More Shouts Than Shovels at 9/11 Ceremony

A groundbreaking ceremony for a Lower Manhattan building raised more dust from officials than it did from the ceremonial shovels.

Brooklyn City Councilman Charles Barron took the podium at the groundbreaking for Fiterman Hall in Lower Manhattan and accused Mayor Bloomberg and other officials of disrespecting him.  City University trustee Jeffrey Wiesenfeld stood up from his seat in the front row, and accused Barron of being disruptive.  The two men shouted at each other for several minutes.

Barron, who chairs the City Council's higher education committee, claimed afterward he was originally seated in the audience instead of on the podium and that students he brought with him were not allowed into the event.  Fiterman Hall is a building at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.  It was damaged on 9/11, condemned, and torn down.  It's being rebuilt for $259 million.