Real Estate Mogul Donald Trump has offered to purchase the site where the Park51 Islamic Community Center stands.
A letter dated today was sent to the property owners via email with a statement:
“I am making this offer as a resident of New York and citizen of the United States, not because I think the location is a spectacular one (because it is not), but because it will end a very serious, inflammatory, and highly divisive situation,” Trump wrote to Hisham Elzanaty an owner who has the majority financing over the proposed site.
Building records show that the building at 45 Park Place has sold for $4.85 million in July 2009. Â According to previous statements by Elzanaty, “Develop it, raze it, sell it. If someone wants to give me $18 or 20 million dollars today, its all theirs.”
Elezanaty’s attorney made a public comment claiming Trump’s offer was merely a publicity stunt, calling the offer “laughable” and said it was not a serious one.