De Niro will build new hotel near to Ground Zero

Hollywood actor Robert de Niro has teamed up with American boutique hotelier Ira Drukier to open a new hotel close to New York's Ground Zero.

De Niro and Drukier have been awarded $39m (£23m) of liberty bonds - tax-free federal aid money earmarked for the reconstruction of New York City's economy in the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks - to build the hotel.

De Niro will also invest an undisclosed amount in the hotel.

The property will be an 80-bedroom, six-storey hotel at 377 Greenwich Street, close to the site where the World Trade Center twin towers once stood. Construction of the hotel is scheduled to begin early next year and is expected to be complete by the end of 2004.

De Niro and Drukier's 337 Greenwich LLC group will manage the hotel when it opens.