June 2003

State Speeds Up Compensation For Injured WTC Volunteers - Jun 30, 2003
The state's compensation process for volunteers injured at the World Trade Center site is now on the fast track. Last week Governor George Pataki directed the state Workers' Compensation Board to speed up the claims process for volunteers who were hurt or became ill from working at the site. (NY1)

Suit Over Codes At Site of WTC - Jun 30, 2003
Families of Sept. 11 victims will file a lawsuit today against the Port Authority to obtain greater public scrutiny in the rebuilding of the former World Trade Center site.The suit, which will be filed in Supreme Court in Manhattan by the Skyscraper Safety Campaign, asks the court to declare the Port Authority subject to city building and fire codes. (Newsday)

Going's easier as PATH station reopens - Jun 30, 2003
The PATH train is one stop closer to lower Manhattan - but still five months away from rolling into Ground Zero. New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey reopened the Exchange Place station in Jersey City yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Report Claims America is Unprepared for Another 9/11 - Jun 30, 2003
A frightening new report by the Council on Foreign Relations contends that America is "dangerously unprepared" to cope with another terror attack like 9/11. United States needs to spend another $98 billion to brace for an attack - a figure that the federal Department of Homeland Security insisted was "grossly inflated." (New York Post)

Monday Is Deadline To Submit Ideas For WTC Memorial - Jun 29, 2003
Monday is the final day for participants to submit an idea for the World Trade Center memorial. The competition was open to any adult in the world, but registration is already closed. Nearly 14,000 people from 94 countries have signed up. (NY1)

Developer Wants Architect's Skyscraper Relocated - Jun 29, 2003
Developer Larry Silverstein wants to move the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower envisioned for Ground Zero to a different corner of the site, sources told the Daily News. According to architect Daniel Libeskind's plans, the skyscraping spire is supposed to be built at the northwest part of the 16-acre site, near the corner of West and Vesey Sts. (New York Daily News)

FEMA's 9/11 Office Winds Down - Jun 28, 2003
Since September 11, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's field office has seen nearly 200,000 applicants come in for aid, but that once-long line has dwindled to a bare trickle, and FEMA says it will shutter its remaining storefront operation sometime in the next month. (Newsday)

Bloomberg Bids for Control of WTC Site - Jun 28, 2003
Mayor Bloomberg took on Gov. Pataki and the Port Authority yesterday, declaring that the city "should be in control" of the World Trade Center site. The mayor's comments came a day after it was reported that Pataki is abandoning a proposal to give the city control of Ground Zero. (New York Post)

4 Convicted in Fraud Scheme - Jun 27, 2003
Four associates of a brokerage with offices in the World Trade Center were convicted Friday of cheating investors out of more than $100 million -- a scheme that unraveled in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. (Newsday)