An unusually impassioned Mayor Bloomberg said New York struck a blow for religious freedom Tuesday as officials cleared a path for a mosque to arise near Ground Zero.
"We would betray our values and play into our enemies' hands if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else," Bloomberg said on Governors Island, the Statue of Liberty behind him in the distance.
"There is no neighborhood in this city that is off-limits to God's love and mercy."
Almost immediately, angry opponents of the project vowed to sue the city.
Bloomberg spoke after the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted against protecting the 152-year-old building standing in the way of Park51, a planned community center and mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site.
