A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a 9/11 first responder seeking damages for alleged nuisance, infliction of emotional distress and assault arising from the construction of Cordoba House, a planned Islamic cultural center in lower Manhattan. The suit was filed by Vincent Forras, who rents office space, which he says he also uses as a part-time residence, several blocks north of the planned center. The suit targets Cordoba House and the owner of the site. It originally purported to be a class action on behalf of “individuals working, residing, frequenting, visiting and traveling within New York City currently and at the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,” but Forras later withdrew the class allegations.
He alleged the people behind Cordoba House are linked with terrorist groups and that its presence in lower Manhattan was intended as a “return to the ‘scene’ of prior terror attacks…instilling greater terror and severe emotional distress on the populace.”
