9/11 Victims Fund payments slashed by 50%
BY GABE HERMAN
Offi cials for the 9/11 Victim
Compensation Fund said on
Feb. 15 that it will cut payouts
by as much as 70 percent for claims,
due to a shortfall in funds and a rise in
new claims.
Currently pending claims will see a
50 percent decrease in awards, and going
forward, claims will see a 70 percent
payout reduction.
To date, the fund, which started in
2011, has paid out $5 billion of its total
$7.375 billion available, on more than
21,000 claims. Special Master Rupa
Bhattacharyya of the fund said there
are nearly 20,000 claims and amendments
currently pending, and thousands
more expected to be fi led before
the fund’s scheduled end on Dec. 18 of
next year.
Bhattacharyya said there was a dramatic
jump in 2018 claims fi led, especially
in the last several months, after an
October 2018 announcement that the
money was dwindling. She also cited
other factors for an uptick in claims, including
higher rates of 9/11-related illnesses,
an increasing number of deaths
from exposure to the World Trade Center
site, and outreach efforts to inform
those who may have a right to receive
Firefighters made their way over the World Trade Center’s ruins
through clouds of toxic dust and smoke on Oct. 11, 2001.
compensation.
“I am painfully aware of the inequity
of the situation,” Bhattacharyya said in
the Feb. 15 announcement. “The stark
reality of the data leaves me no choice.
If there had been a different option
FILE PHOTO/AP PHOTO/STAN HONDA, POOL
available to me, I assure you I would
have taken it.”
Michael Barasch, a 9/11 community
advocate and attorney, has represented
more than 11,000 fi rst responders with
claims at the fund.
“This dramatic reduction in awards
for 9/11 fi rst responders, survivors and
families of those who have lost their
battles with these horrifi c illnesses will
have a devastating impact on countless
families and requires immediate action
by the federal government,” Barasch
said.
He added that President Trump,
Congress and the fund’s special master
were not to blame for the shortfall.
“Instead, it was necessary because of
an unanticipated explosion of cancers
and deaths in the 9/11 community,”
he said. “Many more are expected to
get sick as a result of their exposure to
Ground Zero toxins in the eight months
after 9/11. The 9/11 Victim Compensation
Fund must be extended and fully
funded so that everyone gets the justice
that they deserve.”
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said in a
statement that she will reintroduce legislation,
along with Republican Senator
Cory Gardner of Colorado and others,
that will address the issue.
“Our bill would fully fund the VCF
and make it permanent, so that any
9/11 fi rst responders who develop cancer
in the coming years will have somewhere
to turn when they need help,”
Gillibrand said. “They were there for
us. Congress must be there for them.”
Sorry! Brewer, Chin on chaotic rezoning meeting
BY GABE HERMAN
At the fi rst public meeting of the
Soho/Noho rezoning process on
Feb. 6, there was general consensus
that the event started out chaotic and
unorganized.
Jonathan Martin of BFJ Planning stood
in the middle of a room with no microphone
and tried to explain the public
feedback process, as he was continually
interrupted and shouted at by skeptical
attendees.
On Feb. 11, the offi cials who organized
the process and meeting said they were
sorry for how the meeting turned out.
In a message titled “An open letter to
the Soho/Noho Community,” from Manhattan
Borough President Gale Brewer,
Councilmember Margaret Chin and the
Department of City Planning, they wrote,
“We apologize for being unprepared for
the tremendous turnout.”
Nothing that more than 250 people attended,
they said, “We’ll do better for the
next public meeting in February.”
Much of the anger expressed by those
in attendance was over not knowing what
the motives were behind the process, and
whether locals would really have a say in
potential zoning changes in residential or
retail areas.
“To be clear, the intent of the Soho/
Noho planning process is to collaborate
with all those who care about the challenges
our neighborhoods face,” the letter
stated. “The purpose of our public
meetings is to gather ideas and input well
before pen is put to paper and proposals
are created.”
People at the meeting, held in P.S. 130
at 143 Baxter St., wrote 211 comments
on paper slips provided at various stations,
according to the letter. People were
able to give feedback in different areas,
including living, working, creating and
visiting the neighborhood.
Despite the chaos that they chalked up
to a larger-than-expected crowd, the offi
cials wrote that it was, in fact, a good
start.
“Because of that turnout,” they said,
“we obtained a signifi cant amount of
feedback on where our planning process
should start and what the community
wants us to focus on.”
The letter promised that every item of
feedback in the process would be read,
adding that there are several ways to offer
input, including at SohoNohoPlan.
nyc, and by e-mailing soho-noho@planning.
nyc.gov.
The next public meeting is scheduled
for Thurs., Feb. 28, and is being called
a “Thematic Public Workshop.” The letter
said details of that event, including its
format and topic, would be sent out by
Feb. 25.
PHOTO BY GABE HERMAN
Trying to make some sense of it all, a woman looks at notes posted by
attendees at the recent Soho/Noho rezoning meeting.
6 February 21 - March 6, 2019 DEX Schneps Media
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