The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion has released a new poll of New York residents, showing that Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s approval rating has dropped to 49%.

The New York Post, busily inciting hatred against the Cordoba House project, links this drop to Bloomberg’s stance against bigotry and for religious freedom and the separation of church and state.

Mayor Bloomberg’s popularity rating has dropped to its lowest level in five years, in part because of his ardent defense of a proposed mosque several blocks from Ground Zero, according to a poll released yesterday.

New Yorkers’ approval of their third-term mayor (pictured) dipped to 49 percent, down from 56 percent in April, as 53 percent of those surveyed said they disagree with his position on the mosque, according to the Marist survey.

“The mosque is not doing him any good … He’s certainly on the wrong side of public opinion on that in the city,” said pollster Lee Miringoff, director of Marist College’s Institute for Public Opinion.

Support for violating the US Constitution and depriving American citizens of their rights is especially strong among New York Republicans.

Of the Republicans polled, 74 percent were against building the mosque and an accompanying cultural center near Ground Zero, while half of the Democrats surveyed expressed opposition.

It’s a textbook example of the power of populist demagoguery.

But there’s something the New York Post isn’t telling you. When you take a look at the actual poll’s cross-tabs, you discover something interesting: a clear majority of Manhattan residents — the people who live and work near Ground Zero, and who experienced the 9/11 attacks first hand — support the Cordoba House.