CITY ROOM; Developer Starts to Pay Taxes Owed on Islamic Center Site

Sharif el-Gamal, the real estate developer in the national spotlight over his plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque two blocks from ground zero, took care of a much more mundane task on Wednesday: paying his back taxes. Mr. Gamal walked into a Department of Finance business center at 66 John Street, went to a window and agreed on a plan to pay the more than $200,000 in taxes owed on the lot where the center is planned, said Owen Stone, a spokesman for the agency.