Police accused of slowing Freedom Tower construction

Concrete suppliers for the Freedom Tower say construction has been delayed due to excessive police inspections that take up time and cause batches of concrete to harden before they can be used. While concrete safety has been a fraught issue in the city, construction officials say that their materials are fine and that the extra inspections are a form of retribution against the Port Authority, which owns the space and patrols it with separate security officials. “[Police Commissioner] Ray Kelly and Mayor Bloomberg are trying to flex their muscles at the Trade Center site,” Paul Nunziato, the incoming president of the largest Port Authority police union, said of the increased safety patrols. The police commission did not comment on the allegations.