DECEMBER

• Farewell to a Marathon icon: Islander Vic Navarra, beloved race starter, succumbs to cancer ... Though he retired from the Fire Department in 1997, Navarra aided in the search for survivors after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. He attributed his cancer to airborne toxins present at the site. Navarra died yesterday at his West Brighton home. He was 55. ... (Staten Island Advance, Dec. 31, 2007)
• Feds Sign Bill Giving $108 Million For 9/11 Workers Health Care ... More than $100 million in federal funding will be used to expand health coverage for September 11th first responders. It's part of an omnibus appropriations bill that President George W. Bush signed Wednesday. The funds, $108 million, will be spent to help sustain existing health programs for emergency workers while the Senate can work on a long-term funding solution. Thousands of people are seeking treatment for illnesses related to the attacks. (NY1, Dec. 27, 2007)
  
• No New Developments for Toxic Downtown Building: The former Deutsche Bank building, severely contaminated on 9/11, was supposed to have been demolished by the end of this year. ... It has been over four months since a fire at the ill-fated vacant tower killed two firefighters. Yet, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation that owns the site is still immersed in negotiations on how to proceed. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver blames the federal EPA. SILVER: We are the victim of the previous mistakes of the federal EPA, who basically does not want to sign off on anything because of their previous mistakes on 9/11. An EPA spokeswoman refuted Silver's charge and the agency won high praise from Congressman Gerald Nadler's office for their work on the 130 Liberty Street project. Meanwhile, a criminal probe continues of the circumstances surrounding last August's fire. For WNYC, I'm Bob Hennelly.OUTRO: Last week, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told a City Council hearing his department had yet to sign off on a plan to move forward. ... (WNYC, Bob Hennelly, Dec. 21, 2007)
• Health Dept Urges World Trade Center Health Registry Enrollees To Complete Follow-Up Survey By December 31 ... (Medical News Today, 20 Dec. 07)
• E.P.A. hasn’t gotten the lead out Downtown, critics say ... Lingering contamination from 9/11 is not a problem, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said after releasing data showing unsafe levels of lead in nine buildings near the World Trade Center. The results came from the E.P.A.’s widely-criticized Lower Manhattan Test and Clean Program, which samples residential spaces on a voluntary basis. The data includes 53 individual apartments and nine building lobbies within 1,500 feet of ground zero. Seventy-one of 904 dust samples had unsafe levels of lead and three dust samples out of 1,142, all from one apartment, had unsafe levels of asbestos. There is no identifier for W.T.C. toxins so the E.P.A. does not know whether the contamination is related to 9/11. ... The tests did not find any asbestos or man-made vitreous fibers in the air and did not find the fibers or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — chemicals formed from burning — in dust samples. U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, one of the leading critics of the E.P.A.’s 9/11 response, denounced the program. “We remain extremely concerned about the limited and flawed nature of the E.P.A. Test and Clean Program,” Nadler said in a statement. “We’re still looking for a comprehensive, scientifically based program.” After residents and elected officials condemned the methods and analysis of the first Test and Clean Program, a panel convened to advise the E.P.A. The W.T.C. Expert Technical Review Panel made a laundry list of suggestions, but the E.P.A. disbanded the panel and continued with the testing. These are the first results released since then. ... “You cannot draw any conclusions [from E.P.A.’s results],” said Dave Newman, industrial hygienist at New York City Occupational Safety and Health. Newman, a member of the Expert Review Panel, sees the data “not as a reflection of what’s out there in the real world, but more as a reflection of the deficiency in methodologies.” One problem is that the E.P.A. study focuses only on residential buildings, and excludes schools, hospitals and businesses, Newman said. The results, therefore, do not represent Lower Manhattan buildings in general. Also, since tenants and building owners enroll in the program by choice, the results are not even representative of all residential buildings, Newman said. Several panel members also criticized the E.P.A.’s benchmarks for contamination. The E.P.A. tested two types of spaces: accessible, such as a living room floor, and infrequently accessed, such as behind a refrigerator. The cleanliness standards are stricter for accessible spaces than infrequently accessed ones, which means that an amount of lead that would trigger a cleanup if found on the kitchen counter would not raise alarm if found under a bed. ... The E.P.A.’s testing methods “are heavily skewed toward testing areas we would expect to be clean, while ignoring areas that would still contain contamination,” said Micki Siegel de Hernandez, health and safety director for Communications Workers of America and a member of the panel. “The plan was a sham.” For Jo Polett, a Tribeca resident, the E.P.A. data brought back memories of its first Test and Clean Program. In 2003, the E.P.A. found five times a safe amount of lead in her 105 Duane St. apartment. Her building, constructed in the late 1980s, contained no lead paint, but four of the eight apartments tested had high levels of lead. To Polett, the message was clear: The contamination in her building is from 9/11. But the E.P.A. tried to link the lead to preexisting conditions, she said. “The data is as good as your sampling and analytical methods,” Polett said. “The results are meaningless.” Polett criticized the E.P.A. for not testing ventilation systems. “There is no such thing as an inaccessible surface,” she said. “People access these surfaces. Airflow accesses these surfaces.” In September, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which investigates and oversees federal programs, released a report critical of the Test and Clean Program. The E.P.A.’s decision not to incorporate some of the expert panel’s recommendations “may limit the overall effectiveness of this program,” the report states. All 10 of the panel members who spoke to the G.A.O. “believe that EPA’s second program is not responsive to the concerns of residents and workers impacted by the collapse of the W.T.C. towers,” according to the report. The G.A.O. also echoed the panel’s concern about the E.P.A.’s plan for responding to contamination after future disasters. “E.P.A. has not developed protocols on how and when to collect data to determine the extent of indoor contamination,” the report states. After hearing the test results, former panel members reaffirmed their concern about future disasters. “If there were ever to be another disaster, we hope that the people in charge do proper air monitoring and testing much earlier on, in order to protect people who live and work in our community,” said Catherine McVay Hughes, chairperson of the C.B. 1 World Trade Center committee. Hughes, who served on the panel, said the current Test and Clean Program is “too little, too late.” ... (Downtown Express, by Julie Shapiro, Dec. 14-20, 2007)
• Senate Approves Additional Funding For 9/11 Workers ... The Senate gave final approval Wednesday to funding health care for September 11th terror attack workers. Lawmakers, including Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, say $108 million in federal funding is being earmarked to address the health issues of first responders on 9/11. This amount will be added to $50 million that was provided in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill earlier this year. The Health Department is also urging adults enrolled in the World Trade Center health registry to complete the follow-up survey by the December 31st deadline. The department says the survey is the best way to monitor their health conditions. (NY1, Dec. 19, 2007)
• Demolition of Former Bank Building Could Be Delayed ... The demolition of one of the last remaining ruins of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, the former Deutsche Bank building, may face more delays after state officials canceled a meeting last week in which some expected a revised deconstruction plan to be presented, sources told the New York Sun. Two months ago, the chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Avi Schick, said he hoped the stalled effort to demolish the building would resume in November. That didn't happen, and now the scarred and toxic structure may have won a reprieve at least until the end of the year. An update posted Thursday on the Web site of a subsidiary agency charged with overseeing the demise of the building at 130 Liberty Street, the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, said: "Decontamintation [sic] work will resume likely by late 2007, once a subcontractor for the work has been secured. A revised deconstruction plan will likely be announced by the end of the year." But some sources involved in downtown development have said they worry the cancellation of a regularly scheduled LMDC board meeting could signal further delays. No official reason was given for the cancellation, sources said. The board must approve a revised plan before demolition can resume. LMDC board meetings were held every month starting in 2002. But this year there have only been five board meetings, with the last one on November 8. ... (NYSun, by Sarah Garland, Dec. 17, 2007)
• Pols, Bravest rally for WTC aid funds ... Lawmakers and firefighters rallied near Ground Zero Saturday to push for treatment centers for World Trade Center responders who live outside of New York - a program that is in jeopardy. The feds called off the search last week for a contractor to process medical reimbursements for those responders, a key step in establishing clinics around the country for workers who fell ill after toiling at the toxic site. Officials said it was canceled because bidders were confused by program requirements and because cost estimates had ballooned. But local lawmakers fear the move shows a lack of commitment by the White House. "The feds are still being dragged to the table to help out 9/11 responders. I think they should be leading the way instead of stepping in the way," said Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I./Brooklyn). Fossella was joined by fellow Congress members Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) and Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) and by the firefighters union in urging the Department of Health and Human Services to reverse its decision. "It smells badly that it is being canceled because of conflicting reasons," said Fossella, adding the HHS had once called the program essential to help ailing 9/11 responders. (Daily News, by Kathleen Lucadamo, Dec. 16, 2007)
  
• FDNY Exploring New Technology To Assist Firefighters ... The FDNY is reportedly looking into some advanced technology to tell firefighters exactly what they're getting into before they enter a burning building. The New York Post says the department wants firefighters to be able to look at blueprints of a building in 3D, either on firehouse computers or on a BlackBerry-style device. The Post says the FDNY is requesting proposals from companies to implement the plan. The department has been focused on getting better information to its members ever since the fire at the former Deutsche Bank building in August. One of the problems firefighters encountered in that deadly blaze was that they didn't know the building's standpipe was broken and that stairwells had been boarded up. (NY1, Dec. 16, 2007)
  
• Lawmakers Protest Cancellation Of Center For 9/11 Health Issues ... Some local lawmakers gathered Saturday to urge the federal government to renew plans for a national processing center to deal with health issues related to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Vito Fossella, and Jerrold Nadler joined advocates for September 11th workers for a protest Saturday afternoon near the World Trade Center site. ... Federal health officials filed paperwork this week scrapping plans to hire a company to set up the center, saying the project could cost about $165 million, far more than the $52 million Congress provided. ... (NY1, Dec. 15, 2007)
  
• Ground Zero Health Program Hits a Setback in Washington ... The future of a national program to provide medical treatment to ground zero workers outside the metropolitan area is in doubt after the federal government abruptly halted the search for a contractor to process medical reimbursements. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention canceled a request late Thursday for proposals to establish a business processing center to help set up and administer a system of clinics around the country to treat workers who have become ill after spending time on the ground zero cleanup. According to Bernadette Burden, a spokeswoman, the Centers for Disease Control said the request for proposals was pulled at the last minute because potential bidders seemed to be confused about program requirements. Ms. Burden said that the agency remained committed to the program, but that she did not know when a revised request could be issued. Dr. James M. Melius, an occupational health specialist who is chairman of the steering committee for the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program, said the cancellation was “a sign of continued confusion and lack of commitment to this program within this administration.” He said the cancellation was especially puzzling because Dr. John Howard, the federal government’s 9/11 health coordinator, had helped develop the plan. The business center would have provided support in recruiting doctors and reimbursing them for treatment they provided to ground zero workers. In addition, Dr. Melius said it would collect financial data on the actual costs of the treatment program, and administer a centralized pharmaceutical benefits plan that would be more cost-effective than the separate prescription plans now in place. The cancellation of the request for proposals does not affect the consortium of health care providers, including Mount Sinai Medical Center and the New York City Fire Department, that already monitor and treat more than 35,000 workers in the metropolitan area. (NYTimes, by Anthony DePalma, Dec. 15, 2007)
  
• Federal Government To Scrap Center For Those With 9/11 Health Issues ... The federal government's decision to cancels plans for a national processing center dealing with health problems stemming from the September 11th terrorist attacks has local lawmakers demanding answers. The Department of Health and Human Services filed paperwork Thursday scrapping plans to hire a company to set up the center, saying it just doesn't have money to cover the $165 million cost of the project. The center was designed to improve various September 11th-related health programs and help victims living outside of the New York area find coverage. Five lawmakers, including Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, sent a letter to the head of HHS asking him to further explain the move. A noon protest is scheduled for Saturday near the World Trade Center site. (NY1, Dec. 14, 2007)
  
• Protecting the homeland ... If New York City is ever in danger of losing homeland security funding, Catherine McVay Hughes, the W.T.C. Committee chairperson, promised the community board’s help to Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler. “If you want C.B. 1 to go down to Washington, we would be delighted to lobby on your behalf,” a smiling Hughes told Skyler at the W.T.C. meeting. The funding cut would be an “extraordinary act of negligence on the president’s part,” Skyler said, but he assured C.B. 1 that the new emergency notification system is not dependent on those funds. (Downtown Express Undercover, Dec. 14- 20, 2007)
• Grand Jury.. .. And speaking of the Aug. 18 deadly fire at 130 Liberty St., District Attorney Robert Morgenthau plans to convene a grand jury soon to seek indictments in the case, a source briefed on the investigation told UnderCover. The source did not say who will be the jury’s target or targets. Prosecutors have been looking closely at the private contractors as well as government officials responsible for either the building’s fire plan or for hiring John Galt Corp., a firm with alleged mob ties. (Downtown Express Undercover, Dec. 14- 20, 2007)
• DEUTSCHE BANK STILL IN STRIFE ... Nearly five months after the inferno at the former Deutsche Bank building killed two firefighters, the FDNY's safety recommendations haven't been followed and work cannot resume, officials said yesterday. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said the FDNY has not "signed off" on the project - a major obstacle in finally demolishing the ugly reminder of 9/11. "We are not going to get into too much of this, but I can say concerns are being addressed," Scoppetta said after a City Council hearing yesterday on the FDNY's new building-inspection program. After the Aug. 18 blaze at 130 Liberty St. it emerged that the FDNY failed to conduct regular inspections of the building. As a result, the department increased its weekly inspections citywide and also stationed a battalion chief at the former bank building full-time. Avi Schick, the embattled chief of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., said in October that work to remove the remaining 27 floors of the abandoned building would resume last month. Schick has yet to publicly set a new date. Sources say wrangling between the LMDC, the state agency in charge of the project, and its contractor, Bovis Lend Lease, is causing delays... (NYPost, by Chuck Bennett, Dec. 13, 2007)
• More remains found in WTC excavation ... City officials completed the excavation of the World Trade Center area this week, recovering 1,772 human remains, but vowed to continue searching as they rebuild the site. "At no point in the near future would it be prudent to declare this search 'over,'" Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler, who is overseeing the effort, wrote to Mayor Bloomberg Tuesday. But the city will close its year-old recovery facility on Water St. in Brooklyn and replace it with a mobile unit that will be deployed to the site when something suspect is seen. "I don't have faith that they're doing this search in a thorough way," said Diane Horning, whose son Matthew was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. "In anthropological searches, they use toothbrushes and paintbrushes to find remains, not bulldozers." The roving unit will include two tractor-trailers for sifting remains, a flatbed and a smaller trailer, Skyler said. The medical examiner's office will keep workers at the site to flag any remains found during rebuilding efforts. The city widened its search of Ground Zero and surrounding streets in October 2006 after 80 bones were uncovered in a buried Con Edison manhole. The remains, often small bone fragments, were found at 130 Liberty St., 55 Church St., 130 Cedar St., Fiterman Hall and other places. The medical examiner's office, which finished its search Monday, also has unearthed 602 remains in the Haul Road area. Just yesterday, the office announced that another victim had been identified by remains found at Haul Road, but a name was not released. Of the 2,750 who died during the Trade Center attacks, there are 1,133 people whose remains still haven't been identified. The search cost $38 million, $8 million more than the city had budgeted. (NYDailyNews, by Kathleen Lucadamo, Dec. 12, 2007)
  
• Council Holds Hearing On Deutsche Bank Fire ... The city’s top fire official testified today about the FDNY's new building inspection program implemented in the wake of this summer’s fatal blaze at the former Deutsche Bank building. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told lawmakers that the new procedures have not slowed down fire response times, despite claims to the contrary by the fire union. The new program adds three hours of fire inspection a week, bringing inspection time up to nine hours. "Results in the system have been outstanding, as of yesterday, December 11th more than 97 percent of FDNY inspections of these buildngs were done within the mandated 15 days," said Scoppetta. "Compliance exceeded 99 percent within 20 days. The Uniformed Fire Officers Association and the Uniformed Firefighters' Association say Scoppetta's numbers are not to be trusted because they say the city has only been looking at results from November. Instead, unions are continuing to push for a building inspection task force. ...(NY1, Dec. 12, 2007)
  
• Boehner Endorses 'Emergency' Spending ... There's also $146 million for a Bush administration cybersecurity initiative, $195 million to replace the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis, $100 million to provide security for next year's political conventions, and $57 million to provide health care for workers harmed at the World Trade Center. ... (AP/USA Today, by Andrew Taylor, 12/12/07)
  
• Lawmaker Pushes For Those Killed From 9/11-Related Illnesses ... State Senator Eric Adams met with top city officials Wednesday afternoon to propose legislation that would require the medical examiner to list 9/11 as the cause of death on the death certificates of workers who died from illnesses developed after the attacks. ... "We believe that the 9/11 emergency responders are heroes and that their illnesses and their deaths that have occurred, and unfortunately the many that will occur in the future, are related to 9/11," said civil rights attorney Norman Siegel. The city does not support Adams' plan. It does, however, want to honor fallen workers. Adams says he'll hold off on introducing his legislation while discussions on the matter take place. (NY1, Dec. 12, 2007)
  
• Deputy Mayor Says Search For Remains At WTC Site Mostly Done ... (NY1, Dec. 12, 2007)
  
• NYC Shuts 9/11 Remains Sifting Facility ... The city has closed a facility where debris was sifted for Sept. 11 victims' remains, but the search won't end until after the World Trade Center site is rebuilt, a city official said Tuesday. Ongoing construction around ground zero — including the dismantling of a toxic skyscraper that caught fire in August — could put off a complete search of areas believed to contain human remains for years, according to a memo by Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler. "At no point in the near future would it be prudent to declare this search `over,'" Skyler wrote to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The discovery of more than 80 bones in a manhole at ground zero in October 2006 prompted an expanded search of nearby rooftops, manholes and sewer lines for bone fragments of victims of the terrorist attacks. Hundreds of bones were found beginning in 2005 at the former Deutsche Bank tower across from the trade center site. The city has found 1,772 bones and fragments so far. Seven victims have been identified from bones found in a service road at ground zero and on the roof of the bank building, Skyler said. More than 1,100 of the trade center victims have not been identified from the thousands of remains found after the attack. The medical examiner's office finished work Monday at a facility opened last year to hand-sift debris from around ground zero, but it will use a tractor-trailer and other equipment to continue sifting remains, Skyler said. ... (AP, by Amy Wesfeldt, Dec. 12, 2007)
  
• Pollution bills proposed in wake of asthma report ... City Councilmember Alan Gerson can’t reverse the effects of 9/11 on Downtown children’s health, but he’s trying to help them breathe a little easier. In new legislation announced last week, Gerson unveiled a five-prong attack on diesel fumes, a lung irritant and carcinogen that can worsen the symptoms of children who developed respiratory problems after 9/11. “Unfortunately, we cannot undo past exposures,” Gerson said. “But we can prevent new exposures, and over time we can begin to compensate.” Gerson’s proposal came right after the Health Department announced that children who were in Lower Manhattan on 9/11 were more likely to develop asthma. The survey of 3,100 children enrolled in the World Trade Center Heath Registry showed that 6 percent received an asthma diagnosis after 9/11. Those children who were caught in the dust cloud on 9/11 were twice as likely to be diagnosed with asthma as those who were not in the dust cloud. “This legislation would be good policy with or without the [Health Department] report,” Gerson said. “But it’s imperative policy when you’re talking about a susceptible population.” Diesel fumes are like mold or secondhand smoke: bad for everyone, but especially toxic for people with asthma, Gerson said. His legislation would require construction site vehicles and machinery to use Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel fuel, a less toxic version of standard diesel fuel. Many agencies and developers doing large construction projects in Lower Manhattan are already using the low sulfur vehicles under a voluntary agreement. The requirement would apply to all construction sites, an extension of Local Law 77; the Staten Island Ferry and all private ferries; portable generators used in outdoor movie shoots; and all buses, including those that travel long-distance. A final bill would require air monitoring at street level, especially near parks, playgrounds and other places with high asthma rates. “It’s nice to hear something positive, a creative solution,” said Catherine McVay Hughes, chairperson of the C.B. 1 World Trade Center Committee. “Prevention is always better than treatment.” ... Kimberly Flynn, head of 9/11 Environmental Action, is concerned that the Health Department is over-emphasizing the effects of being in the dust cloud, especially since people mean different things when they refer to the dust cloud. Lots of people who were not in the dust cloud are now sick, Flynn said. She is worried that the focus on the dust cloud is “sending [people who were not in the dust cloud] a message that they aren’t sick from the World Trade Center,” she said. Residents with lingering symptoms that are not asthma, like reflux or sinus problems, may not link their illness to 9/11, said Ann DeFalco, chairperson of the Southbridge Towers Parent and Youth Association. “They’re not putting it together,” DeFalco said. “We have to better educate our residents on what these pulmonary concerns are, outside of asthma.” Poor air quality isn’t the only thing that causes asthma, said Dr. Lisa Kaufman, a pediatrician on 12th St. The clothing children wear, the toys they play with and the dyes in their processed foods all put children at risk. The study may represent “the tip of the iceberg” in terms of 9/11 effects, Kaufman said. She expects long-term effects to crop up in the future. But she would not say if she suspected any of her patients got asthma as a result of W.T.C. exposure. At a recent meeting of the World Trade Center Health Registry, hundreds of people packed Pace University’s auditorium with questions about their illnesses and where to get treatment, said C.B. 1’s Hughes. “It’s amazing that six-and-a-half years later there are still all these unanswered questions related to the health impact of 9/11,” she said. She urged people to contact the W.T.C. Environmental Health Center at Bellevue Hospital, where residents can go for treatment and prescriptions. ... (Downtown Express, by Julie Shapiro, Dec. 7-13, 2007)
• Under Cover: How low can he go? ... While telling UnderCover about the dangers of breathing 9/11 dust, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver put a personal spin on the effects. “Sometimes I think my voice is lower,” the distinctively deep-voiced politician said. And when Silver catches a cold, “it lingers as a result of my own personal exposure [on 9/11].” (Downtown Express, December 7 - 13, 2007)
• City about to begin emergency contact plan Downtown ... Nearly four months after the fatal fire at the Deutsche Bank building, the mayor’s office announced an emergency notification plan called Notify N.Y.C. In Lower Manhattan, one of four pilot regions, people who sign up will receive a text message and an e-mail in an emergency. ... The system will send “alerts,” which recommend an action, and “notifications,” which are informational. Anyone can sign up at www.nyc.gov, and messages will begin going out Dec. 10. The trial program will last until next summer and cost the city $700,000. ... The notification plan will be especially important during the demolition of the former Deutsche building at 130 Liberty St. and Fiterman Hall, Silver said. “When we start destructing buildings again, we want Downtown notification to be in place,” he said. ... “This is really a wonderful day, with the mayor’s office announcing this bold move,” Catherine McVay Hughes, chairperson of the C.B. 1 World Trade Center Committee, said in a telephone interview. “It’s important for people to sign up, so any kinks can get worked out.” Hughes plans to sign up both herself and her two children. Her 16-year-old son already has a cell phone, and the new notification plan means that she will be buying her 12-year-old son a cell phone, too. “It’s really important that they stay in touch,” Hughes said. Hughes is especially interested in reverse 911, a call sent out to all phones on a list, which will be tested in parts of the Bronx and Staten Island. “If the pilot for reverse 911 works for other areas, I hope it will implemented in Lower Manhattan as well,” Hughes said. The mayor’s office is also exploring cell broadcasting, which would send messages to cell phones based on their location and would not require people to sign up in advance, a representative said. For example, tourists visiting Lower Manhattan would receive a text message during an emergency, even if they’d never heard of the notification program. Cell broadcasting is not part of the trials. Menin has advocated a community notification plan for several years, but “The [Lower Manhattan Development Corp.] was not responsive,” she said. She suggested to the L.M.D.C. many of the measures the city is now implementing, and kicked efforts into even higher gear after the fire at 130 Liberty St. in August that killed two firefighters. ... (Downtown Express, by Julie Shapiro, December 7 - 13, 2007)
• Court weighs 9/11 lawsuit ... The plaintiffs claim Whitman and the EPA failed to follow federal laws mandating they take responsibility for the cleanup of hazardous substances in buildings and homes by delegating that to the city, which was ill-equipped for such a project. They want Whitman to pony up for the area’s cleanup and fund a medical monitoring program for those exposed to 9/11-related toxic dust — a move that would bankrupt her. Whitman’s statements were made with “reckless indifference to the truth,” the plaintiffs’ lawyer Sherrie Savett told the judges. “The EPA evacuated and professionally cleaned their own office at 290 Broadway, but knowingly led residents, students and office workers into the snake pit.” Savett acknowledged that the remedy being sought was without precedent, but so were the circumstances, she said. Dept. of Justice attorney Alisa Klein said holding Whitman liable will set a dangerous precedent: “The consequence would be a default to silence. If you speak, you will be potentially held liable. Then the clear message for government officials is to say nothing.” A different federal judge granted Whitman immunity in a lawsuit filed by Ground Zero recovery workers (who are appealing). U.S Rep. Jerrold Nadler said after the hearing the legal issues were different in that case where the government had a “competing consideration” to get the cleanup completed. A decision is expected in a few weeks. ... (Metro, by Amy Zimmer, Dec. 11, 2007)
• WHITMAN: CUT ME OUT OF 9/11 SUIT ... Former EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman is asking a federal appeals court to give her a pass for downplaying post-9/11 dangers from toxic dust near the World Trade Center site - and to remove her name from a lawsuit by downtown residents and workers. Lawyers for Whitman yesterday argued that holding her personally liable for misleading the public about the air quality in the wake of the terror attacks in an attempt to prevent panic would gag public officials in times of crisis. It would send the message that "if you speak, you will be potentially held liable. Then the clear message for government officials is to say nothing," lawyer Alisa Klein said at a hearing in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. But lawyers for lower Manhattan residents, their children and workers said silence would have been far better than Whitman's false assurances. ... (NYPost, Dec. 11, 2007)
• Government's Post-9/11 Actions Questioned ... An attorney for the federal government, Alisa Klein, said holding Ms. Whitman liable would encourage other officials to be silent in the wake of future emergencies. "If government officials could be made personally liable, the consequence would be a default to silence," Ms. Klein said. "If you speak, you will be potentially held liable. Then the clear message for government officials is to say nothing." That point did not seem to impress one of the judges on the panel, Jon Newman. "There's an important government interest in a false reassurance, seems to be what you are saying," Judge Newman said. "There may be," Ms. Klein responded. In the weeks following September 11, Ms. Whitman maintained the air was not safe at ground zero, but was fine in surrounding areas. Scientists with the EPA have said they still do not have conclusive data to support those statements. Rep. Jarold Nadler, a Democrat of Manhattan whose congressional district includes Lower Manhattan, attended the oral arguments and said later that given a choice of lies or silence from the federal government, he would prefer silence. "If Christine Todd Whitman had said nothing, people would have used their own sense of self-preservation to make decisions for themselves to keep free from harm," Mr. Nadler said. "People trusted the government, and by extension may have made decisions that put themselves in harms' way." ... (The NY Sun, by Sarah Portlock , Dec. 11, 2007)
  
• Christie Whitman lied about Ground Zero air quality, 9/11 victims' lawyers say ... Christie Whitman lied about air quality after the 9/11 attacks and should have to pay for medical monitoring and a cleanup, lawyers for lower Manhattan residents told an appeals court Monday. The lawyers urged a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court decision declaring the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency can be held personally responsible for her deceptive comments. Five days after the attacks, Whitman told reporters, "The good news continues to be that air samples we have taken have all been at levels that cause no concern." In their class-action suit, residents, workers and students living around Ground Zero say they relied on Whitman's comments in deciding whether to return to an area coated with dust from the twin towers' collapse. "If she had not said this, they probably would have made their own decision," Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) said after the hearing. "She was telling people it was safe when she knew damn well it wasn't." Manhattan Federal Court Judge Deborah Batts suggested in a February 2006 ruling that Whitman's comments were irresponsible. A Justice Department lawyer warned the appeals panel that if Whitman can be held personally responsible, public officials will remain mum after future disasters. "The consequence would be a default to silence," lawyer Alisa Klein said. "If you speak, you will be potentially held liable. Then the clear message for government officials is to say nothing." (NYDaily News, by Thomas Zambito, December 11, 2007)
• Hillary Clinton: Aid sick 9/11 workers ... Sen. Hillary Clinton and New York area lawmakers have added $109 million in health care for sick Ground Zero workers as part of a massive spending bill that faces an uncertain future in a budget standoff between Democrats and the White House. The money for treating Ground Zero workers - double the amount provided in an earlier emergency spending bill - was wrapped into a $500 billion-plus spending bill the Democratic-controlled Congress is working on. President Bush already has threatened to veto it. As a senator, Clinton (D-N.Y.) has pushed for years for the government to provide a long-term health care program for those sickened from their work at the toxic World Trade Center debris pile following the 2001 terrorist attacks. As a presidential hopeful, she has highlighted her work on the issue. "Today's announcement marks another step toward addressing those enduring wounds," Clinton said. The prior year's budget provided $50million to help maintain such health programs, most of which are based in the New York City area. The White House on Saturday threatened a veto, saying it's unacceptable to add billions of dollars to domestic programs. The bill contains $11 billion above President Bush's February budget, awarding the money to domestic programs such as education and health research. Clinton urged the President not to follow through on his veto threat. "The New Yorkers and the responders from across the country who came to our aid have suffered enough without being caught in the middle of a political squabble," she said. (NYDaily News/AP, Dec. 11, 20007)
• Arguments Begin In WTC Dust Federal Lawsuit ... Oral arguments began Monday in a federal lawsuit about whether the EPA knowingly failed to protect the public's health from toxins released by the World Trade Center collapse. A government lawyer told a U.S. District Court judge that former EPA head Christine Todd Whitman can't be held liable for statements she made about the air quality after the attacks. Residents and workers in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn are suing Whitman, saying she lied when she said the air around the Trade Center site was safe to breathe. Whitman's lawyer says holding her liable will have a chilling effect on future government officials. The judge declined to immediately rule in the case. (NY1, Dec. 10, 2007)
  
• Congress seeks more treatment for 9/11 workers in spending bill . Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York area lawmakers have added $109 million in health care for sick ground zero workers as part of a massive spending bill that faces an uncertain future in a budget standoff between Democrats and the White House. The money for treatment of ground zero workers _ double the amount provided in an earlier emergency spending bill _ was wrapped into a $500-billion-plus spending bill being finalized by the Democratic Congress, one that the White House has already threatened to veto. As a senator, Clinton has pushed for years for the government to provide a long-term health care program for those sickened from their work at the toxic World Trade Center debris pile following the 2001 terrorist attacks. As a presidential candidate, she has highlighted her work on the issue. "Today's announcement marks another step toward addressing those enduring wounds," Clinton said in a statement. The new spending was pushed by lawmakers from New York and New Jersey. (Newsday, by Devlin Barrett, Dec. 10, 2007)
  
• Opinions: 9/11 HEALTH HYPE: MEDIA'S BOGUS ASTHMA SCARE ... The Health Department acknowledged that its new study is fraught with biases - but just about every media outlet hyped and misreported the report in a rush to validate yet another class of victims. Biases? For starters, the survey examined a "self-reported" group of children. In other words, it included only kids whose parents volunteered them. That virtually guaranteed that the report would find an "elevated" number of children with asthma - any kid that didn't have symptoms was less likely to be part of the study. Another complication: Anyone exposed directly to 9/11 dust was more likely to get medical attention - which means that pre-existing asthma cases were more likely to be detected. (That those cases didn't go undiagnosed is no bad thing - but they don't tell us anything about whether 9/11 dust caused asthma.). Finally, as DOH admits, exposure to dust may have exacerbated pre-existing, undiagnosed cases of asthma. ... (NYPost, by Jeff Stier, Dec. 7, 2007)
  
• 9/11 toxins tied to NYPD sergeant Michael Ryan's death .... Two doctors who treated an NYPD sergeant said the fatal cancers that riddled his body were likely caused by his exposure to toxins at the Fresh Kills landfill. Sgt. Michael Ryan, 41, died Nov. 5 from three different forms of aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - the kinds of blood cancers that independent doctors monitoring Sept. 11 responders warned could be the "third wave" of sickness caused by exposure at Ground Zero and the landfill. The 20-year NYPD veteran and father of four had thought nothing of working 80-plus-hour weeks at the landfill in the aftermath of the Sept.11 attacks. He was diagnosed with his first cancer in May 2006. His doctors at North Shore Long Island Jewish and the University Hospital said they believed the prolonged exposure to volatile organic compounds cataloged at Ground Zero caused the cancer. A medical panel will rule on whether Ryan's death was 9/11-related. ... (NYDaily News, by Alison Gendar, Dec. 6, 2007)
  
• In Trial Run, City to Send Notification of Disasters ... Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Community Board 1 has been pressuring local officials to implement a notification system that would alert people in the event of an emergency and tell them what actions to take. Yesterday, the city announced it will start a pilot program on Monday that will deliver alerts by text messages, e-mail messages and phone calls, warning about flooding, chemical spills and other emergencies to anyone who signs up. ... (NYTimes, by Fernanda Santos, Dec. 5, 2007)
  
• 'Notify NYC' reverse-911 plan will keep New Yorkers informed in emergencies ... (NY Daily News, by Adam Lisberg, Dec. 4-5, 2007)
• City Tests E-Mail, Text Message Alerts ... The city is launching a pilot email, text message, and reverse 911 program in Lower Manhattan, the northeast Bronx, the Rockaways, and southwest Staten Island to alert residents about emergencies and advise them about incoming coastal storms or power outages. New Yorkers can register for the service at www.nyc.gov, and alerts will start going out on Monday. During his 2005 reelection campaign, Mayor Bloomberg promised to work with cell phone carriers to provide emergency notifications and information through text messaging. The push for the emergency notification system grew after a fire at the former Deutsche Bank building in August. Lower Manhattan residents said they would have felt safer after the fire if they had received information about what to do from the city. (NYSun, Dec. 5, 2007)
  
• Shame on You about Captive Insurance Co. ... (My Fox, Dec. 4, 2007)
• City testing new alert system for emergencies ... After a state-run e-mail alert system failed to notify downtown residents about a deadly fire in a contaminated building, the city is testing a new emergency notification system in four neighborhoods, including lower Manhattan. Called Notify NYC, the new system will test a variety of methods of notifying the public of emergencies, including e-mails, text messages and reverse 911 calls in lower Manhattan, the northeast Bronx, the southern section of Staten Island and the Rockaways in the Queens. E-mail alerts and text messages will be tested in lower Manhattan and the Rockaways, while e-mail alerts and reverse 911 calls will be tested in Staten Island and the Bronx. Anyone can sign up for the service, but alerts will be limited to information about the four targeted neighborhoods. The $750,000 pilot program will begin on Monday and last six months, city officials said. The city hopes to enroll a total of 100,000 people in the pilot. "We wanted a diverse array of neighborhoods, so we could see all types of emergencies," said Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler. "One thing we know is that anything can happen in New York." Lower Manhattan residents, who have been calling for an e-mail alert system for at least the past two years, demanded better community notification after the Aug. 18 fire at the former Deutsche Bank building. The state-run Lower Manhattan Development Corp. operated a lower Manhattan e-mail alert system, but that system failed to notify residents because the Deutsche Bank fire happened on a weekend, when the agency is closed. (NYNewsday, by Karla Schuster, Dec. 4, 2007)
• Pols Push Bill To Clarify Classification Of 9/11-Related Deaths ... Lawmakers joined World Trade Center site recovery workers and victims families for a protest outside of the city medical examiner's office Sunday to announce that they will push for legislation that would clarify the city's position regarding the deaths of September 11th first responders. ... (NY1, Dec. 4, 2007)
• Feds Probe Sept. 11 Insurance Fund ... Federal officials said Monday they will investigate why a $1 billion Sept. 11 insurance fund created by Congress to cover claims of sick ground zero workers is fighting the cases in court rather than distributing money. The World Trade Center Captive Insurance Company has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress and the federal government, as roughly 8,000 individual claims await judgment in the federal court system. The inspector general for the Homeland Security Department indicated Monday he intends to examine the issue, telling Congress in a report that his inquiry will determine why the insurance company "has chosen to litigate all claims instead of settling whenever possible." The inspector general's review will also determine "what procedures have been established to receive, review and pay medical, hospital, surgical and disability benefits to injured persons," as well as benefits to the relatives of those killed. The $1 billion insurance company has also been challenged by Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Arlen Spector, R-Pa., the chairman and ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Such questions have put lawyers for New York City on the defensive, since the city and some construction contractors are protected by the program. The top lawyer for the city, Michael Cardozo, has defended the company as "an insurance company, not a compensation fund" and argued that as such, it is obliged to defend legal claims. A spokeswoman for the city's law department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening about the inspector general's inquiry. In July, attorneys for the thousands of workers who say they were sickened after working to clean up the site went to court to demand the insurance company spend the money on their health care. The insurance company, once an afterthought of the $20 billion post-Sept. 11 aid package for New York, has taken on increasing importance amid mounting complaints that those who worked on the toxic debris pile need long-term health care. Many of the health complaints center around lung problems attributed to the dust, fumes and debris at the site. Some advocates for those workers, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., have estimated it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars a year to provide medical care for those workers. The city's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has urged Congress to redirect the captive insurance company money to create a new compensation fund for sick workers, and give the city and the contractors immunity from such lawsuits. (AP, by Devlin Barrett, Dec. 3, 2007)
• Toxic dust death outrage: Medical examiner’s ruling not to include cop as 9/11 victim protested ... KIPS BAY. Police Officer James Godbee began working at Ground Zero two days after the 9/11 attacks, but because of that delay his name won’t be added to the official victims’ list. Yesterday, protesters gathered outside the city medical examiner’s office demanding Godbee’s death be properly recognized. When the officer died in December 2004 at age 44, after hundreds of hours directing traffic near Ground Zero, his death was attributed to sarcoidosis, a disease that scars the lungs and has been linked to the breathing of toxic dust. In a letter made public last week, Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch declined to rule Godbee’s death a homicide. “All persons killed at the [WTC] on Sept. 11, 2001, and others who died later from complications of injury or exposure directly caused by the collapse of the twin towers on that day are homicide victims,” Hirsch wrote. “Mr. Godbee’s manner of death will remain ‘natural.’” ... (Metro, by Joshua Rhett Miller, Dec. 3, 2007)
• Legislation requiring details of 9/11 rescue worker deaths to be introduced ... A state lawmaker will introduce legislation this week that will require the city medical examiner to provide a detailed description of the causes of death of rescuers who worked at Ground Zero after 9/11. State Sen. Eric Adams hopes the new law will compel the medical examiner to link the deadly illnesses suffered by first responders to breathing in World Trade Center dust, clearing the path for them to be listed as official victims of 9/11. The move comes a week after the Daily News demanded that Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Hirsch examine the deaths of cops, firefighters and paramedics who arrived at the disaster site in the days after the terror attacks. "We still hear the voices and pain of those that did not die on 9/11, but died after and will die in the future," said Adams (D-Brooklyn) at a rally yesterday in front of the city medical examiner's office. "My bill would allow the medical examiner to list those who worked on Ground Zero on 9/12 and after as victims of 9/11." ... "People who are ill are vilified rather than granted mercy," said a tearful Donna Michaels, whose husband, NYPD Detective Thomas Michaels is on terminal leave, suffering from breathing and brain disfunction after she said he logged more than 400 hours of work at Ground Zero. ... (NYDaily News, by Tamer El-Ghobashy, Dec. 3, 2007)
• First Responders Say City Ignoring Fallen Heroes .... (wcbstv, Dec. 2, 2007)
  
• Demonstrators To Protest 9/11 Related Deaths Outside M.E.'s Office ... A protest is planned today over the classification of some 9/11 related deaths, one day after an EMS worker who took part in the recovery at the World Trade Center was laid to rest. A group is set to protest at the medical examiner's office today arguing some deaths in the wake of the terror attacks have been misclassified. On Saturday, a funeral service was held on Staten Island for Lieutenant Brian Ellicott. He died last Monday of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, after being diagnosed just three months before. His union and other mourners believe Ellicott's death is a direct result of his work at the World Trade Center site. A claim for Ellicott's family to receive worker's compensation was not approved. The FDNY says that's because it was submitted incorrectly. The department says the family is eligible to reapply in his name. (NY1, Dec. 2, 2007)
• EMS Worker Who Spent Hundreds Of Hours At WTC Site Is Laid To Rest ... An EMS worker who spent more than 100 hours at the site of the World Trade Center following the September 11th terrorist attacks was laid to rest. ... The 14-year veteran of the FDNY had his worker’s compensation claim denied by the city's Law Department. .... (NY1, Dec. 2, 2007)
  
• CITY BEGINS MAJOR 9/11 CANCER STUDY ... The city Health Department has launched a sweeping study - the first of its kind - of cancers among 9/11 responders and thousands of others who lived or worked near the World Trade Center. "We're starting to look at all cancers now. It's a high priority," said Lorna Thorpe, the department's deputy commissioner for epidemiology. "There's reason for concern," Thorpe said, because of known carcinogens in Ground Zero dust and smoke such as benzene, asbestos, silica, and chemicals emitted in fires. The study aims to identify all cancers among 71,000 people in the city's WTC Health Registry, including Twin Towers survivors and nearby office workers, lower Manhattan residents, kids, school staff, and 31,000 rescue, recovery and cleanup workers. The study is already zeroing in on blood cancers - leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma - which can develop in two to 10 years, sooner than most tumor cancers. Blood cancers recently killed two 9/11 heroes. A funeral was held in Staten Island yesterday for FDNY emergency medical service Lt. Brian Ellicott, 45, a father of two who died Tuesday of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. NYPD Sgt. Michael Ryan, 41, a father of four, died of the same disease Nov. 19. (NYPost, by Susan Edelman, Dec. 2, 2007)
  
• Little Evidence Of Toxins In EPA Tests Near WTC Site ... Only three out of 1,142 asbestos samples exceeded safe levels, and while 71 out of 904 lead samplings found excessive levels, EPA spokeswoman Mary Mears said this was most likely due to the prevalence of lead paint in New York City buildings. Mears said the agency is not drawing definitive conclusions from the results because it does not meet the standards of a scientific study. “At the same time it does give us some information,” Mears said. “It confirms our initial impression that the internal contamination from Sept. 11 is minimal. But we are going to continue with the testing program, working outwards from the site.” All told, 272 residents and 25 building owners in Lower Manhattan have asked to take part in the EPA testing program. But some community and labor representatives maintain that the EPA’s data is useless. Community Board 1 member Catherine McVay-Hughes, who sat on the advisory panel that roundly criticized the EPA’s testing regime two years ago, said she is not reassured by the testing data. “The EPA’s test and clean plan was controversial, and so are its results,” she said. “I’m not surprised by the results just because of the way the plan was structured. But I’m certainly not reassured.” Micki Siegel De Hernandez, a health and safety director for the Communication Workers of America who also sat on the EPA advisory panel, agreed. “We knew from the way the testing was designed that it was guaranteed that they would find very little,” she said. “Workplaces were not included in the testing, so we have no information about the safety of workplaces.” De Hernandez said even the residential testing program is flawed, focusing on testing areas that are likely to have already been cleaned while ignoring the areas most likely to be contaminated. “This program was geared to find nothing. It allows the EPA to walk away,” she said. “That’s troublesome for New York, but it’s especially bad if it becomes the model going forward for dealing with future contamination disasters.” (Tribeca Trib, by Nick Pinot, Dec. 1, 2007)
• No Date Set to Resume Deconstruction of Deutsche Bank Building ... No date has been set for deconstruction to resume at the former Deutsche Bank building, more than three months after a fatal fire there. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has this update. REPORTER: The 41 story 9/11 ruin was supposed to be demolished by the end of next month. At the time of the August fire, 26 floors still remained. Now the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which owns the site, is mired in negotiations with regulators on how to deal with the fire damage. Peter Levenson is an adjacent landowner and says it is taking too long. LEVENSON: Its a reminder of everything that is wrong with the process and everything that went wrong. And it is so unfortunate this has not been done. REPORTER: Once the site is clear, the land goes to the Port Authority who has until September of next year to lease it to JP Morgan Chase for an office tower. But a substantial delay could complicate the deal and have impacts on the rest of the Freedom Tower complex development. (WNYC, by Bob Hennelly, Dec. 1, 2007)

NOVEMBER

• Devoted N.Y. 9/11 responder dies after battle with cancer - EMS lieutenant spent 100 hours on 'The Pile' killed by cancer at 45 ... Lt. Ellicott spent months working in "The Pile" at Ground Zero, toiling for 100 hours in the first two weeks after the terrorist attacks, according to the Uniformed EMS Officers Union. ... Physicians and researchers are hesitant to draw a link between Sept. 11 and cancer, a disease that can take years or even decades to emerge after patients are exposed to carcinogens. But whether or not Lt. Ellicott's work was tied to his death, as his family and some of his co-workers firmly believe, his 100 hours of service in the days when the environmental risk was the greatest representation of the life he led and his commitment to the city at large. The FDNY Emergency Medical Service worker and Great Kills resident died Monday in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He was 45, and the third Staten Islander this year to die from an illness potentially tied to the recovery effort, according to Advance records. ... (Fire Rescue, by Tevah Platt/Staten Island Advance, Nov. 30, 2007)
  
• Deutsche Bank razing misses deadline: The head of the LMDC did not specify why the restart, slated for earlier this month, didn't move forward; a fire in August halted demolition efforts. .... A government agency has failed to meet its goal to restart the demolition of the former Deutsche Bank Building earlier this month and refuses to set a firm target for resuming the work. On Friday, Lower Manhattan Development Corp. Chairman Avi Schick would say only that he is “measuring the start in weeks.” He told a Crain’s New York Business breakfast forum in October that he hoped work would resume in early November. He refused to detail reasons for missing the start date, saying the situation was “complicated” and “things took a little more time.” ... (Crain's New York, by Theresa Agovino, Nov. 30, 2007)
• Manhattan: Asthma Linked to Trade Center... Children who inhaled dust from the collapsed World Trade Center may be twice as likely to develop asthma as children who were not exposed, according to preliminary findings released yesterday by the City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The department based the observation on self-reported symptoms from the World Trade Center Health Registry’s initial survey, which was conducted in 2003 and 2004. Health officials said about 6 percent of the 3,100 children under 18 who are enrolled in the study received a new asthma diagnosis after 9/11. The asthma rate for children under 5 who were directly exposed to the dust cloud was even higher — possibly three times the rate for the same age group across the Northeast, officials said. But they cautioned that it was too early to tell whether the increase is due to exposure, better detection or the tendency of parents of children with asthma symptoms to join the registry. A follow-up survey is under way. (NYTimes, by Anthony DePalma, Nov. 29, 2007)
• HEALTH DEPARTMENT RELEASES NEW FINDINGS ON CHILDREN EXPOSED TO THE WTC DISASTER ... The survey found that children under five had an increased likelihood of being diagnosed with asthma in the two to three years following the event, though not as sharp an increase as rescue workers. The survey did not find evidence of elevated levels of post-traumatic stress in children. Health Department researchers will meet with WTC Health Registry enrollees and other community members tonight at the Second Annual Meeting and Resource Fair at Pace University to present these and other recent findings from the World Trade Center Health Registry initial survey, conducted in 2003 and 2004. According to the survey, half of the 3,100 children enrolled in the registry developed at least one new or worsened respiratory symptom, such as a cough, between 9/11 and the time of the interview. A follow-up survey now underway will assess whether these symptoms persisted beyond the initial days and months after the event. Prior to 9/11, asthma rates among child enrollees were on par with national and regional rates, but at the time of the interview, about 6% of enrolled children had received a new asthma diagnosis. Children exposed to the dust cloud following the collapse of the towers were twice as likely to be diagnosed with asthma as those not caught in the dust cloud, the survey found. The post-9/11 asthma rate among children under five years old may be as much as twice the regional (northeastern) rate for the same age group. ... (NYCDOH News Release, Nov. 28, 2007)
  
• Study: Children Who Breathed In Toxic WTC Dust Have More Breathing Problems .... The Health Registry says out of the 3,000 children who were exposed to the dust, more than half of them developed respiratory problems. Parents NY1 spoke to expressed mixed emotions about the findings. "I'm not surprised at all,” said one parent. “I just want to know what's the next step after that? Now that the found out this, what is the next step?" "Now I think my child was very at risk, considering everything we were breathing at the time, I would say he was incredibly at risk and we should have left at the time, so I'm grateful that he doesn't have asthma or any problems associated with it,” said another. “But I'm surprised that he doesn't." Health issues associated with inhaling the dust range from a persistent cough to bad cases of asthma. .... (NY1, Nov. 28, 2007)
  
• Manhattan: Environmental Tests Downtown ... Initial tests at 53 apartments and in the common areas of nine buildings within 1,500 feet of ground zero found three dust samples that were contaminated with asbestos above safe levels and 71 samples that were laced with lead that exceeded federal standards, environmental officials said yesterday. The spaces were tested under a controversial program of the Environmental Protection Agency. Since the testing began this year, most of the 5,600 samples the agency has analyzed have fallen below federal benchmarks for exposure. Mary Mears, a spokeswoman for the agency, said that 272 apartments and 25 buildings below Canal Street will be tested within the next year, and any contamination will be cleaned. Complete test results can be seen at www.epa.gov /wtc/testandclean. (NYTimes, by Anthony DePalma, Nov. 28, 2007)
  
• Death Ruled Not Homicide for Officer at Ground Zero ... New York City’s chief medical examiner has decided not to reclassify the death of a police officer who worked at ground zero as a homicide linked to the attack on the twin towers because the officer did not arrive at the site until Sept. 13, 2001. The examiner’s decision appears to cast doubt on the future of thousands of cases involving sickened rescue and recovery workers whose relatives may in the future seek to have them included on the 9/11 victims’ list. When the officer, James J. Godbee Jr., died in December 2004 at age 44, the medical examiner’s office listed the cause of death as sarcoidosis, a disease that scars the lungs and other organs. Although the death certificate did not link Officer Godbee’s disease to the days he spent at ground zero, the police pension fund did make that link later, granting the officer’s widow a line-of-duty pension. ... Dr. Hirsch’s decision to disallow those who arrived at ground zero after Sept. 11 from being considered possible homicide victims confused some legal experts. Stephen M. Gillers, a law professor at New York University, said that a fatality that is a “foreseeable consequence” of a particular crime is usually considered to have been caused by that crime. “Because Godbee arrived only two days later, you could make a pretty strong case that it was 9/11 exposure,” Professor Gillers said in a telephone interview. “The medical examiner may just be saying, ‘If I allow Sept. 12 or 13, I may be nickel-and-dimed to Sept. 15 and beyond.’ At some point, you just need to get on with things.” ... (NYTimes, by Anthony DePalma, Nov. 27, 2007)
• Lawmaker Calls On City To Review 'Cause Of Death' Policy For 9/11 Workers ... A state lawmaker called today on the city to set the record straight on the death certificates of victims of the September 11th terrorist attack. State Senator Eric Adams made the plea after the medical examiner's office refused to review the cause of death for Officer James Godbee – who worked at the World Trade Center site from September 13th, 2001. Despite having symptoms consistent with inhaling toxic dust, Godbee was classified as dying of "natural causes." Adams says those who worked at the site deserve more from the city. "Their death certificates need to reflect their historic status in how they died,” said Adams. “Natural causes, there was nothing natural about those planes hitting that building and the toxic aftermath." "We want it to be recorded for history purposes that that person was a 9/11 victim,” said Norman Siegel, a civil rights attorney. “And if you just have on the death certificate 'natural causes' that won't happen." Adams says he will propose legislation if necessary to change the death certificates. As of this evening, there was no comment from the medical examiner's office.(NY1, Nov. 27, 2007)
  
• Give us clarity, Mike ... One thing was clear from Mayor Bloomberg yesterday regarding how, in his words, he will find "ways to pay tribute and to memorialize those whose lives were lost because of the work that they did down at Ground Zero after the terrible tragedy of 9/11": The mayor is not interested in the least in seeking the guidance of experts. His pronouncements on the case of Officer James Godbee, who was killed by a lung-scarring disease after laboring at the Trade Center site, served mainly to cloud a situation that cries out for clarity - and a little mayoral common sense. As revealed in yesterday's Daily News, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Hirsch refused even to review Godbee's cause of death on the ground that Godbee did not arrive at The Pile until two days after 9/11. Since he was not there the very day of the terror attack, he cannot be classified as the victim of either a homicide or an accident, Hirsch concluded. In the medical examiner's judgment, as a matter of established legalities, Godbee died of natural causes. ... (NYDaily News, Nov. 27, 2007)
  
• Vital Signs: Patterns: Stress Disorder’s Ties to Asthma Pose Mystery .... A new study has found a link between asthma and post-traumatic stress disorder, though the reasons remain unknown. The stress disorder, P.T.S.D. for short, is common among combat veterans and others who have endured severe trauma, like 9/11 rescue workers. Previous studies have demonstrated a connection between asthma and psychiatric illnesses, but no one knows whether one disorder increases the risk for the other or whether they share a common risk factor, either environmental or genetic. ... One-fourth of men with the most severe symptoms of the stress disorder were more than twice as likely to suffer from asthma as the quarter with the fewest P.T.S.D. symptoms. The association cannot be fully explained by familial or genetic factors; identical twins, who have exactly the same genes, were no more likely to suffer from both illnesses than fraternal twins, who share only half their genes. The researchers, whose paper appears in the Nov. 15 issue of The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, are still seeking the explanation. “It may be a common environmental exposure that increases vulnerability to both disorders,” said Renee D. Goodwin, the lead author and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia. “Here, we’re working on exposure to trauma.” (NYTimes, by Nicholas Bakalar, Nov. 27, 2007)
• EPA's Lower Manhattan Test and Clean Program .... Press Release Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the first round of sampling results from its Lower Manhattan Test and Clean program, established to identify the possible presence of contaminants associated with the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings. EPA has posted this round of data on its Web site. The Agency is continuing to test residential and commercial spaces and will update the Web site regularly as more data becomes available. Under the test and clean program, EPA is sampling for four contaminants of potential concern associated with the collapse of the buildings in 2001 -- asbestos, man-made vitreous fibers (MMVF), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and lead. To date, EPA has analyzed 5600 samples collected from 53 residential units and common areas in nine buildings. The analysis found that three samples for asbestos in dust exceeded EPA’s benchmark for asbestos, and 71 dust samples exceeded EPA’s benchmark for lead. ...... (Nov. 27, 2007)
  
• NYS Responders Report 9/11-Related Health Problems, Study Says ... Despite arriving later and having less-intense exposure than first responders, New York state personnel who worked at the World Trade Center (WTC) site after the 9/11 attacks have increased rates of physical and mental health symptoms, reports a study in the November issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Led by Dr. Matthew P. Mauer of the New York State Department of Health, the researchers evaluated health effects in 1,423 state workers who responded to the WTC disaster. The majority of these workers were from the New York State Police, National Guard, or Department of Transportation. As a group, the state workers had less-intense exposure to conditions at Ground Zero than reported in previous studies of first responders, such as New York City police or firefighters. Still, two-thirds were working at the WTC site during the last two weeks of September 2001. In addition, 110 of the state workers were in the vicinity of the WTC before the attacks and were caught in the cloud of dust when the towers collapsed. When evaluated in 2002-2003, the state workers had elevated rates of physical and mental health symptoms. Nearly half had respiratory symptoms. The most common symptom, reported by 30 percent of workers, was a dry cough. Nearly one-third of the state workers had experienced new or worsening psychological symptoms since working at the WTC site. Symptoms most commonly included sleep problems, fatigue and irritability. Just three percent of affected workers received treatment for these symptoms. Both types of symptoms were more common among workers who were caught in the cloud of dust. This included specific psychological symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as feeling jumpy/easily startled, experiencing flashbacks and having difficulty concentrating or remembering things. Previous studies have reported various health effects in WTC first responders and community residents. The health evaluations among New York state workers provide an opportunity to evaluate the effects of later exposure to conditions at the disaster site.  (Occupational Hazards, By Katherine Torres, Nov. 26, 2007)
• Reps. Nadler, Maloney and Fossella on Medical Examiner’s Ruling on Officer Godbee ... "These types of controversies will continue until transparent standards established by independent medical experts are put in place. We renew our call for the establishment of a panel of independent public health experts to help the city develop clear standards and procedures to determine whether deaths should be linked to 9/11. The victims of 9/11 and the city need clear procedures, determined by an independent panel of experts in a variety of relevant public health disciplines. "It seems clear that an otherwise healthy man who worked for countless hours on the pile at Ground Zero and who later developed sarcoidosis and died should have his case heard by the City’s Medical Examiner. At the very least, there should not be an arbitrary ‘cutoff’ for who can be considered a victim of 9/11. Many who are sick now were not at Ground Zero the moment the towers collapsed – but their suffering and medical conditions are real." (News Release, Nov. 26, 2007)
  
• NYC M.E. Rules Against Another 9/11 Responder: PBA President Furious Over Ruling On James Godbee ... "This is ridiculous, an outrage," said Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch said.
  Lynch was speaking for many Monday in his fury at City Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch, who refuses to say a hero cop who died of lung disease after working for hundreds of hours at ground zero was a 9/11 homicide. The reason? Godbee started work on Sept. 13. "This medical examiner once again proves that he's looking at this from a litigation standpoint rather than a right and wrong standpoint," Lynch said. (WCBSTV, by Marcia Kramer, Nov. 26, 2007)
  
• Doctor's ruling angers family of city cop James Godbee ... The city medical examiner has refused to even review the death of a city cop who toiled for hours at Ground Zero because the officer began working at the site Sept. 13 - a mere 48 hours after the towers fell. In a stunning decision that could set a precedent for ailing 9/11 responders and affected civilians, Dr. Charles Hirsch told the family of Officer James Godbee that because he was not at the site the day of the attacks, his cause of death would remain "natural." "All persons killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and others who died later from complications of injuries or exposure directly caused by the collapse of the Twin Towers on that day are homicide victims," Hirsch wrote in a letter dated June 13. "However, P.O. Godbee first arrived at the World Trade Center site on September 13, 2001." Hirsch's perplexing determination has infuriated Godbee's family and put in doubt the likelihood of others being added to the official list of 9/11 victims. Godbee's widow, Michelle Haskett-Godbee, told the Daily News she wants to meet with the medical examiner. "Shame on him," she fumed. "I would like to know how he can justify the statement that because [my husband] wasn't there that day, it didn't affect him. "The medical examiner should be ashamed of himself for saying that. He's a doctor. He should know how the body works, how diseases progress." Hirsch's office did not respond to requests for comment. His silence left several questions unanswered. "If a person who inhaled the dust on 9/11 is deemed to be a homicide victim, then this person who inhaled the same dust caused by the same criminal act two days later has to be classified the same way," said Dr. Michael Baden, chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police. "What is the cutoff?" Baden asked. "Is the cutoff 12:01 a.m. at 9/12? It's all the same stuff." James Godbee, 44, a 19-year veteran, died of a heart attack in December 2004 after he spent hundreds of hours amid the noxious fumes at Ground Zero, his relatives said. A city medical examiner ruled the heart attack was caused by sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that causes scarring of the lungs and other organs. Dr. Frank Accera, a pulmonary specialist at Beth Israel Medical Center, determined Godbee's exposure to the toxic dust at the Trade Center site "either caused or aggravated his sarcoidosis and ultimately caused his death." The NYPD pension board first ruled Godbee had not contracted sarcoidosis in the line of duty. It wasn't until a judge ordered a review of that conclusion that Godbee's death was determined to have occurred in the line of duty. ... (NYDaily Newsd, by Rich Schapiro, Nov. 26, 2007)
  
• Letter: TOWER POWER ... I am not surprised that Deutsche Bank caught on fire again recently ("Downtown Dithering," Nov. 18). As usual, the LMDC was cutting corners just so that it could meet a deadline. Of course, it won't just be the demolition of the Deutsche Bank that will delay the official plans. The Freedom Tower still has no tenants, and the costs have increased within the last year. ... .(NYPost, byTal Barzilai, November 25, 2007)
  
• 9/11 SUITS IN LEGAL LIMBO: GRAVELY ILL LEFT HANGING .... The judge overseeing the lawsuits of thousands of sick 9/11 rescue workers says he won't speed up trials for several responders described as being "on death's door." Manhattan federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein refused a request to set early trials for three World Trade Center workers who suffer severe lung disease. "I'm not going to do that," Hellerstein said in court Nov. 16. He later heard details in his chambers about retired NYPD detective Michael Valentin, 43, retired NYPD officer Frank Maisano, 41, and Ground Zero morgue volunteer Mary Bishop, 45. "All three of them are on death's door," lawyer Paul Napoli said. While sympathetic, Hellerstein said there are too many legal issues to start individual cases, according to lawyers in the conference. The city has so far refused to negotiate an out-of-court deal, but has urged Congress to reopen the Victim Compensation Fund to compensate sick workers. Maisano arrived at Ground Zero when the second tower collapsed, and was caught in the dust and smoke, NYPD records show. He worked 16-hour shifts over the next four days, and later did tours sifting debris at Fresh Kills landfill. Nearly three years later, he collapsed while chasing a robber. His 9/11 line-of-duty disability pension pays three-quarters of his $60,000 officer's salary, without life insurance. Bishop, who worked in an HIV lab at St. Vincent's Hospital downtown, boarded an ambulance to Ground Zero on 9/11 and stayed 24 days as a volunteer, labeling and bagging body parts. She got skin cancer and developed chronic lung disease that is "too far gone" to operate, her lawyer, Marc Bern, told the judge. Bishop shares a cramped Queens apartment with her 24-year-old daughter Natasha, a hospital worker who supports her. She relies on an electric respirator. .... (NYPost, by Susan Edelman, Nov. 25, 2007)
  
• Lawyer accused of using scare tactics to get 9/11 victims to settle ... Lawyers negotiating on behalf of thousands of 9/11 workers are being accused of using scare tactics - similar to those allegedly employed in another high-profile case - to get the ailing workers to settle quickly. Lawyer Marc Bern sent a letter to 9/11 workers last month urging them to give his firm permission to negotiate a deal with the city to divide up $1 billion in federal money available to settle their claims. Bern told 8,000 workers who blame their respiratory ailments on the time they spent working at Ground Zero that they might have to find another lawyer if they don't take a payout now. He warned that prolonging the case would rack up lawyer fees and expenses, siphoning off up to 40% of the payout. "You get your money now," he wrote. "Your litigation costs are much lower now than they would be if you took your case to trial." ... The case was tossed out in 2005 by a judge who said they should have read the fine print on their attorney agreement. Any disputes between the lawyer and client must go before an arbitrator, not a federal judge. Barker's lawyers said dozens of others were treated to the same tactics in what they ruefully called the "Marc Bern Traveling Road Show." Typically, fen-phen victims were offered $10,000 and told if they didn't take it they would have to find another lawyer, the tossed lawsuit claims. And, it adds, they were told that if they didn't settle soon, American Home Products would go bankrupt. "The purpose of the scheme was to minimize the cost and effort on behalf of NKB and the individual defendants [Paul Napoli, Gerald Kaiser and Bern] and to maximize the profits to them," the lawsuit claims. Bern declined comment yesterday. Some Ground Zero workers who received the recent letter from Bern fear that if they don't sign up soon they'll lose out on money. "What they think is that if they don't sign on, they're looking at nothing," said Julie Hernandez, a board member of Unsung Heroes Helping Heroes, an advocacy group for 9/11 workers. "They look around and see Vietnam veterans suffering from Agent Orange who are still waiting. "They figure if they wait, they'll be dead." ... (NYDaily News, by Thomas Zambito, Nov. 25, 2007)
  
• Medical Examiner, Differing on Ground Zero Case, Stands His Ground ... After a long run marked by few major controversies, Dr. Hirsch, 70, now finds his objectivity and independence being questioned because of his review of a single autopsy — on the body of James Zadroga, 34, a New York City police detective who died in New Jersey last year. The Zadroga family had hoped he would agree with the Ocean County medical examiner’s finding that the detective’s death was linked to ground zero dust, which would add his name to the official list of victims of the 9/11 attack. But last month Dr. Hirsch shocked the Zadroga family and others with his conclusion, “with certainty beyond doubt,” that the material in Detective Zadroga’s lungs was not dust from the trade center but ground up pills he had injected into his veins. ... Dr. Hirsch’s findings about Detective Zadroga have generated controversy in part because many cases involving ground zero workers may have to be reviewed if the workers are to be included on the 9/11 victims list. The 9/11 victims’ fund gave more than 1,300 ground zero workers the same kind of injury award Detective Zadroga received, opening the door for future claims. Similarly, more than 175 police officers and 725 firefighters have received disability pensions for illnesses related to the trade center. And more than 20,000 workers have registered with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board in case they become sick in the future. Several members of New York’s Congressional delegation said they did not think Dr. Hirsch should have the power to decide whether deaths were linked to 9/11. This month, they urged Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to create a panel of independent medical experts. But the mayor rejected the proposal, saying such decisions should be based on science, not politics. There is no national standard for determining a cause of death. Medical examiners and coroners set their own guidelines, and each relies on a combination of experience and interpretation to come to conclusions. A medical examiner’s job is a mix of detective work and scientific observation. In determining the cause of death in most routine autopsies, a pathologist offers his or her “best medical opinion.” In civil lawsuits or legal proceedings, the standard rises to “preponderance of evidence.” Experts said that a stricter standard — “with a reasonable degree of medical certainty” — is used in criminal investigations or trials. Dr. Hirsch’s certainty in his review of the Zadroga case is exceptional. “The general public likes to assume that pathology is an exact science and everything is objective,” said Dr. John Sinard, director of the Autopsy Service at Yale University School of Medicine. “The reality is that everything is subjective.” .... Yet his review of the Zadroga autopsy could help the city defend itself against the suits brought by more than 8,000 ground zero workers who say they became ill after working at the trade center site, said Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association. ... (NYTimes, by Anthony DePalma, Nov. 25, 2007)
  
• LOOK OUT BELOW! DANGER 'BUILDS' ... The Department of Buildings yesterday revealed that 40 percent of all major accidents at high-rise construction sites involve materials plunging from above. They include everything from wrenches to ladders to hydraulic lifts. ... (NYPost, by Tim Perone & Chuck Bennett, Nov. 21, 2007)
  
• Slight drop in construction worker deaths in NYC ... Fire officials and construction contractors announced Tuesday that they have formed an advisory council that will meet at least once a month to discuss job site safety procedures. The goal of the talks will be to forestall disasters like the fire that killed two city firefighters in a partially dismantled skyscraper earlier this year. An investigation of the Aug. 18 blaze at the former Deutsche Bank building revealed myriad problems. Work crews had turned the building's interior into a maze of plywood and plastic. A pipe that normally would have supplied water to the firefighters' hoses was mistakenly taken apart. Witnesses said workers were smoking on the job, in violation of safety standards. Fire Department inspections that were supposed to have taken place had never occurred. After the blaze, "we decided that we needed to have more interaction with the Fire Department," said Louis J. Coletti, president and CEO of the Building Trades Employers' Association, which represents 1,200 unionized construction firms and 25 contractor associations. Meetings have already begun on an informal basis, and one early result was a recommendation, also announced Tuesday, that all construction or demolition projects involving a building taller than 14 stories include a fire safety plan that would be submitted to the Fire Department. "The more information that the department has ... the better off we are," said the FDNY's Chief of Department, Salvatore Cassano. The deaths of firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino at the Deutsche Bank tower came in a year when city construction fatalities have declined slightly. (NYNewsday, David B. Caruso, Nov. 20, 2007)
  
• FDNY, contractors form job safety advisory group ... Fire department officials and construction contractors have formed a joint advisory council to lay down stringent safety rules for job sites, aimed at forestalling such mishaps as the fire that killed two city firefighters in a partially dismantled skyscraper earlier this year. The creation of a Fire Safety Advisory Council will make New York City "a safer place for construction workers, firefighters and the public alike," said Louis J. Coletti, president and CEO of the Building Trades Employers' Association. ... (Newsday, Nov. 20, 2007)
  
• DOWNTOWN DITHERING ... Do Gov. Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg want to rebuild Ground Zero? If so, they must move swiftly to remove the dangerous monstrosity that may become the chief obstacle to rebuilding there - that is, the Deutsche Bank building. Given the bureaucratic inertia that seems to have swallowed up that 9/11-scarred site, you'd think neither Spitzer nor Bloomberg cares much about its future. Or about the long-term future of Downtown itself, which is counting on a rebirth at Ground Zero that can take place only after the Deutsche Bank building is gone. Indeed, three months after a fatal fire at the building halted its demolition, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., a state- and city-controlled entity that owns the property, remains at full stop. The LMDC is still trying to figure out whether contaminants in the building should be cleaned completely before demolition resumes - or whether both jobs can go ahead simultaneously, as they did before the fire. Officials also need to settle on contractors for the job. (A key subcontractor, the John Galt Corp., was fired after the blaze.) What are they waiting for? Meanwhile, preliminary work - bolstering fire safety on the building and repairing some structural damage caused by the fire - is still being completed. Yet just last month, officials promised that demolition work would have started by now: “We hope the deconstruction will resume at the beginning of November," vowed LMDC Chairman Avi Schick. Maybe someone should have asked: November of what year? Now, officials are saying that - assuming the stars line up - work might start next month. Sure, delay is a hallmark of any operation involving government paper-clip twisters. And federal environmental regulators have doubtless done everything in their power to slow down the demolition. But this job is different. For one thing, every day that the building remains standing is another day that it remains a threat to the community. Remember, the fire wasn't the only calamity at 130 Liberty. A few months before, a 15-foot pipe fell from the building and smashed through the roof of a nearby firehouse, injuring two firefighters. And only days after the blaze, a pallet jack fell, injuring two more of The Bravest. ... (NYPost, Nov. 18, 2007)
  
• Five firefighters hurt in Deutsche Bank fire to sue city and state ... Five firefighters hurt during the deadly Deutsche Bank blaze plan to sue the city and state for millions in damages, saying they suffered career-threatening injuries. The men filed notices of claim Thursday, just days after the families of the two firefighters killed in the Aug. 18 blaze - Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia - announced they intend to sue. "Outside of Sept. 11, this was the darkest day in the Fire Department's history," said Michael Barasch, attorney for four of the firefighters. The notices accuse the city and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which owns the toxic tower, of negligence during the building's ongoing demolition. "The standpipe was cut, and the conditions on the 14th and 15th floors ... where these firefighters were could not have been more hazardous," said Barasch, of the firm Barasch, McGarry, Salzman and Penson. Capt. Sean McBrien of Engine 15, Firefighter Steven Olsen of Ladder 1, Capt. Robert Scott of Engine 7, Firefighter Francis McCutchen of Ladder 5 and Firefighter Aristeo Kardi of Engine 4 all say they suffered serious injuries while battling the flames at the building, which was damaged by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. They are currently out of work on temporary disability or assigned to desk jobs. Kardi, who has been with the FDNY for less than two years, is seeking $1 million in damages. Barasch said the other four - each on the job for more than 14 years - would seek several million dollars in damages. (NYDaily News, by Jonathan Lemire, Nov. 17, 2007)
• Follow-up Surveys for WTC Health Registry Enrollees Due by the End of the Year ... The follow-up survey will help determine to what extent physical and mental health conditions have persisted, and whether any new symptoms and conditions have emerged. An important goal of this survey is to identify and help address gaps in medical and mental health treatment. ... (NYCDOHMH, Nov. 16, 2007)
• Congress Fails to Override Presidential Veto of Appropriations Bill That Would Provide Treatment for Residents ... To date, the only WTC-specific treatment for people other than rescue, recovery and clean-up workers at Ground Zero has been provided through a combination of private and New York City funding at the WTC Environmental Health Center. The WTC Environmental Health Center has treated more than 1,700 people at Bellevue Hospital and Gouverneur Healthcare Services in Manhattan, and Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, including a growing number of area office workers and New York City employees. .... (NYCDOHMH, November 16, 2007)
  
• Health money includes Downtown’s first M.R.I. ... The healthcare focus is also something new for the L.M.D.C. Since 9/11, activists have criticized the L.M.D.C. for not devoting enough attention to residents’ needs. Beyond Ground Zero, a coalition of nonprofit organizations, was and remains among the most outspoken critics of the L.M.D.C. “Our community was totally up in arms, totally outraged at the non-responsiveness, the neglect of our community, the resources going everywhere but to people affected by aftermath,” said Jei Fong, an organizer with Beyond Ground Zero. Beyond Ground Zero received a $750,000 grant for outreach to low-income people whose health was affected by 9/11. She said she was happy to receive the grant but it’s clearly not enough. ... (Downtown Express, Nov. 16-22, 2007)
  
• L.M.D.C. spreads $37m in grants all over Downtown ... Many nonprofits and elected officials applauded the healthcare emphasis, but for nonprofit coalition Beyond Ground Zero, the L.M.D.C.’s actions do not erase a history of neglect. “It’s great that L.M.D.C. put a little money toward addressing the health impact,” said Jei Fong, an organizer with Beyond Ground Zero, which got $750,000. “But it’s clearly not enough.” The government has largely ignored the health crisis of Lower Manhattan residents since 9/11, Fong said. ... (Downtown Express, By Julie Shapiro, Nov. 16-22, 2007)
• The reason for Deutsche violations? ‘Why not,’ the L.M.D.C. asks ... There is no guarantee that Downtown has seen the last of the violations at the Deutsche Bank building, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation said Monday. The comments, by President David Emil, were the L.M.D.C.’s first public reply to the three Dept. of Buildings violations first reported by Downtown Express last week. The L.M.D.C. incurred the violations in October for combustible debris on the sixth floor, debris too close to the edge of the building and work starting too early in the morning. “It is our obvious desire to bring this [building] down completely in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations,” Emil said. “We think the issues have been addressed, but we are obviously concerned about [the violations] and are trying to not have it happen again.” Emil spoke at the C.B. 1 World Trade Center Redevelopment Committee, where members questioned him on everything from the violations to the project’s timeline. Asked after the meeting why violations continue at the building, Emil replied, “Why not?” “The building is being very, very carefully regulated, and the regulators are going to enforce the letter of the law,” Emil said. “When you do that in a building in which each floor is an acre, it’s impossible to say there will never be another violation. What it is possible to say is that we’re going to absolutely positively try to do everything right.” Emil also updated the committee on the progress of resealing the building, a necessary step before decontamination continues. The L.M.D.C. had hoped to finish resealing the building with plastic sheets last week, but should finish by the end of this week, Emil said. Also, unlike the pre-fire setup in which sections of the building were sealed in two-floor blocks, workers are rebuilding the original fire staircases, which will allow access through the 19th floor. Emil hopes to have the staircases complete by Nov. 16. The extended timeline for the project is fuzzier. ... Emil still had no news on plans to hire a subcontractor to complete the demolition. The L.M.D.C. has also not decided whether to complete the decontamination before starting demolition work, though Emil is still “leaning strongly in favor” of completing decontamination first. Several committee members were concerned about the violations. Barry Skolnick asked about the role of URS Corporation, which the L.M.D.C. hired before the fire to oversee the other contractors. Emil replied that it would be unrealistic to expect URS to prevent all violations, especially the one for working after hours without a permit. Pat Moore, who lives next door, asked about the flammable material still in the building. There are two types of flammable material, Emil said. The first type is construction debris contained in large boxes above the 14th floor. Of the 350 to 400 boxes, 190 have been removed so far. Once the building is resealed, the removal will continue. The second type is construction material, like sheetrock, that was stored in the building prior to the fire and needs to be moved, Emil said. This presumably was the material that the city objected to, since the violation was issued for a buildup of combustible debris on the sixth floor. A question on insurance came from board member Tom Goodkind. He wanted to know whether Allianz Global Risks U.S. Insurance Company and AXA Corporate Solutions insurance company have pitched in their share of the demolition costs. So far the insurance companies have participated" in funding that escrow agreement,” Emil said. “I don’t want to characterize whether they’re honoring it or not honoring it, but as to whether they have contributed any money so far, the answer would be yes.” Avi Schick, the development corporation’s chairperson, has said previously that he does not want to disclose how much money the agency will try and get from the insurers because it is likely to be the subject of litigation. The L.M.D.C. paid $90 million for the 130 Liberty St. building in 2004 and agreed to fund the demolition up to a $45 million cap. Beyond that, the insurance companies agreed to pay a certain percentage of the costs. The details, Emil said, are complicated. In February 2004, officials said insurance companies would cover the entire cost over $45 million. On Monday, Emil would not name the percentage that the companies must pay. (Downtown Express, by Julie Shapiro, November 9-15, 2007)
  
• Letter to the Editor: Deutsche deja vu ... I am not too surprised to hear that there is another violation at Deutsche Bank (news article, Nov. 2 – 8, “New fire safety violations at Deutsche”).  As usual, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation continues to cut corners while demolishing this building despite what dangers can be faced while doing it.  The reason they will continue without taking safety precautions is because they feel that they have a schedule to keep, and delaying their demolitions can throw a wrench into the official plans through a chain reaction.  You cannot put a price on safety, but I take it some just never learn from their mistakes. (Downtown Express, by Tal Barzilai, November 9 - 15, 2007)
• Question FDNY Policies: Unions: Inspection Changes All Smoke ... Firefighter unions denounced Fire Department changes in inspection procedures last week, calling them cosmetic, lacking in substance and counter-productive. The changes were made in response to the Deutsche Bank building fire Aug. 18, which killed two Firefighters. It was later revealed that the department had not inspected the building, which was undergoing demolition, in more than a year, although protocol required an inspection every two weeks. An FDNY statement announced Nov. 7 the "Implementation of a third inspection period each week for every field unit, increasing the amount of time - six to nine hours - units will be scheduled for weekly building inspections," and "added oversight of field inspections by or at the Borough Command level, and additional oversight with compliance measures implemented at FDNY headquarters in Brooklyn." The department also announced a program to update software containing building inspections and making them more accessible, in addition to strengthening relations with the Department of Buildings and making inspections a bigger focus of probationary Firefighter training. It changed the name of the department's inspection program from Apparatus Field Inspection Duty (AFID) to the Building Inspection Safety Program (BISP). Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta explained in a statement, "By increasing inspection time and providing more tools and information to our members, these initial steps will give firefighters a better opportunity to uncover any challenges they may face while fighting fires. What they see could ultimately save their own life or the lives of others." UFOA: He Doesn't Listen -- Calling the changes "pathetic," a statement from the Uniformed Fire Officers Association claimed that the department's change to give units more inspection hours would increase response times. The union said it suggested to the department that it create a task force led by a Deputy Chief in each division with the assistance of a Battalion Chief whose only job would be conducting inspections. A Captain would supervise four to six inspection teams in each division. The teams would be made up of Firefighters and led by a Lieutenant. But, the union said in its statement, the "splendid idea went by the wayside." Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy said the department chose to give firefighters more work rather than hiring more people. "It's going to compromise public and firefighter safety," he said. John Bosco, the lawyer for and brother of Capt. Peter Bosco, one of the three fire officers who were reassigned after the Deutsche Bank building fire, also blasted the changes in an e-mail, saying the most notable difference was a new acronym for inspection duties. "Cool name change, Scoppetta," he said. "However, didn't you forget something while you were busy thinking about what to name the new baby? The defects in the FDNY's building inspection program that were exposed by the tragic August 18, 2007 fire at the Deutsche Bank building were that FDNY still lacks a plan to inspect toxic buildings and the local firehouses lack the ability - no training or safety gear - to safely do the inspections." (Chief-Leader, Nov. 16, 2007)
• Bush vetoes $606 billion spending bill ... The bill also included $52.5 million to continue providing health care to first responders sickened from exposure at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The funding also would have extended coverage for the first time to nearby residents, workers and students who were not specifically working on "the pile" at the World Trade Center site. The bill originally passed with sizable Republican support, but short of enough votes to override a veto. Democrats pledged to seek more GOP support and reverse Bush's action. ... (NorthJersey, Nov. 14, 2007)
• Pre-Lawsuit Papers Call Bank Building a ‘Tinderbox’ ... The families of two firefighters killed this summer fighting a blaze at the former Deutsche Bank building near ground zero have filed legal papers contending that “dangerous conditions” and a failure to inspect for them turned the site into “a veritable tinderbox.” Lawyers representing the families of Joseph Graffagnino, 33, and Robert Beddia, 53, who died on Aug. 18, submitted notices of claim dated Monday. If lawsuits were to occur, the defendants would be six government agencies, including New York State, the Empire State Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. John C. Meringolo, a lawyer representing the family of Firefighter Graffagnino, who lived in Brooklyn, said yesterday, “We feel there have been improprieties.” He said the notice was especially sweeping about who might be sued because “we are preserving the rights of the family.” The family of Firefighter Beddia, who was from Staten Island, indicated that it might seek $30 million or more in damages. However large or sweeping a civil action, it may be delayed by an investigation being conducted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office for a possible criminal indictment. Depositions in a civil case typically are delayed so the criminal case can proceed. Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the office, declined to comment on rumors that a grand jury had already been convened. The language of the Graffagnino notice of claim is blunt. “Routine inspections would have revealed that the premises were a textbook firetrap” and “a looming deathtrap for those sent in to quell the inevitable blaze.” (NYTimes, by Anthony Ramirez, Nov. 14, 2007)
• MIKE, SPITZ & PATAKI FACE $180M DEUTSCHE BLAZE SUITS ... Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Spitzer and former Gov. Pataki all share responsibility for the August inferno at the condemned Deutsche Bank building that killed two firefighters, according to notices of claim filed yesterday on behalf of the victims' families that seek $180 million. The papers filed yesterday allege that top elected officials and their appointees are to blame for the fire through "their abject misconduct and callous indifference." "This is a first step of a long, long process my family and I are going through to force change in the city and prevent a disaster like this from happening again," said Linda Graffagnino, who lost her firefighter husband Joseph in the blaze. The long-expected civil litigation comes as a grand jury has begun hearing evidence in the ongoing criminal probe. "People are definitely going to get indicted," said a source familiar with the grand-jury proceedings into the deaths of Graffagnino and Robert Beddia. Firefighters responding to the Aug. 18 blaze at the tower overlooking Ground Zero were confronted by a confusing maze of blocked stairwells and barriers meant to contain the spread of asbestos and World Trade Center dust. Graffagnino, 33, and Beddia, 53, both died on the 14th floor of the building. ... (NYPost, by Chuck Bennett, Nov. 14, 2007)
• Firefighters' kin sue over Deutsche Bank fire ... The families of the two firefighters killed in the Deutsche Bank fire put the city on notice today that they plan to file multi-million dollar suits against a variety of city and state agencies. Firefighters Robert Beddia, 53, and Joseph Graffagnino, 33, died during the Aug. 18 fire that swept through the condemned toxic tower that overlooks Ground Zero. The city’s investigation revealed that the contractor in charge of demolishing the building was cited for numerous safety violations and that the FDNY was not carrying out mandatory inspections. Those errors form the basis for the claims, which cite “reckless, willful and wanton actions and inactions” of those supervising the building’s demolition by troubled contractor John Galt Corp. The defendants could include former Gov. Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. The notice of claim filed by Graffagnino’s wife Linda could seek a total of $150 million in damages for herself and the couple’s two small children. “We took a step today to preserve the rights of Linda and her children," said Graffagnino’s lawyer, John Meringolo. “If our investigation shows that someone needs to be held responsible, then we will take the appropriate legal action.” Beddia’s sister Barbara Crocco filed a claim for $30 million but that amount may increase, her lawyer said yesterday. Calls to the FDNY and the city’s Law Department were not immediately returned. The Manhattan district attorney’s office is also probing the blaze for potential criminal action. (NYDailyNews, by Thomas Zambito & Jonathan Lemire, Nov. 13, 2007)
• Deutsche Bank Work to Recommence Shortly ... Nearly three months after the fire that killed two firefighters at the Deutsche Bank building, decontamination and deconstruction work has yet to recommence at the 130 Liberty Street building and it is only now being completely sealed.  In a meeting with Community Board 1’s World Trade Center Redevelopment Committee on Nov. 5, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation President David Emil said work was progressing to seal the building’s windows with plastic and metal panels. Following speculation that the sealed fire doors used to maintain positive air-pressure in the building might have contributed to the deaths of the firefighters, Emil said work is also in progress to create a fire-rated stairway up to the 20th floor of the building. Once these preparations are complete, workers can once again begin decontaminating and deconstructing the building, though Emil offered no guarantees that those two processes will proceed sequentially rather than simultaneously, as the Community Board has demanded. “We haven’t made any final decision on the order of abatement and demolition,” Emil told the board. Emil was similarly uncertain about when the building’s demolition will finally be finished. “We expect the complete decontamination by early spring,” he said. “If the building were down by June or July, I for one would be very happy.” But there were signs that very week that the Deutsche Bank deconstruction site remains riven by the same inter-agency disagreements that plagued it immediately after the fire in August, as federal environmental officials accused LMDC leadership of freezing them out of safety planning for the site. On Nov. 8, the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional administrator, Alan Steinberg, sent LMDC Chairman Avi Schick a letter complaining that the LMDC was no longer consulting with the agency in its planning on the building. “LMDC has abandoned the review and acceptance process,” Steinberg wrote, threatening that his agency “is prepared to utilize its statutory authorities, as necessary [...] to ensure that LMDC and its contractors utilize best management practices in all phases of the work.” .... At its meeting on Nov. 8, the LMDC board approved millions of dollars in additional expenses to cover the impact of the fire. Among those expenditures requested by LMDC Chairman Avi Schick was: $1 million to the law firm Dechert LLP for emergency services in the wake of the fire; an additional $5.8 million to the LMDC’s air-quality monitoring contract; more than $1.7 million in extra fees to URS, a consulting firm helping to oversee the project; more than half a million dollars more for ongoing scaffolding rental; and an additional $1.3 million to Stier Andeson LLC, which provides “integrity monitoring” on the site. Schick said the increases were meant both to cover the extended duration of the work after the long post-fire hiatus, and to pay for an increased level of services to improve safety at the site. But while the added costs are steep, Emil reassured the board that some of these expenditures will probably come back to the LMDC’s coffers eventually. “We believe we are indemnified for some of the damages under our insurance and through our contract with Bovis,” Emil said, referring to Bovis Lend-Lease, the LMDC’s lead contractor on the deconstruction. “We suspect a substantial amount of these funds will ultimately be recouped.” Just how much might be recouped, and from whom, Emil declined to say when meeting with CB1 members Nov. 5. (Tribeca Trib, by Nick Pinto, Nov. 13, 2007)
• Firefighters' estates to sue for $180M over fatal WTC tower fire ... The estates of Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia announced plans to sue several state and city agencies, including the state-controlled Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which owns the former Deutsche Bank tower just across from ground zero. The Graffagnino claim also named officials including Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and fire department Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. A notice of claim must be filed within 90 days of an incident if a law