A piece of landing gear believed to be from one of the planes destroyed in the Sept 11 attacks has been discovered wedged between the infamous "Ground Zero Mosque" and another New York building.![]()
Debris, thought to be landing gear from one the planes that crashed into the Word Trade Center, has been found in Manhattan
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The building site between Park Place and Murray Street in lower Manhattan where the landing gear was found
The part includes a clearly visible Boeing identification number, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.
The twisted, rusted metal part has cables and levers on it and is about 5 feet tall, 3 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep.
The piece was discovered Wednesday by surveyors inspecting a lower Manhattan Islamic community centre on behalf of the building's owner. The spokesman said the inspectors called police who secured the area as a crime scene, documenting it with photos.
The buildings were at 51 Park Place and 50 Murray Street, about three blocks from the World Trade Center site. 51 Park Place has been the site of a controversial proposed Muslim Community Center, a project critics have branded the "Ground Zero Mosque".
When plans for the mosque and community centre were first announced several years ago, opponents protested that putting a Muslim facility near Ground Zero showed disrespect.
Supporters cited freedom of religion and said it was not too close to the scene of the al-Qaeda attacks.
President Barack Obama has backed plans for the mosque, saying in 2010 that "this is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."
Police said the medical examiner's office will complete a health and safety evaluation to determine whether to sift the soil around the buildings for possible human remains.
Two hijacked planes slammed into the nearby World Trade Center towers in 2001, killing thousands of people.
The part includes a clearly visible Boeing identification number, New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said.
The twisted, rusted metal part has cables and levers on it and is about 5 feet tall, 3 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep.
The piece was discovered Wednesday by surveyors inspecting a lower Manhattan Islamic community centre on behalf of the building's owner. The spokesman said the inspectors called police who secured the area as a crime scene, documenting it with photos.
The buildings were at 51 Park Place and 50 Murray Street, about three blocks from the World Trade Center site. 51 Park Place has been the site of a controversial proposed Muslim Community Center, a project critics have branded the "Ground Zero Mosque".
When plans for the mosque and community centre were first announced several years ago, opponents protested that putting a Muslim facility near Ground Zero showed disrespect.
Supporters cited freedom of religion and said it was not too close to the scene of the al-Qaeda attacks.
President Barack Obama has backed plans for the mosque, saying in 2010 that "this is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."
Police said the medical examiner's office will complete a health and safety evaluation to determine whether to sift the soil around the buildings for possible human remains.
Two hijacked planes slammed into the nearby World Trade Center towers in 2001, killing thousands of people.