What is ground zero today?
It’s a massive, rectangular pit crammed with construction crews, blasting and drilling equipment, and the skeletal beginnings of a handful of buildings. But the enterprise was supposed to be much further along by now. The centerpiece of the 16-acre site in lower Manhattan, the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, originally was scheduled to be completed in 2006, but that building just rose above ground level this past spring. Of the six office buildings planned for the area, one 52-story building across the street from the main site has been completed, but five other buildings are not even close. “At least 15 fundamental issues critical to the overall project”—including basic transportation and security needs—remain unresolved, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, said in a recent report. Officials admit that they’re chagrined at the lack of progress. “It’s time for this international embarrassment to end,” says Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. What’s tak
