Would you buy a used mosque from this man?

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, there's a bit more to the Imam with a Plan who wants to build a 31-story mosque and Islamic cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero. It seems that he's a slumlord well known to the building inspector of Union City: 

"He’s a terrible landlord who’s unresponsive to the residents who live in his building," said [a spokesman for the mayor]. "City officials and inspectors have reached out to him to express the urgency in correcting problems in his buildings, and it’s unfortunate that it’s gotten to this point, but it’s our responsibility to insure that residents receive the care that is needed." 

After being cited repeatedly for fire hazards, and after a fire did break out in one of his buildings, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf did what any good slumlord would do: instead of fixing the mess, he boarded up the building and wouldn't let the tenants back in.

The city is trying to put that building and a neighboring one into receivership, so it can collect rent from the tenants and make needed repairs. I eagerly await the assurances from President Obama, Mayor Bloomberg, and the New York Times that Imam Rauf is just the sort of neighbor that the Freedom Tower should have. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford