As Charitable Funds Expire, Questions About Long-Term Needs Remain - Sep 9, 2004
An astonishing $3 billion was raised to help the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and nearly all that money has been spent, the bulk of it handed over in cash grants, some without regard to financial need. Three years later, some are wondering whether this was the best way to make use of this unprecedented charitable windfall. (New York Times )

Bikers Complete Fundraising Ride to Ground Zero - Aug 22, 2004
Hundreds of motorcycle riders completed an annual fundraising trek from Washington, D.C., to the World Trade Center site Saturday. About 1,200 bikers completed the trip. While there's no word yet on how much money was raised, last year organizers were able to buy four fully-equipped police motorcycles, which were donated to police departments around the country. One was given to the Port Authority Police Department. (NY1)

Representative Weiner Criticizes Bush Administration on Security Funding - Jul 25, 2004
Rep. Anthony Weiner slapped at the Bush administration yesterday, charging New York has gotten $61 million less in federal security cash since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The Queens-based Democrat and likely mayoral hopeful used the dollar figure to highlight Bloomberg's Republican registration. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg Says 9/11 Commission Wrong About City's Emergency Response - Jul 24, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg vehemently disagreed with the 9/11 commission's assessment that his administration has failed to establish clear lines of command among city agencies responding to a future terrorist attack. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Commission Report to be Made Public Today - Jul 22, 2004
The 9/11 Commission's final report, scheduled to be made public on Thursday, will detail the intelligence and law-enforcement failures that preceded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. (New York Times)

CIA Director Criticizes 9/11 Commission's Call for New Intelligence Post - Jul 18, 2004
Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin says he doesn't think the country needs a new cabinet-level post to oversee the nation's 15 intelligence agencies. (NY1)

Group Urges Americans to Spend 9/11 Volunteering - Jul 15, 2004
A nonprofit organization encouraged Americans on Wednesday to spend Sept. 11 volunteering their services to charity. (Associated Press)

Red Cross Giving $50 Million in 9/11 Grants - Jul 1, 2004
The Red Cross announced Wednesday it is making $50 million in grants available for programs that provide long-term relief from the September 11 attacks. (NY1)

Two 9/11 Groups Join Forces - Jun 28, 2004
Two Sept. 11 groups—September Space and The World Trade Center Survivors’ Network—have joined forces to collaborate on programs and outreach. The Survivors’ Network is a group formed by people who worked at the WTC or were in the vicinity during the terrorist attack, and are still suffering from the affects of it. This group is now moving to 520 Eighth Ave., the headquarters for September Space, a nonprofit that provides support services to people traumatized by the attack. (Crains New York Business)

Some Rebuilding Groups Shutting Down, Other Face Financial Challenges - Jun 26, 2004
In the months after Sept. 11, a wide array of organizations sprang up in the wake of the attacks with the purpose of rebuilding – literally, financially, culturally – Lower Manhattan. Over two years later, many of the organizations have folded or largely completed their projects. (Downtown Express)

New York Police Department's Ongoing Fight Against Terrorism - Apr 18, 2004
Hours after terrorist bombs killed 191 people on trains in Madrid, New York City Detective First Grade Mordecai Dzikansky, a bombing expert assigned to Tel Aviv, flew in to the Spanish capital. Within 17 hours, three more city cops joined Dzikansky, and the NYPD's Team Spain quickly connected with Spanish investigators. Less than two hours after the March 11 attacks, cops had poured into the New York subways to step up intensified patrols. Within days, the NYPD made a half-dozen tactical adjustments to how it safeguards the city's transit system, based on what the intelligence cops learned in Madrid. This is how it works in the new, post-9/11 NYPD, as Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly takes the fight against terrorism around the world. (New York Daily News)

Bush Defends Response To August Briefing on Al Qaeda Threat - Apr 12, 2004
President Bush said on Sunday that the intelligence briefing he received on Al Qaeda one month before the Sept. 11 strike contained no specific "indication of a terrorist attack" on American soil. He also defended the adequacy of his response to the warnings that terrorists in the United States might be planning hijackings. (New York Times)

Top Architecture Firms Eye Collaborating Role on Ground Zero Memorial - Apr 7, 2004
Some of the best-known, largest and most prolific design firms in New York are vying to be named associate architect for the World Trade Center site memorial. Technically, the associate's role would be to help Michael Arad and Peter Walker realize their competition-winning plan, "Reflecting Absence," with two voids where the twin towers stood. But the caliber of the firms being considered by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation suggests that they might also play an influential role in refining the evolving design. (New York Times)

Senate Committee Seeks Statue of Liberty Foundation's Records - Apr 6, 2004
The Senate committee that oversees charities' compliance with the nation's tax laws requested records yesterday of contracts, staff salaries and other financial information from the nonprofit foundation managing the reopening of the Statue of Liberty. The Finance Committee, prompted by reports that the statue's opening had been stalled because of governmental delays and fund-raising by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, wants the foundation to justify staff salaries that exceed $100,000 and explain any contracts that were awarded without competitive bidding. (New York Times)

9/11 Charity Will Give Artifacts Back to Fire Department - Apr 6, 2004
A New York charity that draws raves from educators but ran afoul of city fire marshals because of its traveling exhibit of Sept. 11 artifacts has agreed to return some items to the FDNY. (New York Post)

US Investigates How Donations to Reopen Statue of Liberty Were Spent - Apr 5, 2004
Federal investigators have begun an inquiry into the National Park Service's dealings with a nonprofit foundation it relied on to handle the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, according to a government official. The inspector general of the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, is investigating how the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation spent donations it raised for projects at the monument and whether it followed federal guidelines on competitive bidding for certain contracts, the official said. (New York Times)

US Investigates How Donations to Reopen Statue of Liberty Were Spent - Apr 5, 2004
Federal investigators have begun an inquiry into the National Park Service's dealings with a nonprofit foundation it relied on to handle the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, according to a government official. The inspector general of the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service, is investigating how the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation spent donations it raised for projects at the monument and whether it followed federal guidelines on competitive bidding for certain contracts, the official said. (New York Times)

Charity Displaying 9/11 Artifacts Under Investigation - Apr 5, 2004
A New York charity that runs a traveling exhibit of Ground Zero "artifacts" - including part of a plane, pieces of destroyed buildings and earrings, shoes and eyeglasses belonging to victims - is under investigation by city fire marshals, The Post has learned. (New York Post)

9/11 Commission: White House Won't Block Final Report On Security Grounds - Apr 5, 2004
Leaders of the commission looking into the Sept. 11 attacks don't expect the Bush administration to order major changes to the commission's final report on national security grounds (Associated Press)

Victims Compensation Fund Saving City $500 Million - Mar 31, 2004
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund will likely save the city more than $500 million by averting lawsuits, the head of the fund said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Daniel Pearl's Wife Files For 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund - Mar 30, 2004
A federal Victims Compensation Fund application was filed on behalf of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped in Pakistan, then beheaded by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, once Al Qaeda's top operational commander and the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 hijackings. (New York Times)

Kerry Assaults Bush On 9/11 - Mar 28, 2004
Joining a debate that has dominated Washington for days, Senator John Kerry on Saturday accused the Bush administration of "character assassination" against critics and said that the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, should publicly testify under oath about the Sept. 11 attacks. (New York Times)

9/11 Scammer Sentenced to Rikers - Mar 26, 2004
Everybody's working for the weekend - except millionaire 9/11 charity scammer Beatrice Kaufman. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Roger Hayes yesterday sentenced Kaufman to spend the next 52 weekends in Rikers Island for bilking relief organizations out of $78,000 and trying to scam them out of hundreds of thousands dollars more. (New York Post )

Red Cross Extends 9/11 Health Insurance Program - Mar 25, 2004
The American Red Cross is extending its health insurance program for survivors of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and people who were hurt. As part of its national Sept. 11 Recovery Program, the Red Cross will pay their health insurance premiums for two years instead of the current 12 months. (Newsday )

For Four Mothers Of 9/11 Victims, Hearing Leaves Questions Unanswered - Mar 24, 2004
Four moms from New Jersey, the World Trade Center widows whose tireless advocacy produced the broad investigation into the failures around the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, had high hopes for this week’s hearings, which are focused on policy failures. Instead, packed into the car at 4 a.m. in what has become a ritual for them, their hearts were heavy. The Four Moms had submitted dozens of questions they have been burning to ask at these hearings. Mr. Rumsfeld is a particular thorn in their sides. (New York Observer)

Killing Of Hamas Leader Has New Yorkers Worried About Security - Mar 23, 2004
The NYPD stepped up security across the city yesterday as members of the Hamas terrorist group vowed revenge for the killing of its founder by Israel, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. NYPD patrol cars were outside mosques and synagogues, and security was visibly increased at the UN and in front of the Israeli Consulate. (New York Daily News)

After 9/11 Charity Draws Fire, Mayor Cautions New Yorkers Think Before Donating - Mar 16, 2004
Amid questions of a Sept. 11 charity's philanthropy, Mayor Bloomberg cautioned the public yesterday to do its homework before making donations. (New York Daily News )

Money From One 9/11 Charity Going To Its Lawyer -- Not Needy - Mar 15, 2004
A lawyer for the charity created by the three firefighters in the iconic flag-raising photograph at Ground Zero has reaped more than $500,000 in legal fees while the charity has given just $73,000 to the needy, the Daily News has learned. (New York Daily News)

Money From One 9/11 Charity Going To Its Lawyer -- Not Needy - Mar 15, 2004
A lawyer for the charity created by the three firefighters in the iconic flag-raising photograph at Ground Zero has reaped more than $500,000 in legal fees while the charity has given just $73,000 to the needy, the Daily News has learned. (New York Daily News)

As Donations For Statue Of Liberty Security Pour In, Estimate Of Cost Rises - Feb 22, 2004
First, the good news: $5.6 million in private funds has been raised to reopen the Statue of Liberty to visitors. Now, the bad news: The feds have revised their cost estimate upward and are saying it will take $7 million to redesign her interior for added security measures and exit routes. (New York Daily News)

Carrying On Projects Of Loved Ones Killed On 9/11 - Feb 22, 2004
They lost loved ones in the World Trade Center catastrophe, but within months of the towering act of hate and evil, their sorrow shifted to the resolution to do something positive. In the name of their father, brother, son or friend, they decided to build something or help someone, to give to the sick, the poor, the hungry and the needy. Through 9/11 benefits, fund-raising and other contributions, they carried on with the fallen ones' endeavors, or were inspired by them to find a new purpose. (New York Daily News)

British Citizen Faces Deportation Over 9/11 Scam - Jan 29, 2004
A British citizen who tried to scam redevelopment officials out of $12,000 in downtown residential grants intended for post-9/11 relief has been sentenced to six months in jail and will be deported. (New York Post)

Wealthy Woman Pleads Guilty To 9/11 Scam - Jan 29, 2004
An elderly millionairess pleaded guilty yesterday to taking advantage of the mass murders at the World Trade Center by scamming money from 9/11 relief organizations. (New York Post)

Victim Compensation Fund Enrollment At 98 Percent - Jan 17, 2004
Ninety-eight percent of the families of those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks have applied for federal compensation, the special master of a government fund said Friday. Kenneth Feinberg said 2,925 families have applied. The official death count was 2,976. (Associated Press)

Revised Memorial Design Addresses Criticism - Jan 14, 2004
The finished design for the World Trade Center memorial site will build on the original concept of twin voids marking the location and outlines of the twin towers, but will add lusher landscaping, create an underground center to house artifacts from the attack and establish a cultural center at the recreated intersection of Fulton and Greenwich Streets. (New York Times)

New York Daily News Donates $100,000 To Statue Of Liberty - Jan 11, 2004
The New York Daily News donated $100,000 to the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, and asked its readers to add to that. $5 million of new security is needed to reopen the statue to visitors. It has been closed since 9/11. (New York Daily News)

Woman Who Scammed 9/11 Charities Sentenced to Prison - Jan 6, 2004
A 9/11 scammer who snookered charities out of $80,000 was tossed in the slammer for at least two years yesterday. (New York Post)

Man Behind 9/11 Victims Fund Claims Victory, With Reservations - Jan 1, 2004
Kenneth R. Feinberg looks more fatigued than he did two years ago, when he agreed to work free as the administrator of the federal program to compensate the eligible relatives of Sept. 11 victims. The job, he now says, was "by far the most difficult assignment" of his legal career. But if he has worked almost nonstop, getting only three or four hours of sleep a night, Mr. Feinberg is not complaining now:97 percent of those eligible enrolled in the program (New York Times)

4,000 File For 9/11 Injuries - Dec 30, 2003
More than 4,000 people claiming Sept. 11-related injuries have applied for federal compensation, surprising fund administrators with a deluge of last-minute applications. (Associated Press)

Applicants Rush to Meet Deadline As 9/11 Compensation Program Ends - Dec 23, 2003
After a last-minute surge, 95 percent of eligible relatives of Sept. 11 victims had applied to join the government's ambitious but much-criticized compensation effort as the deadline neared last night. Officials with the federal Victim Compensation Fund, who worried just weeks ago that many eligible survivors would not sign up, said applications had come in by the hundreds as the hours to the midnight deadline wound down yesterday. (New York Times)

Deadline For Federal Victims Compensation Fund Looming - Dec 21, 2003
People who lost loved ones or were injured in the 9/11 terrorist attacks have until midnight tomorrow to file with the federal Victims Compensation Fund. Officials expect nearly 90% of those eligible to file, depite a slow start and months of controversy. (New York Daily News)

Kids of 9/11 Victims To Get Cash From State - Dec 18, 2003
The state's World Trade Center fund is handing out the rest of its cash to children who lost a parent in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, officials said yesterday. The fund has roughly $4 million left and will spread the proceeds to about 2,800 children who lost parents in the terror attacks of 9/11, Gov. Pataki said. The fund also will dole out up to $3,000 a person to those certified by the American Red Cross as being injured in the attacks. (New York Daily News)

Man Sentenced for 9/11 Charity Fraud - Dec 17, 2003
A Long Island City man who used telemarketers to solicit hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations for a bogus charity for families of slain police officers, including some killed Sept. 11, was sentenced Tuesday to more than 8 years in prison. (Newsday)

Federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Program May Cost Far Less Than Expected - Dec 13, 2003
The unprecedented program to compensate victims of the Sept. 11 attacks may cost far less than its original $6 billion estimate, the fund's administrator told The Associated Press. The total payout from the program could run as low as "$2 to $3 billion -- well under what had been estimated," Kenneth Feinberg, the fund's special master, said in an interview just days before the Dec. 22 deadline for families to file for compensation. (Newsday)

City Employees Arrested for 9/11 Charity Scam - Dec 4, 2003
The Department of Investigation yesterday arrested 10 people - nine of them current or former city employees - for allegedly stealing more than $55,000 from 9/11 charities. The defendants, who worked for several city agencies, including the Department of Transportation and the Human Resources Administration, falsely claimed that their income had been reduced or that they had lost their jobs as a result of World Trade Center attacks, the DOI said. (New York Post)

Scorsese to Make Statue of Liberty Film as Fundraiser - Dec 3, 2003
Martin Scorsese came to Battery Park last week to announce he would produce and narrate a documentary about the Statue of Liberty to help raise $5 million in order to reopen the statue, which has been closed to the public since 9/11. (Downtown Express)

Court Denies Compensation for Flight Attendant Distraught over 9/11 - Nov 29, 2003
A flight attendant who claimed she was too distraught to return to the job after a colleague died on 9/11 while covering her shift should not get worker's compensation, a New Jersey state appellate court ruled. (New York Post)

An Old Sign, Touting Marvels Of World Trade Center, Still Up On Church Street - Nov 28, 2003
hile "World Trade Center" signs around the new PATH station startled commuters and visitors this week, a smaller but even more poignant graphic remnant of the past was hiding in plain sight across Church Street. "What has 200 elevators, 1,200 restrooms, 40,000 doorknobs, 200,000 lighting fixtures, 7 million square feet of acoustical tile ceilings, more structural steel than the Verrazano Narrows Bridge — and was built for a final cost of over one billion 1970s dollars?" asks the colorful sign between seven-foot cast-iron posts, outside Century 21, near the corner of Cortlandt Street. "That's right, the World Trade Center." ...the sign would stay in place at least a year (New York Times)

Senate Rejects Extension of 9/11 Compensation Program - Nov 26, 2003
Congressional officials from the New York area conceded yesterday that their last-gasp attempt to extend the deadline for the federal government's extraordinary program to compensate the relatives of Sept. 11 victims had all but failed. (New York Times)

Republican Senator is the Reason for Block on Extension - Nov 26, 2003
A Republican senator is using a special rule to block efforts to extend the deadline for filing claims with Sept. 11 victim compensation fund, leaving family members fearful they may miss out. "A lone, anonymous Republican senator is holding up the bill," declared Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), speaking on the Senate floor. (New York Post)

Statue of Liberty Could Open in 2004, After Generous Donations - Nov 26, 2003
A higher-security Statue of Liberty could open to the public as early as next year, officials said yesterday. The American Express Corp. has pledged at least $3 million of more than $5 million needed. The company contributed to past improvements of the 117-year-old monument. (Newsday)

Return to Ground Zero: An Emotional Commute - Nov 25, 2003
Yesterday, on a morning that proved at once painful and uplifting, downtown workers streamed into the heart of the former World Trade Center site for its first rush hour since the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Times)

Heart Attacks Linked to 9/11 - Nov 13, 2003
Heart attack cases rose sharply at a Brooklyn hospital within weeks following the World Trade Center disaster, suggesting that emotional stress can trigger severe cardiac problems, researchers reported yesterday. Researchers from New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, looking at a total of 1,249 patients divided into three groups, found heart attacks rose by 35 percent in the 60 days after the terrorist attacks and tachyarrhythmias, irregular heart beats, by 40 percent. Irregular heart rhythms often cause sudden death. (Newsday)

Wife of Police Officer Who Died on 9/11 Won't Get His Pension - Nov 12, 2003
Less than three weeks before his death in the World Trade Center, NYPD Officer Santos Valentin and his wife signed a separation agreement. Now a Manhattan judge has ruled that although the agreement did not specifically remove her as his beneficiary, Selena Valentin will not get her husband's pension, which is worth an estimated $2 million. (New York Post)

Officials Ask for Private Money to Help Reopen Statue of Liberty - Nov 8, 2003
Two years after the terrorist attacks shut down the Statue of Liberty, officials are appealing for private donations to boost security so the monument can reopen. About $5 million worth of security measures still are needed, said National Park Service spokesman Brian Feeney. (Newsday)

Man Arrested for Inventing Spouse to Claim 9/11 Money - Nov 8, 2003
A Pennsylvania man was arrested late Thursday and accused of inventing a spouse who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, in order to obtain more than $100,000 from relief agencies, authorities said Friday. (Newsday)

Pataki: WTC Site Completion On Track - Oct 31, 2003
Gov. George Pataki said today that his bold plan for the completion of much of the World Trade Center site by Sept. 11, 2006 is on track. However, there were two key provisios, he said. The squabbling between the architects David Childs and Daniel Libeskind must stop, and they must agree to a plan by December 15. And second, Larry Silverstein, the leaseholder of the site, and insurer Swiss Re must expedite their differences – over whether Silverstein has a claim for $3.5 billion or double that. (Newsday)

9/11 Commission Threatens To Subpoena White House Files - Oct 27, 2003
The federal commission investigating intelligence and security lapses before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is threatening to subpoena White House records if they are not handed over voluntarily. (NY1)

U.S. Convicts 2 in 9/11 Swindle of $350,000 in Business Relief - Oct 7, 2003
A jury in Federal District Court in Manhattan has convicted two men of defrauding government and private programs and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid meant for people and businesses hurt by the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. (New York Times)

Man Convicted of 9/11 Aid Fraud - Oct 2, 2003
A man who tried to swindle thousands of dollars out of a 9/11 aid program for lower Manhattan residents was slapped with a $2,000 fine and sentenced to community service, officials said yesterday. (New York Post)

Queens Man Sentenced to Prison; Claimed Fake Son Died on 9/11 - Sep 17, 2003
A Queens man was sentenced yesterday to 11 to 33 years in prison for creating a "nonexistent son" so he could make money by claiming that the son had died in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

9/11 Charity Unable to Meet Promises - Sep 14, 2003
A charity that promised Sept. 11 families endowments - and used the families' stories on the Internet to raise donations - now says it can't meet its commitment to them and admits paying more on expenses for some major fund-raisers than it collected at the events. (New York Post)

Twin Towers Fund Ends Its Run - Sep 10, 2003
The fund established by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to help the families of 438 public employees killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, closed its doors yesterday after giving the average family more than $500,000. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Fund Pays $565M - Aug 16, 2003
The fund to compensate victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks has paid more than $565 million so far and has received nearly 2,200 claims, the Justice Department said yesterday. (New York Post)

State 9/11 Fund Has $7 Million to Give Away - Aug 13, 2003
A state fund for relatives of 9/11 victims has $7 million left to give away - and families have until the end of next month to step forward and claim their share. The World Trade Center Relief Fund, run by the state government, has already given away over $63 million in private donations to more than 2,500 families. But officials kept $7 million in reserve, hoping they could channel the aid to an estimated 400 families who have yet to come forward with a claim. (New York Post)

Queens Man Guilty in WTC Scam - Aug 8, 2003
A 54-year-old Richmond Hill man concocted a sob story about a son who died in the World Trade Center so that he could collect some $160,000 in relief funds, a Manhattan jury found Thursday. After a three-week trial, and two days of deliberations, the jury in state Supreme Court convicted Cyril Kendall of grand larceny for scamming the Red Cross, Safe Horizons and other charities out of monies meant for victims of the terrorist attacks their families. (Newsday)

Relatives Recall 9/11 Victim; Prosecutors Say It's Fiction - Aug 5, 2003
Cyril Kendall says that he is the heartbroken father of a Sept. 11 victim, but prosecutors contend that he is a liar who used the disaster at the World Trade Center to fatten his bank account by creating an imaginary deceased son. At Kendall's trial yesterday, his two sons said that their brother, Wilfred Kendall, was about 5-foot-10-inches tall with dark brown skin and a heavy West Indian accent. They said he drove a gypsy cab, a black Lincoln Mercury, and dealt auto parts for a living. Still, despite the description, at the end of the day a question remained: Did Wilfred Kendall exist? And if he did, was he Cyril Kendall's son? (New York Times)

Evidence Piles Up At Trial of September 11 Con Man - Jul 29, 2003
The prosecutorial pile-on continued yesterday against an accused Queens con man charged with inventing a son, then scamming $160,000 in charity loot by pretending the son died in the World Trade Center collapse. (New York Post)

Congress Calls for Probe of 9/11 Fund - Jul 24, 2003
Nearly two years after the Sept. 11 attack, a group of congressional leaders is demanding an inquiry into the state's Project Liberty mental health program, charging that officials have failed to distribute millions of dollars in federal funds for counseling and left thousands of traumatized people in need of treatment. (Newsday)

9/11 Counseling Still Available From Red Cross - Jul 20, 2003
The American Red Cross wants to make sure those still feeling the effects of September 11, 2001, attacks get the help they need. Volunteers took to the streets Saturday to make sure New York City residents know psychological counseling is still available. As part of a four-week outreach campaign, the volunteers will put up posters in businesses and in high-traffic areas. (NY1)

9/11 Kin Rip PATH For 'Tainting' Holy Ground - Jul 20, 2003
A group representing 9/11 victims' families says Gov. Pataki has allowed construction on the footprints of the Twin Towers and wants Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton to sponsor a federal law to prevent further "desecration" of the World Trade Center site. (New York Post)

WTC Counseling Program Makes Push - Jul 18, 2003
Organizers of a program that provides counseling to people affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks said Friday they are boosting their efforts to publicize the program. (Newsday)

DA: Man Concocted Dead Son For 9/11 Scam - Jul 18, 2003
An employee of the American Red Cross testified yesterday that the charity gave a Queens man more than $132,000 for living expenses and counseling after his son went missing in the World Trade Center terrorist attack - a son who prosecutors allege never existed. (Newsday)

A Signal of Rebirth Downtown - Jul 8, 2003
The fanfare will come another day. So, too, the speeches and ribbon cuttings. For now, let it be noted that the horizon at ground zero has been broken for the first time since the ruins of the World Trade Center were hauled away. Two slender 60-foot-tall structures — twins, really — stand today like sentinels at the foot of Fulton Street, forming a new gateway to the site. (New York Times)

9/11 party gets raided - Jul 8, 2003
Dozens of cops descended on Rockaway Beach on the Fourth of July and broke up a fund-raiser for memorials to 9/11 victims, angry partygoers charged yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Bikers On Their Way Upstate In Ground Zero Independence Ride - Jul 5, 2003
Bikers were off to an early start for the "Second Annual Ground Zero Independence Ride." The ride reunites construction workers and union members who worked side by side for 10-months during rescue and recovery operations at the site. (NY1)

Lawsuits By Members Of Uniformed Services Skyrocketed After 9/11 - Jul 1, 2003
Although the total number of claims has decreased over the past year, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have triggered a flood of legal claims by workers against the city, according to a report released by City Comptroller Bill Thompson Tuesday. (NY1)

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)

Telemarketer Admits WTC Fraud - Jun 17, 2003
The president of a Long Island City telemarketing firm pleaded guilty Monday to pocketing tens of thousands of dollars he falsely claimed he was collecting for the families of police officers killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. (Newsday)

Con Man Admits Bilking WTC Charities - Jun 5, 2003
A bcareer con artist Wednesday pleaded guilty to scamming charities out of tens of thousands of dollars by organizing his fellow homeless shelter residents to claim they were victims of the World Trade Center attacks. Woodrow Fleming, 49, who often slept at the men's shelter on Ward's Island, admitted on the eve of trial Wednesday that he had falsely claimed he was a street vendor at the World Trade Center and gave more than a dozen shelter residents forged documents. (Newsday)

9/11 Fraud Pleads Guilty - May 30, 2003
A 31-year-old man yesterday pleaded guilty to swindling thousands of dollars earmarked for people committed to staying in lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (New York Post)

City Gets $200 Million in Federal Anti-Terrorism Grants - May 15, 2003
New York City is getting about $200 million in federal grants to combat terrorism, the Department of HomelandSecurity announced yesterday. (New York Post)

Charges of Fraud in 9/11 Charity Cases - May 11, 2003
Two months after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, the American Red Cross, which had collected hundreds of millions of dollars in donations, announced "immediate" financial assistance was available to downtown residents affected by the strikes. But prosecutors say that 16 residents from the Life Shelter who got Red Cross aid, are thieves. They say the shelter residents lied on their eligibility applications and created devious schemes to steal from the American Red Cross, another charity, Safe Horizon, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (New York Post)

33 Arrested for 9/11 Fraud - Apr 11, 2003
Prosecutors charged nearly three dozen people yesterday with trying to scam money meant for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks - including a group of people who tried to obtain fake death certificates for loved ones so they could claim benefits. The dragnet led to the arrest of 33 people on various fraud and larceny charges in connection with three different scams that ripped off private and government 9/11 relief charities for $134,843, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau announced. (New York Post)

9/11 Small-Business Grants Exceed Approved Financing - Mar 19, 2003
The biggest 9/11 program aiding small businesses in Lower Manhattan has approved payments totaling $49 million more than the amount allotted to the program, and state officials are scrambling to come up with the extra money. (New York Times)

Cantor Fitzgerald's WTC Funds To Be Split Up - Mar 6, 2003
A $33 million pot of money set aside by Congress specifically to help Cantor Fitzgerald - the World Trade Center brokerage that lost 658 employees in the terror attack - will be partly carved up by several other WTC firms after months of intense negotiations over the funds, officials said yesterday. (New York Post)

Woman Faces New Charges of Falsely Obtaining 9/11 Funds - Feb 21, 2003
A Manhattan businesswoman who had been charged with stealing money from agencies after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack was indicted for a second time yesterday on new charges of using her business to falsely obtain emergency funds. State prosecutors in Manhattan said the woman, Beatrice Kaufman, 68, falsely claimed that her business, an employment agency for lawyers, was damaged by the terrorist attack and collected thousands of dollars from two charities, the Red Cross and Safe Horizon. (New York Times)

Twin Towers Fund To Close Later This Year - Feb 20, 2003
The Twin Towers Fund - created by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to help the families of the heroes of 9/11 - will close up shop later this year, organizers said yesterday. Fund officials said the organization had been set up to distribute the huge outpouring of financial support for the families of uniformed rescue workers who lost their lives, or were seriously injured, in the World Trade Center tragedy. (New York Post)

Polish Immigrant Gives Life Savings to NYC After 9/11 - Feb 14, 2003
A field in Chinatown's Columbus Park will be renovated thanks to a Polish immigrant who donated his entire life savings to New York City - even though he lived more than 1,000 miles away. Joseph Temeczko, who came to America through Ellis Island and once worked at the Statue of Liberty, bequeathed $1.4 million to New York. Temeczko told his lawyer to amend his will just one week after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He died the following month after suffering a heart attack in the backyard of his Minnesota home. (New York Daily News)

7 Families Sue Administrator of 9/11 Fund - Jan 27, 2003
In the most sweeping challenge yet to the federal fund intended to compensate relatives of Sept. 11 victims, the families of seven victims who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald have filed a lawsuit accusing the fund's administrator of acting illegally and unfairly, thereby shortchanging the families of all New York victims. (New York Times)

Pentagon Victim's Gay Partner Wins 9/11 Fund Payout - Jan 24, 2003
A lesbian whose partner was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been awarded more than $500,000 by the federal government - a decision gay rights groups hope will set a precedent. Peggy Neff of Hyattsville, Md., will receive $557,390 from the Victim Compensation Fund. (New York Daily News)

Mayor Outlines Wishes for 9/11 Emergency Funds - Jan 19, 2003
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has drawn up a new wish list for 9/11 federal emergency funds - making a pitch to shift money currently earmarked for the Port Authority and crisis counseling. Under the mayor's strategy, as much as $690 million would then be freed up for other uses - more than the $650 million that Bloomberg has been asking FEMA to give the city for budget relief. (New York Daily News)

Deadline For WTC Mortgage Relief Nears - Jan 19, 2003
As the deadline nears for victims of the World Trade Center attacks to seek federal mortgage and rental relief, workers advocates are calling for an extension. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides 18 months of aid through its Mortgage and Rental Assistance Program, will stop accepting applications on Jan. 31. Individuals and families may be eligible to apply if they lived or worked in Manhattan on or before Sept. 11, 2001, or were employed by a company that was economically dependent on businesses located in Manhattan. The New York Immigration Coalition wants the deadline extended to Sept. 30, contending that tens of thousands of economic victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks need more time to seek help under the program. (Newsday)

9/11 Program Finally Gets Flood of Requests for Help - Jan 18, 2003
A flood of last-minute requests to the biggest program aiding small businesses and nonprofit groups in Lower Manhattan in the wake of the World Trade Center attack has pushed the amount of aid approved to more than the $481 million allotted for the program, according to the state agency that runs the program. Beyond that, 1,700 applications remain to be processed. Although the grants have surpassed the allotment, whatever amount is ultimately needed will be provided, Empire State's chief operating officer, Kevin Corbett, said yesterday. (New York Times)

Report Criticizes FEMA's Handling of 9/11 Economic Claims - Jan 8, 2003
An internal review of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's performance after the Sept. 11 terror attack has concluded that the agency should have been more flexible and fair in helping people with economic losses. The agency also needs to coordinate better with other government agencies and charities in future disasters, the review concluded. (New York Times)

Dozens Defrauding September 11 Relief Agencies - Dec 31, 2002
Since September 11, many people have been caught capitalizing on the grief and chaos of the moment by fraudulently claiming to have lost loved ones. New York City authorities say that they alone have made 37 arrests, and others have cropped up around the country. (New York Times)

WTC Frauds Discovered - Dec 20, 2002
Federal authorities yesterday nailed two scam artists who ripped off almost $350,000 in World Trade Center relief funds by falsely claiming their businesses were damaged by the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said. (New York Post)

Senator Clinton Pushes FEMA to Show How 9/11 Funds Have Been Spent - Dec 11, 2002
Concerned that federal officials are withholding disaster aid promised to the city, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) called yesterday for a detailed accounting of how nearly $9 billion in terror recovery funds has been spent. (New York Daily News)

FEMA Enforces Deadline Despite Mail Mix-up - Dec 4, 2002
In the weeks before the Nov. 30 deadline for a federal Sept. 11-related aid program, a FEMA bureaucratic foul-up caused the temporary closing of a post office box receiving applications and the return of some applications to their senders. Responding to the news, local politicians and others intensified their demands for an extension of the Nov. 30 deadline for the program. But FEMA officials denied their request, saying that the post office box incident would not hamper people from registering for the program by phone. (Downtown Express)

Federal Agency Urged To Extend Deadline To Apply For Aid - Nov 28, 2002
Politicians and community groups urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency yesterday to extend Saturday's deadline for grants for people affected by the terror attacks. The Individual and Family Grant gives cash to people who lost jobs or property Sept. 11, 2001. "To enforce this deadline and shut all these people out would be a slap in the face and a terrible injustice," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan). (New York Daily News)

Federal Victims Fund Master Insults Staten Island - Nov 20, 2002
The man in charge of doling out federal funds to Sept. 11 victims' families called Staten Island a "Third World country" - prompting cries yesterday for his firing. Representative Vito Fossella urged Attorney General John Ashcroft to fire Kenneth Feinberg, the Victim Compensation Fund's special master. But Feinberg insisted last night he has no plans to leave -- even after issuing an apology for the slur. (New York Daily News)

26 Arrests Made In WTC Charity Scams - Nov 14, 2002
Twenty-six people have been arrested in recent days on charges they tried to scam charity money or goods meant for victims of the World Trade Center attacks, the Manhattan district attorney's office said yesterday. The arrests involved a variety of alleged scams, including a morgue employee at Bellevue Hospital Center allegedly selling coffins that were donated for those killed by the terrorists, prosecutors said. (Newsday)

Victims' Kin Find Fault With Overseer of 9/11 Fund - Nov 13, 2002
With greater frequency and deepening anger, the relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks are growing disenchanted with the man who oversees the federal Victim Compensation Fund. They say he breaks promises, delays decisions repeatedly and provides conflicting guidance for a program that is intended to pay out billions in awards. (New York Times)

Officials Accused of Distorting 9/11 Aid Statistics - Nov 1, 2002
New York's Congressional delegation and the leaders of several lower Manhattan organizations have accused federal and state officials of distorting the statistics of a major Sept. 11 aid program to make it appear that it had done a better job of distributing cash grants. The accusations involve the Individual and Family Grant program, which had been promoted by Gov. George Pataki as the ultimate safety net for people who had lost their jobs, had property damaged or needed to be reimbursed for air-quality equipment. (New York Times)

Critics: 9/11 Aid Program Unfair - Oct 25, 2002
City advocacy groups and congressional representatives are looking at ways to improve a federal 9/11 assistance program that they say is floundering. The Individual and Family Grants program falls short of meeting applicants needs, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) said at a news conference. The grants average $1,039 in individual aid, less than half of what similar disaster programs elsewhere provide - and the New York program's arduous application process and short deadlines keep aid from many who need it, Maloney said. (New York Post)

Buildings With Code Violations Rejected From 9/11 Residential Grant Program - Oct 25, 2002
Anyone who lives in an apartment near Ground Zero and hopes to cash in on a $281 million federal grant program had better make sure the building is up to code. Lower Manhattan redevelopment officials are rejecting or deferring grant applications from tenants in nearly 200 buildings because of outstanding fire and building-code violations. (New York Daily News)

Violations by Buildings May Delay Tenant Grants - Oct 20, 2002
Residents of nearly 200 apartment buildings in Lower Manhattan could find their applications for Sept. 11-related housing grants denied or delayed because of outstanding violations of building or fire codes, according to officials of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. (New York Times)

New Medical Aid for 9/11 Workers - Oct 17, 2002
Hundreds of workers and volunteers injured at Ground Zero will receive ongoing treatment through Health for Heroes, a new program at Mount Sinai Medical Center. The treatment is being funded by a $1 million grant from the Bear Sterns Charitable Foundation. (New York Daily News)

Public Frustration Persists Over 9/11 Relief Program - Oct 12, 2002
Seizing a rare opportunity to confront officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, scores of Lower Manhattan residents expressed frustration and continuing anger yesterday over the relief agency's financial assistance programs for those affected by Sept. 11. In a forum at City Hall, the residents said FEMA had done a poor job of communicating timely and accurate information about eligibility criteria and guidelines. (New York Times)

Lower Manhattan Residents Will Be Exempt From Tax on Aid - Oct 8, 2002
The Internal Revenue Service plans to exempt Lower Manhattan residents from most if not all taxes on government money given to them to stay in or move to the area, the office of Senator Charles Schumer said last night. A Schumer spokesman said, however, that the I.R.S. had not decided whether to exempt businesses near ground zero from taxes on government aid they receive or compensation for lost revenue related to the terrorist attack. (New York Times)

Without Resources to Sue, Widow Takes Federal 9/11 Award - Oct 1, 2002
Erma Bourdier, whose husband, Francisco, was killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, could have sued for tens of millions. But left with a 2-year-old daughter to raise alone and lacking the deep pockets to hire a lawyer with enough juice to take on the airlines or Port Authority, Bourdier agreed yesterday to accept a monetary award from the federally funded Victim Compensation Fund. (New York Daily News)

Fund for Terror Attack Victims Offers Awards in 14 Test Cases - Sep 30, 2002
Kenneth R. Feinberg, the special master in charge of the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, told 14 families last week that he had offered proposed awards ranging from $600,000 to $3.9 million after reviewing circumstances like extreme mental anguish and the intangible, hard-to-replace services provided by the family members who were killed. (New York Times)

9/11 Scholarship Seeks Applicants - Sep 25, 2002
A graduate memorial scholarship at the University of Glasgow -- open to the children of those who perished on September 11 -- has yet to find an applicant. Most of the 3,025 people who died in the attacks were too young, clustered largely between the ages of 30 and 40, to have children old enough for such an advanced degree. (New York Times)

Big-Name Lawyers To Assist Federal Victims Compensation Fund - Sep 24, 2002
Kenneth R. Feinberg, the special master in charge of administering the federal September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, has invited 41 retired judges, lawyers and professors to join a new legal system that will mediate objections raised by the families and help determine how much each victim's family should receive. Among those assisting are William H. Webster, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, the former attorney general, and Arthur R. Miller, the Harvard law professor. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Raise Funds for Others - Sep 16, 2002
The Coalition of 9/11 Families has started a scholarship program for needy youngsters around the country who are victims of crime or future terrorism. It will sponsor a star-studded figure skating event at Madison Square Garden on Friday evening to kick off the fund-raising effort. (New York Daily News)

Connecticut Diner Raises WTC Funds - Sep 15, 2002
Like many others, Joe Ravalese and Jim Chamberland wanted to do something for the families of New York City's uniformed officers who perished Sept. 11. At their 110-seat Country Diner in Enfield, Conn., 135 miles from New York, they have shown that no gesture - from $9.11 pasta dinners to a $9.11 memorial pin - is too small. Ravalese and Chamberland ended up raking in $10,000 for their NYC 9/11 Fund. (New York Daily News)

Charity For Firefighters Under Investigation After Possible Fraud - Sep 9, 2002
Despite receiving $320,000 more in donations in 2001 than the year before, the New York Firefighters Foundation, a Florida-based charity that solicits money in the name of New York firefighters, gave away only $48,000 in scholarships and grants - less than 4% of all donations received, and only two-thirds of the amount disbursed in 2000. Not a penny of the million-plus raised by the charity has gone to relatives of fallen New York City firefighters, according to a Daily News investigation. The state attorney general is now investigating the operators of the charity. (New York Daily News)

A Scholarship Fund for Children of Those Who Suffered Financial Losses - Sep 6, 2002
AXA Financial Inc., the financial services company, is donating $3 million to start a new scholarship fund for victims of the terror attacks on Sept. 11. The fund, named Families of Freedom 2: Building Futures Through Education, will devote itself to providing scholarships and educational support for indirect victims of the attacks — those who lost jobs and businesses — and their children who are on the verge of going to college. (New York Times)

Handbags Made From Giuliani's Ties at 9/11 Benefit - Sep 3, 2002
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has had more than 60 silk ties from his personal collection transformed into handmade women's handbags to be sold in an auction tomorrow night benefiting the Twin Towers Fund. (New York Post)

Victims' Familes Still Wrestling With Financial Issues - Sep 1, 2002
Families of September 11 victims have had access to money, and plenty of it - more than $2.5 billion raised by major charities, according to estimates, and a pot exceeding $5 billion available to those who apply to the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund. But the amount each family will get from that fund, set to make distributions based on each victim's salary and projected lifetime earnings, and how charities are making gifts and to whom are issues many families are still wrestling with a year after the tragedy. (New York Daily News)

More Get 9/11 Aid, but Distrust of U.S. Effort Lingers - Aug 27, 2002
Since overhauling its programs in late June to assist New Yorkers devastated by the Sept. 11 attack, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has granted more money to nearly as many people needing help with their mortgage or rent as it did in the previous nine months. But for all the changes, FEMA is still plagued by problems that many worry may ultimately leave thousands of needy New Yorkers in the lurch. (New York Times)

Victims' Fund Announces First Awards - Aug 23, 2002
The federal government yesterday announced the first awards to compensate the relatives of Sept. 11 victims, offering 25 families an average of $1.36 million, from a low of $300,000 to a high of $3 million. Of the awards announced yesterday, only nine families have so far accepted the amount disbursed. (New York Times)

City Regulations Bar Free Lunches for 9/11 Heros - Aug 23, 2002
Two of New York City’s finest and most expensive restaurants, Danube and Bouley, are offering free meals all day on September 11 to the city’s firefighters and police officers and their families, but officials at both departments say they won’t be able to accept the offer. Official policy restricts both departments from accepting any gifts, even one as winsome as a meal that would run normal patrons about $100 a head. (New York Sun)

Family of 9/11 Victim Accepts $1.04 Million in U.S. Compensation - Aug 8, 2002
The family of a financial services employee from New York City who died on Sept. 11 has become the first to acknowledge accepting an award from the federal Victim Compensation Fund. (New York Times)

For Some, FEMA Aid Slow to Arrive - Jul 27, 2002
It took eight months, but displaced financial consultant Jack Freedman finally got two months of rent money, or $4,000, from the federal disaster agency. Freedman has lived with relatives since dust from the World Trade Center attacks forced him to abandon his apartment at 45 Wall St. in mid-November, and had heard from the outset he could receive 18 months of rent. (Newsday)

You're Too Kind, Firefighters Say, Truly Meaning It - Jul 24, 2002
The New York City Fire Department department wants everyone to know that it is grateful for the nation's overwhelming generosity. After 343 firefighters died in the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, people sent statues, rakes, teddy bears, letters, paintings, crystal flags, ceramic flowers, painted eggs, pennies, books, shovels, megaphones, sculptures and socks. But the department is running out of storage space. (New York Times)

Mending the Hearts Broken on Sept. 11 Is as Difficult as Explaining the Cost - Jul 22, 2002
Charity officials are struggling to prove that money allocated for providing mental health care to those traumatized by the Sept. 11 attacks is being well spent. (New York Times)

State Has Paid $32 Billion to 9/11 Families - Jul 20, 2002
The state Crime Victims Board has paid $32 million to Sept. 11 terror victims and their families for lost salaries and burial expenses, it was revealed yesterday. The board, whose mission is to provide financial help to victims of all crimes, has so far settled 5,361 Sept. 11-related claims, officials said. (New York Post)

Fire Union Frees Sept. 11 Funds - Jul 13, 2002
Blasted for sitting on more than $60 million in donations that flowed in after Sept. 11, the Uniformed Firefighters Association announced plans yesterday to give out most of the money immediately. (New York Daily News)

Defining Limit of Sept. 11 Generosity - Jul 13, 2002
Within the next two weeks, Kenneth R. Feinberg, the man responsible for distributing billions of taxpayer dollars in the federal Victim Compensation Fund to thousands of families who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will decide two dozen test cases that will at last establish the rough boundaries for the sizes of the awards. (New York Times)

$200 Million More in Sept. 11 Aid Is Allocated - Jul 12, 2002
One of the largest charities to emerge in response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon unveiled its plans yesterday for distributing its remaining $200 million of donations, including an allocation of $45 million to $55 million for mental health care. (New York Times)

Survivors of 3 Officers Sue Union Over Charity - Jul 11, 2002
The families of three police officers who died in the attack on the World Trade Center are suing the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association in an escalation of a dispute over the union's handling of the millions of dollars in donations it received after Sept. 11. (New York Times)

9/11 Victims Need $768 Million in Aid Into 2003, Study Says - Jul 8, 2002
Meeting the continuing needs of direct and indirect victims of the World Trade Center attack will cost $768 million over the next year, according to a consultant's study to be released today. Addressing job and income loss will make up by far the largest portion of that cost, but mental health treatment is likely to be the most costly need in the long term, according to the survey, which was conducted by McKinsey & Company for the 9/11 United Services Group Inc., a nonprofit consortium of 13 charities founded to help coordinate private assistance to victims of Sept. 11. (New York Times)

Ground Zero Workers Bike for Charity - Jul 7, 2002
More than a thousand Ground Zero construction workers climbed aboard their motorcycles yesterday to raise money for the children who lost their parents in the World Trade Center (New York Post)

Struggling to Sort Out 9/11 Aid to Foreigners - Jun 27, 2002
When Congress approved the multibillion-dollar Victim Compensation Fund in the weeks after the terror attack, the legislation provided that noncitizens, even illegal immigrants, would be entitled to hundreds of thousands of dollars in government awards. Now, with the first checks set to be cut soon, it has become increasingly clear that determining who is entitled to what is, in reality, a baffling puzzle complicated by differing national laws, unfamiliar ethnic customs and extraordinarily complex family relationships from Mexico to the Middle East. (New York Times)

Small Businesses Benefiting Most Downtown, Report Says - Jun 27, 2002
More than nine months after the attack on the World Trade Center, economic recovery grants totaling $292 million have been made to thousands of lower Manhattan businesses. 75 percent of the economic aid distributed so far has gone to some 11,700 small businesses that employ an average of 10 people. (Independent Budget Office)

Families Fret as Charities Hold a Billion Dollars in 9/11 Aid - Jun 23, 2002
Nine months after the terrorist attacks, in often small but intensely personal ways, donors and recipients alike continue to experience enormous frustration over the administration of the outpouring of private charity provoked by the death and damage of Sept. 11. (New York Times)

Donations for Sept. 11 Biggest Response Ever for Catastrophe - Jun 21, 2002
Donations related to Sept. 11 totaled $1.9 billion - nearly 1 percent of all charitable giving in 2001, according to a new study yesterday. (New York Post)

15 Are Accused of Defrauding Sept. 11 Charities - Jun 20, 2002
At a news conference, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, announced that 15 people had been charged in the latest wave of arrests in the investigation into theft from charities and government agencies that help people who suffered losses in the Sept. 11 attack (New York Times)

Paramedics Families to Get 9/11 Death Benefits - Jun 17, 2002
The widows of the only two city EMS paramedics to die in the World Trade Center attacks are poised to receive death benefits that until now had been available only to firefighters' families. The State Assembly today is expected to give final passage to a bill that would mean $50,000 a year each to the widows. (New York Post)

Lure of Millions Fuels 9/11 Families' Feuding - Jun 17, 2002
Now, as families confront the task of determining who is entitled to what in the estates of the Sept. 11 victims, conflicts small and large are breaking out, compounding the sadness, heartache and anger for already badly damaged families. Nowhere are these familial fractures more evident than in the workings of the federal government's Victim Compensation Fund, a multibillion-dollar program intended to give victims' heirs enough money to make them secure (New York Times)

40 Per Cent of 9/11 Charity Funds Unspent - Jun 11, 2002
Less than 30 percent of the $2.3 billion donated to major Sept. 11 charities has gone to victims' families while 40 percent has yet to be distributed, according to a survey by The Washington Post (New York Post)

Twin Towers Fund Makes More Distributions - Jun 7, 2002
The Twin Towers Fund, established by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to assist the families of uniformed rescue workers killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, has begun distributing a third round of benefits totaling more than $103 million. The current round of payments will go to rescue workers not included in previous distributions. (Newsday)

Changes to Sept. 11 Fund Would Extend Aid to Victims of Past Terror Bombings - May 24, 2002
Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are nearing agreement on changes in the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund that would allow scores of American families from past terrorist attacks to receive hundreds of millions of dollars collectively in compensation. The deal calls for providing compensation to the families of the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, as well as the families of the 168 killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. (New York Times)

9/11 Charity Grifter Got 260G, Feds Say - May 21, 2002
Federal prosecutors charged that a Queens man took advantage of the Sept. 11 attacks to raise money for a phony police charity, and pocketed most of the $260,000 in donations. He was arraigned on two counts of mail fraud, which could put him behind bars for 10 years. (New York Daily News)

Firefighters Union and Victims' Families Clash Over Relief Fund Distribution - May 9, 2002
The Uniformed Firefighters Association is sitting on more than $60 million donated to a fund for widows and children of fallen firefighters - setting off a messy battle between the union and grieving relatives who say they're being cheated. While the fund will be distributing $20,000 initially, with annual payments of at least $5,000 to each family, they will still retain most of the $60 million. (New York Daily News)

Federal Emergency Management Agency Says Board of Ed Never Formally Requested Relief Funds - May 9, 2002
Joseph Allbaugh, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, called members of New York's congressional delegation this week to say the agency was not stonewalling city schools - but that school officials never officially asked for money to make up class time lost after Sept. 11. School officials counter that they made repeated pleas for aid — in a Sept. 21 document submitted to the city and forwarded to FEMA on behalf of all agencies seeking help, and in private meetings with FEMA staffers. (New York Daily News)

Chinatown and Lower East Side Residents Complain Of Lack of Relief - May 6, 2002
Chinatown and the Lower East Side have been shortchanged by the federal government and private relief agencies doling out emergency assistance after the World Trade Center attacks, residents complained at a town hall meeting yesterday. (New York Post)

Families of Undocumented Workers Killed On September 11 Struggle For Relief - May 6, 2002
Undocumented immigrants who were the breadwinners for families died in the collapse of the World Trade Center. But in the aftermath of a tragedy in which terrorism was the great equalizer, the survivors of these victims have encountered unique problems in navigating the bureaucracy of death, say lawyers, immigrant groups and consular officials. And many are also being denied significant financial assistance, because more often than not, they are also here illegally. (New York Times)

Rival Shopping Mall Companies Come Together To Help Provide Aid For 9/11 Victims - May 3, 2002
The United We Stand alliance, a coalition of companies that own shopping malls throughout the metro area, came together to raise more than $500,000 for the families of victims of Sept. 11. "We are a loose coalition of companies, all competitors, getting together to do something as a group," said Robert Minutoli, senior vice president of The Rouse Company, one of nine members of United We Stand. (New York Daily News)

State To Give Tax Refunds To 9/11 Victims' Families - May 3, 2002
Part of a new state budget agreement is a plan to give full state tax refunds for 2000 and 2001 to those killed in the World Trade Center attacks. The Pataki administration estimated the estates of about 2,500 individuals will be eligible for the refunds, which should average about $10,000 each and cost the state a total of $25 million. (New York Daily News)

Federal Government Will Reconsider Some Applicants Rejected For 9/11 Aid - May 2, 2002
The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency promised members of the New York Congressional delegation yesterday that the agency would immediately reopen more than 7,000 applications for housing assistance that the agency denied after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Those who were rejected included hundreds of Chinatown seamstresses and Manhattan hotel workers, many of them with claims to aid that seemed legitimate. (New York Times)

Federal September 11 Relief Lags Behind Aid Given For Other Disasters - Apr 26, 2002
Almost eight months after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has doled out less than $65 million to help needy families in the disaster area pay their bills, avoid eviction and buy food -- only a fraction of what the nation's frontline relief agency distributed in the months after other major catastrophes. (New York Times)

United Way Report Details Those Left Unemployed After 9/11 And Their Lack Of Relief - Apr 25, 2002
A United Way of New York study released yesterday said that an estimated 50,000 city workers lost their jobs due to September 11 and can't receive relief set aside for Sept. 11 victims because they did not work in lower Manhattan. Nine thousand New York City people lost jobs related to the aviation industry as a direct result of the terrorist attacks, but are ineligible for help from Sept. 11 charities because they worked in Queens. The report also said social service agencies were likely to see significant increases in appeals for rent assistance, other housing help, and mental health services, due to the lack of relief available to these 50,000. (New York Daily News)

Victims' Relatives Not To Be Penalized For Pension Benefits, Says Victims Fund Manager - Apr 19, 2002
The families of firefighters and cops killed Sept. 11 will now be able to keep some pension benefits -- in addition to their payout from the federal government, a top official said yesterday. Surviving families had angrily complained that the government's plan to deduct the amount of their pension payments from any federal money they got was unfair. But Kenneth Feinberg, overseer of the federal compensation fund, reversed course on the controversial issue. (New York Daily News)

Giuliani Finally Takes Control of Twin Towers Fund - Apr 19, 2002
After months of haggling, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani has finally gained control of the Twin Towers Fund. A state Supreme Court justice signed off Tuesday on the transfer of the fund from the city to Giuliani's new organization. The city will transfer the $100 million left in the fund to the Giuliani-controlled charity. The money will be dispersed over the next 60 days. (New York Post)

Less Than 10 Percent Of Victims' Relatives Applying For Federal Aid - Apr 18, 2002
Less than 10 percent of the relatives of people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks have sought sought compensation through the federal government's victims fund. Only 265 applications from relatives of the 3,054 people killed have been received, according to Justice Department figures. The lag is due in part to confusion about the fund's rules, and awards from charities that have bought families time to weigh their options, victims groups say. (New York Post)

Firefighters And Emergency Workers To Receive More From Federal Compensation Fund - Apr 17, 2002
Firefighters and other public-safety officers will be eligible for more money from the federal government's Sept. 11 victims' compensation fund under a more generous interpretation of guidelines expected to be announced this week. The fund's special master, Kenneth Feinberg, said yesterday that he would soon make it clear that not all uniformed officers' government pension would count against a fund award. The exact percentage is still being worked out, he said. (New York Post)

$600,000 In Donations To City Schools After September 11 Still Unaccounted For - Apr 11, 2002
More than 3,000 people from around the world sent about $4 million to city schools after Sept. 11 — but officials were unable to say exactly how nearly $600,000 of the money was spent.Some $579,976 was spent on "school needs," said Board of Education officials, who were unable to give a breakdown. Another $1.4 million hasn't been touched yet, they said. (New York Daily News)

Long Island Man Charged With September 11th Charity Fraud - Apr 7, 2002
A Long Island man was charged yesterday with soliciting donations by falsely claiming they were for the children of a firefighter killed at the World Trade Center, then using the money to buy crack cocaine, Suffolk County police said. (New York Daily News)

Boxing Match To Raise Funds For 9/11 Victims' Families - Mar 27, 2002
The organizers of Champions and Heroes ...A Corporate Night at the Fights hope to raise $100,000 for police and firefighters' widows and children. At $500 a ticket for dinner and nine fights at the New York Sheraton Hotel and Towers, the event is an upscale version of the fund-raisers usually organized by the NYPD Boxing Association. (New York Daily News)

23 Accused of Taking Money Meant for Sept. 11 Victims - Mar 22, 2002
Officials announced the arrest of 23 people accused of falsely claiming their relatives had died in the terrorist attacks. All told, 15 of them successfully obtained $740,465 from charities and government agencies, the authorities said. The defendants filed false death certificates for people they said were spouses, children, nieces, nephews and siblings and received amounts from $1,000 to $272,800 from reilef agencies. (New York Times)

Many Victims Unable To Get Assistance Six Months After Attacks - Mar 13, 2002
The New York Immigration Coalition anounced this week that six months after the attacks of September 11, many low-wage immigrant workers and family members of victims are hindered in their attempts to access relief programs. The obstacles include geographic restrictions, language barriers, and confusion on eligibility due to immigration status restrictions on certain relief programs. The coalition called for a a late filing process and an emergency eviction and utility cut-off prevention program to help those in need. (Gotham Gazette)

Schumer Urges $225 Million for Nonprofits - Mar 11, 2002
A $225 million plan to help dozens of local nonprofit organizations survive the impact of Sept. 11 was unveiled yesterday. The nonprofits range from such large institutions as the Bronx Zoo, which has lost $5.5 million in revenues, to smaller centers that provide food and nutrition, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said at a news conference held at another organization in jeopardy, the Downtown Athletic Club. (Newsday)

World Trade Center Stamp To Be Unveiled - Mar 10, 2002
The U.S. Postal Service will unveil a special World Trade Center memorial stamp on Monday at a White House ceremony marking six months since the terrorist attacks on America. The special stamp will be worth 34 cents in postage but will cost 45 cents. The extra 11 cents will go to a fund set up by the Federal Emergency Management Administration to aid families of perished World Trade Center rescue workers. (New York Daily News)

More Than 100 Face 9/11 Fraud Investigations - Mar 8, 2002
More than 100 people are under investigation for allegedly scamming more than $1 million from charities set up to help victims of the Twin Towers attack. Investigators say they are poised to charge at least four dozen suspects with cashing in on the tragedy by falsely claiming they lost loved ones who never existed, were still alive or had died earlier, law enforcement sources said. (New York Post)

Federal Aid for Victims' Families Officially Increased - Mar 8, 2002
Months of furious and often heartbreaking debate over the federal Sept. 11 victims' compensation fund ended yesterday with the announcement of final regulations and an average payout of about $1.85 million. In last-minute changes, fund administrators decided not to subtract personal pensions and retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, from fund payments. But other benefits, such as life insurance payouts, will be deducted from the awards. Payouts from the fund will total about $7 billion. (New York Daily News)

September 11th Fund To Set Aside $250 Million for Future September 11 Needs - Mar 7, 2002
Administrators of the September 11th Fund, created by the United Way of New York City and the New York Community Trust, will set aside $250 million -- more than half its collected donations -- for future needs related to the terrorist attacks. The money will pay for counseling, job training, health care and other programs to help people and communities harmed Sept. 11, officials said yesterday. This is in contrast to the decision of the American Red Cross to reserve more than $200 million of its contributions for future terrorist attacks and other programs unrelated to the Sept. 11 tragedy. (New York Daily News)

Relatives of Victims To Get More From Federal Government - Mar 6, 2002
Spouses and children of Sept. 11 victims will get more cash than they expected — an extra $50,000 per survivor — but less than they hoped for from the federal compensation fund, under final regulations to be announced tomorrow afternoon. The average family will receive about $1.7 million, $100,000 more than forecast previously. Payments for survivors' pain and suffering and loss of companionship are doubled to $100,000. However, life insurance payouts, Social Security payments to children, workers' compensation and federal death benefits for public employees will all be subtracted from awards, the sources said. (New York Daily News)

New Rules In Store For Sept. 11 Federal Compensation Fund - Mar 5, 2002
The Bush administration is close to a decision on several changes in the Victims Compensation Fund that could result in scores of families' receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the fund's original rules would have allowed. The new rules would open the fund to hundreds of additional rescue workers and World Trade Center employees who were injured in the attack, including those who suffered disabling lung ailments. In the most significant financial adjustment, the amount to spouses and children for noneconomic damages like loss of companionship would go to $100,000 from $50,000. (New York Times)

Relief Agencies Overwhelmed By Response - Mar 5, 2002
Relief agencies were overwhelmed by donations and then requests for help in the weeks following September 11. The New York Times Neediest Case Fund released a report today with its findings about the distribution of relief funds, citing speed, organization, accountability, and creativity as key factors in getting the funds distributed in the best way possible. (New York Times)

FEMA Extends Aid Deadline - Mar 5, 2002
Individuals and businesses affected by the Sept. 11 attacks now have an extra six months to apply for federal aid, thanks to a deadline extension by recovery officials. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Monday that applicants may submit requests for state and federal aid until Sept. 30. The deadline had been March 11. (Newsday)

Friday March 8 A Key Deadline for Post 9/11 Unemployed - Mar 2, 2002
Workers who lost their jobs because of the Sept. 11 attacks have until Friday to make appointments to apply for aid from three major New York agencies. The American Red Cross in Greater New York, the Salvation Army and Safe Horizon are scheduling appointments at the Disaster Assistance Service Center at 141 Worth St. The program applies to people who were working below Canal Street and lost their jobs by Dec. 31 (for Red Cross aid) or by Jan. 11 (for Salvation Army and Safe Horizon). (New York Post)

Giuliani To Distribute Twin Towers Fund Within 60 Days - Feb 27, 2002
In an effort to end a bitter dispute, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani agreed yesterday to distribute within 60 days $100 million in the city Twin Towers Fund to the families of 430 uniformed and civilian rescuers who died on September 11. Many of the families had criticized efforts by the former mayor to privately run the charity, hire a staff of 12 and perhaps take months or years to distribute the millions of dollars. Some had threatened to sue to block Giuliani from controlling the fund, which had been collected under the auspices of City Hall. (New York Times)

Mayor Backs Giuliani Control of Relief Fund - Feb 22, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he saw no reason not to transfer control of the Twin Towers Fund to a private charity run by Rudy Giuliani, a move that some firefighters and victims' families now oppose. The mayor said he is confident Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who regulates charities, will resolve the matter in a way that meets Giuliani's wishes and the families' concerns. The families have complained that Giuliani packed the board with friends and plans to spend $1.2 million on employee salaries. (New York Daily News)

Attorney General Urges Watchdogs For Twin Towers Charity - Feb 21, 2002
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has asked former Mayor Rudy Giuliani to make changes to the Twin Towers Fund, including adding a city appointee to the charity's board. Spitzer also wants Giuliani to subject the fund, which has recently come under criticism, to annual audits by the city Comptroller's Office and the Department of Investigation. (New York Post)

Police Officers' Widows Oppose Giuliani's Control Of Fund - Feb 21, 2002
The widows of 15 police officers killed at the World Trade Center threatened yesterday to take legal action to try to stop the Bloomberg administration from transferring control of the $160-million Twin Towers Fund to a private charity of the same name run by Rudolph W. Giuliani.The transfer must be approved in State Supreme Court before it can become final. (New York Times)

Victims' Families Want To Meet With Mayor - Feb 16, 2002
Families of more than a dozen police officers slain on Sept. 11 sent a letter to Mayor Bloomberg yesterday asking for an immediate meeting to discuss their fears about the Twin Towers Fund. The letter comes on the heels of another missive from cops' families concerned that the fund, which has raised $150 million, will become bogged down in administrative costs. Former Mayor Giuliani has been involved recently in a controversy over the amount of money to be paid to administrative staff overseeing the fund. (New York Post)

New Fund for Emergency Workers Distributes First Relief - Feb 16, 2002
A new charity will help firefighters, cops and other rescuers who have been injured while working at Ground Zero. Seven firefighters got $1,500 checks yesterday from the new World Trade Center Miracle Foundation, a California charity that created the Ground Zero Medical Fund. Emergency Medical Service workers and volunteers also will receive assistance. (New York Daily News)

Charities' Deadline To Apply For Disaster Relief Approaching - Feb 15, 2002
Having already doled out hundreds of millions of dollars to residents and businesses in Lower Manhattan, three of the charitable funds that have given the most to victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack will soon stop taking applications for emergency cash grants for anyone who has lost a job, a business or income because of the attack. Officials with the funds — the American Red Cross's Liberty Fund, the Sept. 11 Fund and the Salvation Army — said they thought it was time to move from providing disaster relief to financing longer-term services like job training and counseling. And they said they had already reached a sizable number of those affected, disbursing an estimated $250 million to more than 50,000 displaced workers and business owners to date. Charity officials, who at first said they were confident they had made a reasonable effort to inform people of the deadline, late yesterday announced they would extend the deadline for people to make appointments to discuss aid to March 8. (New York Times)

Families of Police Victims Trying To Stop Rudy's Plans for Twin Towers Fund - Feb 15, 2002
The families of 14 of the 23 police officers killed at the World Trade Center threw a roadblock Thursday in front of Rudolph Giuliani’s plans for a staff of nearly a dozen people to administer his $100 million Twin Towers Fund. A lawyer representing the families, Edward Hayes, faxed Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly a letter Thursday voicing the group’s opinion that no bureaucracy of 11 staffers is needed to handle the funds. “My clients feel that these generous donations are for their benefit and there is no need for any bureaucracy to make decisions for them,” Hayes’ letter said. (Newsday)

Giuliani Seeks To Take Over Twin Towers Fund - Feb 6, 2002
The city-run Twin Towers Fund has suspended payments to the families of dead firefighters, police officers and other uniformed heroes while a fledgling charity controlled by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani attempts to take over the funds assets about $100 million and growing. The transfer, possibly unprecedented in nature, needs approval by Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. CUNY vice chancellor Frederick Schaffer, the chairman of the city-run charity, said the organization, called the New York City Public and Private Initiative, had planned from the outset to spin off the Twin Towers Fund. (Newsday)

Red Cross Announces Plans for Rest of Disaster Funds - Feb 1, 2002
The American Red Cross yesterday announced how it would distribute another $360 million from its giant Liberty Disaster Fund for victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Former United States Senator George J. Mitchell, who now oversees the fund, said $240 million would be paid in direct financial assistance to families, $80 million would go for long-term services like mental health treatment, and $25 million would be spent on immediate disaster relief, like the maintenance of support centers. (New York Times)

Rudy Named His Judi To Twin Towers Fund Board - Jan 28, 2002
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani had his girlfriend Judith Nathan appointed to the board of directors of the city's Twin Towers Fund during his push to take over the charity. Nathan is one of 14 of the mayor's friends, supporters or former employees named to the volunteer board, which will oversee the $100 million fund, according to documents filed with the state Attorney General's Office. Giuliani will chair the board, which will have some entertainment muscle, with Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger and NBC Chairman/CEO Robert Wright. According to the documents, the fund plans to hire as many as 12 people, with the total annual payroll reaching as much as $1.44 million. To date, the Giuliani-established fund has distributed nearly $50 million of the $145 million collected. (New York Post)

Charities Mull Closing Sept. 11 Funds - Jan 24, 2002
Some charities have stopped soliciting money for September 11 relief and several others are debating whether to shut down fund-raising. Since the attacks, charities including the Red Cross and the Twin Towers Fund have raised $1.5 billion, with much of it distributed already. The September 11th Fund, created by the United Way and New York Community Trust, just called for a halt to donations, while Red Cross stopped soliciting donations for September 11 relief at the end of October. (Associated Press)

Firefighters' Fund Gives $100M in Aid - Jan 21, 2002
By the end of last year, a fund created by the International Association of Fire Fighters had donated over $100 million to the 343 families of dead or missing firefighters. Each family received approximately $300,000. This rapid distribution of relief funds is in stark contrast to the debate over compensation for so-called "civilian" victims of September 11. (Newsday)