NYC bus ad depicting proposed mosque, burning Twin Towers is approved by transit agency

NY bus ad showing mosque, burning Twin Towers OK’d

NEW YORK — New York City’s transit agency has approved a bus advertisement that depicts a plane flying toward the World Trade Center’s towers as they burn along with a rendering of a proposed mosque near ground zero.

The ad was paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, an organization that opposes radical Islamic influence in the United States. The group’s executive director says she doesn’t find the ad offensive.

The group sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to demand it accept the ad, which was approved Monday.

MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz says the agency doesn’t endorse the ad’s views.

The plan for a mosque just blocks from the World Trade Center site has ignited a national debate about the limits of tolerance and the symbolism of ground zero.