“Does he have some sort of agreement with Con Ed?”
I might be wrong, but I think Con Ed released a statement last week to the effect of they were fine with the mosque going ahead, even before the sale was completed.
Ah, here it is:
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/sept_11/con-ed-ownership-of-mosque-site-may-not-stall-plans-20100809
“Consistent with the law and our core beliefs, we are in the process of selling a property which had once been used as a substation. Under the terms of a 38-year-old lease, the current tenant of our property has rights to use, alter, demolish or renovate the building, as well as purchase the property. He has exercised his option to purchase the property at a price to be set by an independent appraiser. If that party meets the price as set by the appraiser, this transaction will proceed. We are following our legal obligations under the lease. We will not allow other considerations to enter into this transaction. This is New York, a richly diverse city. Con Edison’s values call for respecting people without regard to their racial, ethnic or religious orientation. They are all our customers.”
QUOTE:
“The developers of the controversial mosque proposed near Ground Zero own only half the site where they want to construct the $100 million building, The Post has learned.
One of the two buildings on Park Place is owned by Con Edison, even though Soho Properties told officials and the public that it owns the entire parcel. And any potential sale by Con Ed faces a review by the state Public Service Commission.
“We never heard anything about Con Ed whatsoever,” said a stunned Julie Menin, the chairwoman of Community Board 1, which passed a May resolution supporting the mosque.
UNQUOTE
In my experience a lease allows the holder to do anything it pleases with the property so long as it is returned in the original state (or accepted as better) at the end of the lease.
Abdul has leased the property for about sixty years so I am sure that the mayor, the islamists, muslim-in-chief, and Con Ed, consider it a moot point.
Since the property has been used as a clothing outlet for some time now the likelihood of the utilities commission changing things is simply for show.