it mosque a few blocks away draws worshipers instead of critics.

The Web site of the Masjid Manhattan even includes a disclaimer that it is not affiliated with the Cordoba plans.

"Please be advised that we are by no means affiliated with any other organization trying to build anything new in the area of downtown Manhattan."

"Our members are city, state and federal employees, as well as professional employees of the financial area who come to our Masjid to perform their daily prayers," the statement continued. "Masjid Manhattan and its members condemn any type of terrorist acts."

For more than an hour today, men wearing everything from neatly pressed suits and corporate ID cards to jeans and T-shirts came to pray at Masjid Manhattan. Three women also quietly made their way in, slipping silently into the women's section separated by two thick curtains.

The mosque has operated in the neighborhood for years, moving in 2008 to its cramped basement space after their previous building was sold in 2008 and they were forced out.

New Yorkers told ABCNews.com that the idea of a mosque is not the problem, but the Cordoba Initiatve is just too close to the city's most painful scar and has struck many as insensitive and cruel.

"I don't think they should do it. It's too close," Robert Engel said. "It's a slap in the face."