The Landmarks Preservation Commission held a rather raucous public hearing this afternoon on the proposed designation as an individual landmark of the five-story loft building at 45-47 Park Place Building in TriBeCa.

The building was acquired two years ago and its owner, Cordoba House Initiative, wants to demolish it and erect a Muslim Center.

The building is described by the commission as "a fine example of the Italian Renaissance inspired palazzo that flourished in the former textile and dry goods district on and around Broadway near City Hall Park."

It was partially damaged in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and many speakers at the hearing argued for its designation as a landmark because loved ones they had lost in the terrorist attacks at Ground Zero and one man said he lost 40 percent of his lungs in the attack.

The majority of the audience in the large auditorium at Hunter College at 681 Park Avenue was in favor of designation even though Shelly Friedman, the attorney for the owner, reminded the commission that it had first been considered for inclusion in an historic district in 1989 and had not been found worthy of individual designation and that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer were in agreement that it was no worthy architecturally nor historically as an individual city landmark.

The landmarks committee of Community Board 1 recently voted not to recommend its landmark designation but one of the speakers argued that the landmarks commission should not take a vote until after the full board votes July 27.

Emotions ran pretty high at the meeting and one very tall man wearing an Obama T-shirt was finally asked to leave after two hours of haranguing other witnesses for scape-goating all Muslims in a manner much like the late Senator Joseph McCarthy and an elderly Muslim man was constantly interrupted by a large black woman. Video and still photographers mobbed every speaker as if it were a bloody ringside battle of fisticuffs and elbows.

The building retains much of its historical fabric, cornice and fire escapes, according to the commission, including its original ground-floor Corinthian colonnade cast by Daniel D. Badger & Company.

One speaker described the proposed new building, which would be about 15 stories high, contain community facilities and have a class Muslim facade of geometric abstractions as "a citadel of Islam supremacy," adding that "nothing could be more negative."

One of the calmer speakers was Jay Townsend, a candidate for the Republican nomination for U. S. Senator from New York, who maintained he was the only one of seven candidates for Senate that was in favor of having the building declared a landmark: "We're not really bigots," he declared to a large round of applause.

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday indicated he was against a suggestion by Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio that an investigation be launched into who the $100 million mosque would be paid for, and according to an article today by David Seifman in The New York Post said "I don't think we're going to go and start investigating funding sources for religious organizations or vetting people who preach, pray, in religious organizations.'" Mr. Lazio attended the commission's hearing today and repeated his suggestion that the mosque's funding be examined.

The commission will keep its record on the proposed designation open and its decision is not expected for a few weeks.