Judge blocks eviction of Ground Zero mosque: A judge ruled that landlord Consolidated Edison cannot boot the Park51 Community Center from its home over $1.7 million in back rent. The ruling gives the developer 20 days to pay up.
Scott Mollen's representation of Consolidated Edison in a rent dispute with a tenant in a Con Ed-owned building is covered here. The story notes that although a Manhattan judge enjoined Con Ed from evicting Park51 Community Center -- better known as the Ground Zero mosque -- from Con Ed-owned property, he ordered that the tenant increase its bond securing back rent almost nine-fold and allowed our client to increase the monthly rent by more than double. The judge did not decide whether Park51 owes $881,000 in back rent, as the tenant claims, or $1.7 million, as we claim on Con Ed’s behalf.