First rebuilt skyscraper near Ground Zero opens for business

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2006

NEW YORK (AFP) — A skyscraper rebuilt from scratch after being badly damaged in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks here opened its doors for business to the sounds of rock singer Lou Reed, who took the opportunity to air a few political jibes.

The 52-story building, 7 World Trade Center, sits on the perimeter of the gaping hole in lower Manhattan known as Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center's twin towers, twice as high, once stood.

Five years on, construction on Ground Zero has barely begun.

Property developer Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder the WTC site, called the inauguration of the new building Tuesday "a day of tremendous pride and satisfaction for me."

Several hundred people turned out to see Silverstein cut the building's red...