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An advocacy group requested that the building glow on Aug. 26 for the centennial of the late Nobel Peace Prize winner’s birth. The request was denied in an unsigned, faxed letter, Donohue said, “and they never gave an explanation.” He said Empire State Building officials were “stonewalling” not only the Catholic League, but also the media and members of New York’s City Council.

An an email to NewYorkology, Anthony E. Malkin of Malkin Holdings, the building’s operator, wrote:

The Empire State Building celebrates many cultures and causes in the world community with iconic lightings, and has a tradition of lightings for the religious holidays of Easter, Eid al Fitr, Hanukah, and Christmas. As a privately owned building, ESB has a specific policy against any other lighting for religious figures or requests by religions and religious organizations

Telephone messages left for building spokeswoman Melanie Maasch were not returned Tuesday. The telephone at Malkin Holdings, Malkin’s Manhattan-based company, rang unanswered late Tuesday afternoon.

In New York, Mother Teresa helped open a pioneering hospice for AIDS patients in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. “Her impact on the world was so much greater than one religious group,” Quinn said.

Meanwhile, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez released a statement saying he and Councilman Peter Vallone plan to introduce a resolution at a City Hall press conference and rally Wednesday calling on the building to honor Mother Teresa.

“Although we may not universally agree on all of her opinions and actions, Mother Teresa was undoubtedly an example of moral fortitude and self-sacrifice that we can all learn from,” said Rodriguez.

Illuminating the 102-story high-rise on Fifth Avenue in different colors to mark an important date, cause or personality is a New York tradition. The building is color-decorated for religious holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah and other special occasions.

“They offer a tribute to the communist Chinese, but say no to Mother Teresa,” said Donohue.

For Mother Teresa, the building would glow in blue and white in the New York night – the colors of her Missionaries of Charity order. Mother Teresa died in 1997, at 87, and was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church – a step toward possible sainthood.

Requesting a lighting display involves filling out an application evaluated by the Empire State Building Co., which is privately owned and considers selection “a privilege, not an entitlement,” according to the website with the application form. A decision is made “at the sole discretion of the (company’s) ownership and management.”

Check out who and what the Empire State Building has honored over Mother Teresa:

The DVD Release for The Simpsons Movie (the color of lighting was yellow)

The 133rd Westminster Dog Show (the colors of lighting were yellow and purple)

Mariah Carey (the colors of lighting were lavender, pink, and white)

The 60th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (the colors of lighting were red, yellow, and red)

The 2010 Salute to Israel Parade (the colors of lighting were blue, white, and blue)

The 800th Anniversary of Cambridge University (the color of lighting was blue)

The 50th Birthday of the Guggenheim Museum (the color of lighting was red)

The 70th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz (the color of lighting was red)

European Union Day (the colors of lighting were blue, yellow, and blue)

Jimmie Johnson Day (the colors of lighting were blue, white, and yellow)

The Grateful Dead’s New York Historical Society Exhibit (the colors of lighting were “psychedelic” tie-dye)

Earth Hour (This year, the lights of the Empire State Building were turned off for an hour, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, on Earth Day)

And currently The Empire State Building was bathed in a sea of ‘Caribbean colours’ from June 8- 10. It was the second consecutive year that the Empire State Building illuminated the sky with yellow, symbolising the warm sunshine (on top), green representing the lushness and swaying palm trees (in the middle), and blue symbolising the Caribbean Sea (on the bottom).

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