Metro

Chuck: Bar 9/11 trial from anywhere in NY

Sen. Chuck Schumer said yesterday he’s against holding Sept. 11 terror trials anywhere in New York state — even as the Department of Justice eyes three upstate locations as possible venues.

“At this point, it’s obvious that they cannot have the trials in New York,” said Schumer, the state’s senior Democratic senator.

“I’m familiar with three sites listed upstate. I don’t think any of those could be suitable,” Schumer said.

Government officials won’t discuss which venues are under consideration, but the federal prison in Otisville, the US Military Academy at West Point and the air base at Stewart Airport, outside Newburgh, are all likely options.

Schumer wasn’t specific about the problems with those suggested sites, beyond claiming that residents oppose the trials.

The senator’s comments came a day after reports surfaced that the Obama administration has backed off plans to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four others in federal court, just blocks from Ground Zero.

Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly withdrew their support for the idea, citing security costs. That sent the Department of Justice officials into a frenzied search for a new locale.

Some Republican lawmakers are pressing for the trials to occur at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the military base where Mohammed and his four cohorts are imprisoned.

Schumer yesterday said the administration was exploring all alternatives.

“I have not talked to them about the details of what the alternatives would be, other than the lack of feasibility of doing it in New York. To me, it’s pretty obvious they cannot have these trials here,” he said.

Schumer hasn’t always been so opposed to the idea of terror trials in New York City. His previous complaints about the idea mainly concerned the high security costs.

But he said he decided to follow Bloomberg’s lead and oppose the trials altogether.

“I took guidance from the mayor and the police commissioner. When they came to the conclusion it would be untenable, I backed them up,” he said.

Gov. Paterson, an early opponent of holding the trials in Manhattan, is to meet with US marshals in New York tomorrow to talk about other options. The marshals are in charge of security in federal courtrooms.

The administration is setting aside $200 million to help defray the cost of the trials, wherever they may be held, a congressional aide said. The money will be included in the budget President Obama is to propose tomorrow.

Congress has yet to provide the $100 million sought by the Pentagon to implement Obama’s request to shutter the Guantanamo facility and has imposed restrictions on transferring its detainees onto US soil — except to stand trial.

The White House is anxious to get a trial location settled for Mohammed, sources said. Attorney General Eric Holder, who championed the idea of holding the trials in New York, is being urged to find a solution fast, said one Washington insider.

Rep. Peter King (R-LI) said that if the trials are moved from lower Manhattan, “it would be a direct rebuke of Eric Holder by the White House.”

gotis@nypost.com