Saudi King 'in talks to buy disused NY hospital to move mosque away from Ground Zero'

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is said to be in talks to buy the disused St Vincent's Hospital site in New York to move the proposed mosque away from Ground Zero

The King of Saudi Arabia is said to be in talks with New York officials about a plan to move the controversial Ground Zero mosque to a disused medical centre.
Lawyer Dudley Gaffin claims King Abdullah is considering buying St Vincent's Medical Center in the West Village to build an Islamic cultural centre on the site.
Under the proposals, the hospital would also be saved with units shut when it filed for bankruptcy in April reopened, the New York Post reported.
Sources said that Mr Gaffin has come up with the plan in a bid to head off the Rudin Organization, which is trying to buy St Vincent's with a view to constructing luxury housing.
One community leader, who did not want to be identified, told the newspaper: 'He's asking what it would take to put in a bid.
'He says the king wants to do this as a PR move - to save the hospital and move the mosque away from the World Trade Center site.
'He wants to show that Muslims can do good works.'
The former hospital would cost at least $300million - the amount that the Sisters of Charity - which owns the site - owes to creditors GE Capital and TD bank.
Mr Gaffin said the mosque and cultural centre would be built on the site of a former nursing facility on 12th Street.
It is unclear whether he has discussed the idea with Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg.

New site? St Vincent's Medical Center has been disused since it filed for bankruptcy in April

His nephew, Ariel Barkai, confirmed he was friends with a Saudi royal.
He said: 'There were some discussions - somebody's trying to save the hospital.
'But the Saudis never hired us.'
King Abdullah, 87, is in New York recovering from back surgery at the Presbyterian hospital on December 3.
He has previously said he would not get involved in the controversial Ground Zero mosque.

New home? Construction work continues at Ground Zero. The original location for the mosque is two blocks from the former World Trade Center

Anger: The proposed Ground Zero mosque has sparked fury among some Americans, with many saying it insults the victims of the 9/11 attacks

Developer Sharif el-Gamal wants to construct a $100million mosque and Islamic centre two blocks from the Ground Zero site, but the project has become embroiled in mass protests and financial problems.
The St Vincent's site included a 758-bed teaching hospital and most of the people injured in the 9/11 attacks were treated there as the nearest trauma centre.
A fence near the hospital was covered with photographs of victims and it became a meeting point for family and friends of the missing.
Some 2,995 people were killed when terrorists flew two passenger jets into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.

Relocation: Under the plan, the mosque and cultural center would move from near Ground Zero to New York's West Village

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