Time Sensitive! Another 9/11 Outrage for Brooklyn?

Hey, northwest Brooklyn, wake up!  We're getting screwed again!  It's time to take action—and you can do it from your home and your computer.

The Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund was established by Congress and signed into law by President Obama to provide resources to individuals who were injured or killed between September 11th, 2001 and May 30th, 2002 and who resided, worked, attended school or assisted with clean-up or rescue activities within the "crash sites" as defined in the legislation. 

The Zadroga legislation itself provides two types of support:  (i) funds for free medical monitoring of victims, and (ii) the Victim Compensation Fund referred to above (the "VCF").  A Special Master, Sheila Birnbaum, Esq., has been appointed to oversee the administration of the VCF.  Under the Zadroga legislation, the Special Master has the power to make many decisions per her discretion. 

One of those issues is the definition of the geographic cachement area that will apply to 9/11 victims seeking compensation. This definition of the "9/11 crash site" may impact thousands of would-be recipients of assistance. The legislative language says the following:

"The term '9/11 crash site' means

(A) the WTC site, Pentagon site, and Shanksville, PA site;

(B) the buildings or portions of buildings that were destroyed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001;

(C) Any area contiguous to a site of such crashes that the Special Master determines was sufficiently close to the site that there was a demonstrable risk of physical harm resulting from the impact of the aircraft or any subsequent fire, explosions, or building collapses (including the immediate area in which the impact occurred, fire occurred, portions of buildings fell, or debris fell upon and injured individuals)."

Special Master Birnbaum has the option of allowing the same borders to exist for compensation as are in place for the medical monitoring—or the geographic area within 1.5 miles of the World Trade Center crash site and all of Manhattan south of Houston Street.  In her current draft rules, however, the Special Master has proposed that these borders be more restricted, including only the area south of Reade Street (in Manhattan) and none of Brooklyn. Ms. Birnbaum, by all reports, is very understanding and very nice, but she's getting some really bad advice.

On that fateful day in 2001, you and I saw the toxic cloud of dust and debris march down Flatbush Avenue from Manhattan to Prospect Park and swing south through Brooklyn. If you lived in Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Windsor Terrace and Fort Greene, you were particularly hard hit—and the stench lasted for weeks. If you looked at the NASA photos from space, the plume and it's path were very visible over Brooklyn.

While the government told us that the air was safe, people were being exposed to all sorts of things and, almost immediately, illnesses and deaths started to occur.  And they have gone on for some time. Yet some people are now saying that Brooklyn residents are less deserving than lower Manhattan residents.  And, just as bad, the proposed area totally cuts out the more racially and ethnically diverse populations in Lower Manhattan that were impacted by September 11th. I am sure this is not deliberate, but it's the very real and unfair outcome.

When previous Victims Compensation Funds were established, many victims felt guilty about coming forward with their claims because they felt that our gallant first responders and the families of those who died on 9/11 deserved the compensation.  Some of those needs still need to be met. In 2011, however, the Zadroga Act also provides an opportunity for those who have heroically restrained themselves from asking for help to receive some justice...but it may be denied.

Let's face it...It's bad enough that it took 10 years to place on the public policy radar screen the needs of individuals other than those gallant first responders and the traumatized families of those who perished. It's bad enough that Congress capped this Zadroga fund when previous funds were not capped. It's bad enough that the defined geographic area for residence, work or school does not do justice to the "plume" of debris that impacted Sunset Park and other areas of Brooklyn—and Queens—to the south.  And it's bad enough that cancers have basically been excluded from the list of covered health conditions, along with emotional and psychological issues not tied to a physical injury. (I've been meeting with victims; the stories are heartbreaking—particularly for those with no health insurance.)

Our representatives in Washington fought hard to get what they could and the intent of federal law is clear:  be fair, be just. Why should additional barriers to justice should be erected by the Zadroga fund administrators?  Send a clear message that the Zadroga geographic boundaries set forth in the legislation for medical monitoring are the boundaries that should be respected and utilized by the Special Master for administering the Victims Compensation Fund as well.

The latest proposals made by the Special Master are subject to public comment...and there has been some.  But the period for public comment ends THIS Friday, August 5th at 11:59 pm.  You can submit comments via snail mail if the letter is postmarked on or before August 5th.  You can also submit comments electronically before the deadline by going to this website.

Finally, I have launched an on-line petition that I also hope you will sign right away.  And, of course, when you sign, proudly indicate that you are from BROOKLYN!

Share this with your family and friends. Let us take action together and do justice for all of those who were victims on September 11th.