Metro

9/11 relic is ‘found’ zero: cops

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A piece of landing gear was found wedged behind the “Ground Zero mosque” site — and authorities are investigating whether it came from a plane that slammed into the Twin Towers more than 11 years ago.

The Boeing part was discovered Wednesday in the small space between 51 Park Place — site of the proposed Muslim community center — and a luxury residence at 50 Murray St.

A serial number is “clearly visible,” and the National Transportation Safety Board will attempt to match it to one of the 9/11 flights, but as of last night had not checked the number.

Sources told The Post that might not happen until the part is removed from between the buildings.

A lawyer for the proposed “Park51” mosque claimed the landing gear was planted by opponents of the project — a theory Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said cops would explore.

“We are also looking at the possibility that it was lowered by a rope,” Kelly said.

“We are not ruling it out . . . there’s a rope that is intertwined in the part itself.”

Another piece of rope was found hanging from one of the rooftops. Cops were also suspicious that there were no marks on either wall of the buildings, even though the part is 17 inches wide and the space is 18 inches.

The site is officially a crime scene — and investigators plan to check the crevice Monday for human remains and other evidence from the terror attacks that killed 2,753 people in New York.

The 5-foot-long piece was found on the ground by a survey crew hired by Park51’s developers who spotted it from the roof.

It will not be removed until the area is tested for toxins.

“It looks pretty heavy. I think it will be a challenge getting it out of here,” Kelly said.

It was found in the same area where authorities recovered other aircraft debris from 9/11 — including large sections of fuselage.

Another piece of landing gear crashed through the roof of 43-45 Park Place, which at the time was a Burlington Coat Factory outlet.

A Park51 lawyer called the find a “gimmick” by opponents of the community center.

“I don’t believe it for one minute,” said Adam Leitman Bailey, who represents the project’s lead developer, Sharif El-Gamal.

“I think this is a prank, and there’s no way this all of a sudden showed up. It’s hard to believe they now have found evidence that wasn’t put there recently.”

El-Gamal quickly distanced himself from his longtime real-estate lawyer. “Adam Leitman Bailey has no authority to speak on behalf of Sharif El-Gamal, Soho Properties or Park51,” El-Gamal’s spokesman said.

“We are cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities to make sure this piece of evidence is removed with care as quickly and effectively as possible.”

“It’s crazy [but] it’s logical — it was a big plane, and we are very close to the World Trade Center,” said Khakis Mohideem, who was praying at the building’s mosque yesterday.

Earlier in the day, before the questions arose, Kelly called the piece a “historic artifact.”

“It brings back terrible memories from anyone who was here or anyone who was involved in that event,” he said.

Additional reporting by Larry Celona and Antonio Antenucci