Number Protesting 'Ground Zero Mosque' Opening: Zero

The definition of anticlimactic: Following almost two years of clashes between those who planned the so-called “Ground Zero mosque” and those who protested it, the Park51 Islamic cultural center opened its first exhibition in New York yesterday without incident. Spectators, not protesters, viewed an exhibit featuring photos of New York City children representing 160 ethnicities taken by a Jewish photographer, the New York Daily News reports.

The developer, however, admitted to the AP that “we made incredible mistakes. … The biggest mistake we made was not to include 9/11 families” from the very beginning. Instead, they were consulted only after the center became hugely controversial. Now, at least one 9/11 family member is on the advisory board, and the center will have a 9/11 memorial. “We’re very committed to having them involved in our project,” he says. “We're really listening." (More Park51 stories.)