Church feels neglected in 9/11 mosque debate

Members of a Greek Orthodox church that was leveled in the World Trade Center collapse are feeling frustrated and forgotten amid the national hubbub about a Ground Zero mosque.

“There’s all this hoopla about the mosque,” said John Couloucoundis, the parish president. “\[But we\] are sitting in limbo.”

The church, which stood on Cedar Street for 85 years, has decamped to a Brooklyn parish while it tries to work out a deal for a new house of worship with the Port Authority. But negotiations with the agency broke down last year after the church refused to receive $20 million in promised funding on installments, Couloucoundis said.

Since then, discussions have gone painfully slow for the 200-member church, with the archdiocese having to step in to restart talks, he said. A PA spokesman did not return requests for comment Tuesday.

“We’re frustrated,” Couloucoundis said. “[Port Authority officials] work in this unpredictable manner.”