ALBANY — Gov. Paterson floated a possible state solution to the Ground Zero mosque fight yesterday — offering public land for the proposed Islamic center farther away from the World Trade Center.
The governor, who backs the mosque, offered surprising support to opponents of the planned center with his suggestion that the state could give the developers land to move the project to a neutral site.
“If the sponsors were looking for property anywhere at a distance that would be such that it would accommodate a better feeling among the people who are frustrated, I would look into trying to provide them with the state property they would need,” Paterson told reporters.
Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook later acknowledged the state must competitively sell state land by bidding, and couldn’t simply “provide” it to a religious group.
He added that the state was not actively looking for a parcel to house the mosque and would not do so unless both sides in the controversy agreed.
Mosque developers declined to comment.
Paterson’s remarks signaled a softening in his steadfast support of the Cordoba Initiative’s mosque proposal.
He said Cordoba has a right to build the mosque, but “it obviously ignites tremendous feelings of anger and frustration.”
One leading mosque opponent, Tim Brown — a retired firefighter and survivor of 9/11 — said the governor’s shift shows politicians are “paying attention” to the opposition.
“The governor is not a stupid man. He’s a politician and he sees the polls,” Brown said. “Five or 10 blocks or 100 blocks [from Ground Zero], I don’t know. In the end, we do not want this mosque built there.”
In Washington, the State Department, which has tapped the imam behind the mosque, Feisal Abdul Rauf, as a foreign envoy, insisted the Obama administration considered the project a local zoning matter for New York.
But spokesman P.J. Crowley acknowledged that the department had posted a transcript of Mayor Bloomberg’s Aug. 3 speech defending the project on a Web site, America.gov, for foreign audiences.
“We thought it was useful for people overseas to understand perspectives on this issue,” Crowley said.