9/11 Anniversary is Marked Around the Country - Sep 12, 2004
They gathered at a hole in the ground in Lower Manhattan, a lonely patch of earth in rural Pennsylvania and a spot near the healed breach in the seat of military power, the Pentagon. The crowds were smaller than in past years, the grief perhaps muffled a bit by the gauze that time weaves over raw wounds, as hundreds drew close to the sites of the worst terrorist attack in United States history yesterday to remember and mourn those lost three years earlier, on Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Times )

As 9/11 Slips into the Past, New York Pauses to Mark Anniversary - Sep 12, 2004
With broken voices and shattered hearts, parents of 9/11 victims read the litany of the lost at the World Trade Center site yesterday to mark the third anniversary of the terror attacks. But the constant noise of traffic on the adjacent West Side Highway was a reminder of how, for many in New York and the nation, the horrors of 9/11 have begun to slip into the past. (New York Daily News)

Quotes from 9/11 Commemoration - Sep 12, 2004
"There's no other place to be. It's just a place to reconnect. This is where he was last." -- Anne Allen of Fort Lee, N.J., who lost her brother, Salvatore Pepe, and was at the ground zero memorial. (Newsday )

Some Mourning 9/11 Losses Avoid Ground Zero - Sep 12, 2004
Recent interviews with more than 300 relatives of those killed on September 11, 2001 found that scores have not been to ground zero since the attacks. They have their own reasons: dread. Privacy, a feeling at odds with something as public as a ceremony shown live on television. Anger at officials they believe did not do enough to prevent the attacks. Fear, among some who do not live in Manhattan, of going to the place that was forever changed and that forever changed them. (New York Times )

9/11 Families Make What May Be Last Trip to Ground Zero - Sep 12, 2004
Relatives of those who died at the World Trade Center walked seven stories down to the bedrock yesterday, knowing the descent to the hallowed ground may be their last. (New York Daily News)

Fresh Tear on Third Anniversary of Attacks - Sep 12, 2004
Thousands of weeping mourners, four dramatic moments of silence and one gut-wrenching recitation of the names of the dead combined yesterday at Ground Zero to somberly mark the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (New York Post )

Firefighter Honor Those Killed on 9/11 - Sep 12, 2004
Quiet ceremonies honoring the hundreds of firefighters killed at the World Trade Center were held across the city yesterday, as a large number of Bravest chose to mourn the third anniversary of 9/11 away from Ground Zero. (New York Post )

Honoring Coworkers Killed On 9/11, Restaurant Workers Plan New Eatery - Sep 12, 2004
Windows on the World staffers gather at Pier 25 yesterday to honor their 73 fallen co-workers. They plan to open a new eatery. (New York Post )

New Yorkers Who Left After 9/11 Return Home - Sep 12, 2004
New Yorkers who fled the city after 9/11 are returning, some to within a stone's throw of Ground Zero. (New York Post )

Claims Linger for 9/11 Victims - Sep 12, 2004
Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently proclaimed the city "back in business," three years after the devastating World Trade Center attack of Sept. 11, 2001. Still, few New Yorkers would deny the lingering effects of the attacks. (Newsday )

Suspending Campaigns, Kerry, Bush Mark 9/11 Anniversary - Sep 12, 2004
On a day reserved for remembrance, President Bush and Sen. John Kerry stepped off the campaign trail Saturday to mark the three-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with warm words for the victims' families. (Chicago Tribune )

For New Yorkers Not Directly Affected by Attack, Life Goes on - Sep 12, 2004
As the nation mourned the deaths of close to 3,000 people, many New Yorkers were out and about. During the precessions at ground zero, NY1's Itay Hod grabbed a camera and took to the streets to check out how some New Yorkers are spending this anniversary. (NY1)

Staten Island Memorial Unveiled - Sep 12, 2004
Rounding out a long and intense day of events marking the third anniversary of 9/11, a memorial to Staten Island victims was dedicated on the borough's waterfront at the ferry terminal across the harbor from the Trade Center site. (NY1)

600 Sue Over Health Problems From Ground Zero Cleanup - Sep 12, 2004
More than 600 people have filed a class-action lawsuit contending they suffered health problems from the cleanup of the World Trade Center, officials said yesterday. (New York Daily News )

Laughing and Crying, Grieving Family of a Firefighter Moves On - Sep 12, 2004
She remained bliss fully serene until she repeated her husband's last words before 9/11 took him away. (New York Post )

9/11 Widow Expecting a New Child - Sep 12, 2004
Today, Star, who moved to Florida with her young daughter to escape this place, badly wanted to return. Only now, she can't. Star had two very good reasons for missing the third anniversary ceremony of the World Trade Center atrocity: First, the approach of Hurricane Ivan made it impossible for her to get a flight. Second, Star, now 24, is just a month away from giving birth. (New York Post )

Woman Who Witnessed 9/11 Marries on Attack's Third Anniversary - Sep 12, 2004
Catherine Wragg and John Fulbrook are all smiles outside St. Patrick's Cathedral, where they got married yesterday — three years after she saw the towers fall near her workplace. Julie Stapen On Sept. 11, 2001, Catherine Wragg watched the Twin Towers come down from the window of the downtown insurance company where she's vice president of human resources. (New York Post )

Widow of Firefighter Resents Political Use of Attacks - Sep 12, 2004
She is the former Carla Dennis and she is 38 and she had a real marriage with her firefighter. Now she lives with her two kids in Manhattan. She did not join any group of widows because she felt 9/11 was being used by the worst politicians and beliefs. (Newsday )

Police Officers Honor Those Killed on 9/11 - Sep 12, 2004
Three years later their duty as police officers remains the same, but their lives have drastically changed. (NY1)

Families Mark Third Anniversary of 9/11 at Ground Zero - Sep 11, 2004
With quavering voices, parents and grandparents of those killed at the World Trade Center slowly read the names of the victims early Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the attacks that brought down the twin towers. Moments of silence were observed at 8:46 and 9:03 a.m., the times two planes slammed into the trade center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, and at 9:59 and 10:29, when the two towers collapsed. (Associated Press)

Pain Still Fresh for 9/11 Families - Sep 11, 2004
The first year they were numb. The second they gathered enough strength to pull what was left of their families together. Now it's the third anniversary and the anguish of life forever without their husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, children and grandchildren has become painfully real. (New York Daily News)

With Constant Reminders, Children of 9/11 Victims Grow up Grieving - Sep 11, 2004
For all the dark assumptions and the outpouring of sympathy and money, the children of the victims of 9/11 receded from public view. Their families protected them. Journalists shied away from them. Social workers struggled to find them. And psychotherapists confronted a novel clinical challenge: how to treat children who have suffered a loss so brutally intimate yet spectacularly public. Only now is a portrait of these children emerging. (New York Times )

As Deadline Approached, A Rush to Sue Over 9/11 - Sep 11, 2004
A deadline yesterday for lawsuits related to the Sept. 11 attacks prompted a rush to the New York federal courthouse where all such suits have been filed. (New York Times )

Fundraising For Memorial Has Yet to Begin - Sep 11, 2004
Eight months after the World Trade Center memorial design was unveiled, Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg have yet to find a prominent person willing to lead the foundation that's raising the money to build it. (New York Daily News)

Marking 9/11's Anniversary on City Island - Sep 11, 2004
New York has its ends of the earth, odd little places so psychically removed from the rest of the city that they barely heed the urban scat. Places like City Island, that Bronx curio of a community lingering like an afterthought in the chop and sway of the Long Island Sound. But it is the second week in September, the third anniversary, and remote City Island is still New York City. (New York Times )

Couple Who Met on 9/11 Remembers Worst, Best Day of Their Lives - Sep 11, 2004
For Jason Newberg and Jennifer Elias, Sept. 11 remains one of the worst days of their lives — and one of the best. That's because, just hours after the Twin Towers crashed to the ground, they met for the first time — and quickly fell in love. (New York Post )

Omens Lead 9/11 Widow to New Love - Sep 11, 2004
Brave Kellie Lee beams with joy as she reveals she has finally found love again — three years after her husband died in the 9/11 terror attacks. (New York Post )

Midwestern Parents of 9/11 Victim Are Now Linked to New York - Sep 11, 2004
Andrea Haberman was not a New Yorker. She was a 25-year-old Wisconsinite turned Chicagoan who came to New York for the first time on a business trip on Sept. 10, 2001. She was murdered 10 hours later by al Qaeda at Carr Futures on the 92nd floor of One World Trade Center. Three years on, Andrea's parents, Gordon and Kathy, and her younger sister, Julie, are forever linked with New York and with New Yorkers. (New York Post )

New Yorkers Honor 9/11 Memory By Helping Californians - Sep 11, 2004
This weekend, 14 New Yorkers — including 11 city firefighters — are volunteering in Harbison Canyon, a small community outside San Diego, helping rebuild houses destroyed during last fall’s wildfires. How they got there is one of the great legacies of 9/11. (New York Post )

Parents Will Read Name at Modest 9/11 Anniversary Ceremony - Sep 10, 2004
Parents and grandparents of victims, will be the emotional heart of tomorrow's Ground Zero ceremony, where they will read the names of all those killed in the attacks. But as older generations step to the podium, they will be presiding over a decidedly trimmed-down day of remembrance. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Anniversary Events - Sep 10, 2004
Events commemorating the third anniversary of the terror attack on the World Trade Center are scheduled throughout the city. Following is a sampling: (Newsday )

9/11 Families Wonder Whether Loved Ones Jumped From Towers - Sep 10, 2004
The families of some Sept. 11 victims are exploring how their loved ones died, but the topic of those who jumped from the World Trade Center is especially sensitive. (New York Times )

Companies Cash in on 9/11 Anniversary Souvenirs - Sep 10, 2004
There's no shortage of retailers making a play for Patriot Day paydays, shamelessly linking their products to commemorate the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks. (New York Daily News)

Some New Yorkers Still Having Trouble Coping With 9/11 - Sep 10, 2004
In the three years since the Sept. 11 attacks, most New Yorkers have adjusted emotionally, learning to cope in a world where terrorism is an ongoing threat. For many others, the coping remains difficult. (Newsday )

City Prepares Soggy Ground Zero for Anniversary Ceremony - Sep 10, 2004
The ground was still water-soaked yesterday at the World Trade Center site, but Sept. 11 observances will go on rain or shine tomorrow, city officials said yesterday. (Newsday )

Football Star to Sing At 9/11 Anniversary Ceremony - Sep 10, 2004
A former football star, Morris Robinson will provide the soundtrack for Friday's ceremony at ground zero marking the third anniversary of 9/11. (New York Times )

Navy Ship Being Built With Trade Center Steel - Sep 10, 2004
The World Trade Center will live on in a new Navy warship called the New York. The $1.2 billion amphibious transport dock ship, which Secretary of the Navy Gordon England will officially name today, is to include steel salvaged from the wreckage of the twin towers. (New York Daily News)

Many 9/11 Court Battles Remain Unresolved - Sep 9, 2004
Despite all that has happened in the last three years, despite all the rebuilding and all the talk of recovery, there are still places where the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center reverberates more strongly than ever. In the hearts of many Americans, for example. In the minds of many New Yorkers. And, of course, in the courts. (New York Times )

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 )

9/11 Related Cancer May Not Emerge for Decades, Says Doctors - Sep 9, 2004
A patchwork of post-Sept. 11 health screening programs will not detect any increases in more serious, long-term illnesses like cancer, experts told Congress on Wednesday. Doctors and government investigators told a House subcommittee it could take decades to pick up on all of the lingering health woes stemming from Sept. 11 and the cleanup effort around the World Trade Center. (Newsday )

Website Offers "Living Memorial" To 9/11 Victims, Families - Sep 9, 2004
A high-profile 9/11 organization launched an Internet-based memorial yesterday that will serve as a "portal of reflection, remembrance, interaction, education and scholarly research" about the terrorist attacks. (New York Daily News)

Memorial Planned For Flight 93 Victims - Sep 9, 2004
The 40 innocent passengers and crew who died on hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 should be honored because they played a role in the "only victory" during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said the father of one of the victims. That's what planners hope people remember as they submit designs for a crash site memorial in a national competition announced Wednesday. (Newsday )

Image of Twin Towers Remains Throughout City - Sep 9, 2004
They are lost, of course. But they have not disappeared. Three years after it seemed that the name and image of the twin towers would be mournfully expunged from the cityscape, the World Trade Center survives. Not on the skyline, but on street signs and shopping bags and book covers, in Fire Department insignia and the logo of the Alliance for Downtown New York, in a subway station and a parking garage, at the gateway to SoHo and in the lobby of an apartment building that was especially hard hit on Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Times )

Frederic Schwartz: Designer of Two 9/11 Memorials - Sep 9, 2004
Frederic Schwartz is standing on a peninsula at Liberty State Park where ground is to be broken tomorrow for the 9/11 memorial he has designed for New Jersey, only three-and-a-half hours after ground is broken in Westchester County for the 9/11 memorial he has designed there. But for a moment, his sad eyes are not focused on the empty sky across the Hudson River where the World Trade Center is supposed to be. (New York Times )

Art Exhibit Traces Children's Recovery from 9/11 - Sep 9, 2004
The magic marker drawing of an empty baseball diamond adorned with two little yellow crosses told Allison Hobbs just how much her 12-year-old son, Steven, misses his dad, who was killed on 9/11. (New York Daily News)

Study Finds Lack of Data on 9/11 Air Quality - Sep 8, 2004
Days before the third anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center, federal agencies have yet to make a coordinated and comprehensive effort to study the health effects of the debris that filled the air in the weeks after the attack, according to a draft copy of a government study to be presented to Congress today. The study also shows that there is still no federal treatment program for those suffering from related problems. (New York Times )

New York Officials Reject New Homeland Security Funding Plan - Sep 8, 2004
A Republican plan to give New York more anti-terror funding in time to mark Saturday's 9/11 anniversary hit a wall yesterday after Mayor Bloomberg and other lawmakers said the proposal is useless. (New York Post )

Children of 9/11 Victims Display Art in Chelsea - Sep 8, 2004
Fifty pieces of art now on display in Chelsea were created by children who lost a parent during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Forty children contributed pieces for the exhibit at the Terrapin Art Gallery. (NY1)

Survey Studies Three Years of Recovery for 9/11 Families - Sep 7, 2004
In the three years since the attacks, there have been hints of the struggles the families have fought, of the lingering toll of their losses, of the agony of deciding, among many other things, whether to accept money from the federal compensation fund or to sue in pursuit of accountability. There have been, too, hints of recovery, or at least of a determination to repair their ruptured lives as best they could. Some have, over the nearly 36 months since Sept. 11, 2001, made their voices heard - some publicly, some only at memorial ceremonies when the names of the dead were read out. (New YorkTimes)

Trade Center Veterans Plan Cooperative Restaurant - Sep 7, 2004
Memory can make a bitter dish, but a group of 50 waiters, cooks and busboys who once worked at the Windows on the World restaurant are intent on honoring 73 colleagues who died when the twin towers collapsed by opening what may be New York's first cooperatively owned restaurant. (New York Times )

Mets Mark 9/11 Anniversary With First Pitch From Firefighter - Sep 7, 2004
A rookie Brooklyn firefighter, who lost his firefighting dad on 9/11, has been tapped to throw out the first pitch at Shea Stadium on the third anniversary of the event that changed the nation, The Post had learned. (New York Post )

Some Couples Plan 9/11 Weddings - Sep 7, 2004
Why would anybody in their right mind want to get married on Sept. 11? Dan Dunleavy and Tracey Bobst are going to do just that this Saturday — mere blocks from Ground Zero — and they have a very good reason. "We're celebrating life," said Dunleavy, a 30-year- old energy trader with Shell Oil and Gas. (New York Post )

Third Annual Walk Honors Fire Chaplain Killed on 9/11 - Sep 7, 2004
With the three-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks less than a week away, friends and supporters of Mychal Judge retraced the final steps of the popular Fire Department chaplain who was killed in the terror attacks. Judge was honored Sunday in the third annual Walk of Remembrance. (NY1)

9/11 Families Want Victims Remains Removed from Fresh Kills - Sep 2, 2004
About 40 relatives and friends of Trade Center victims turned out at Ground Zero to insist that dust containing tiny fragments of blood, bone and human ashes be removed from the Staten Island's Fresh Kills landfill to a burial ground. (New York Daily News)

Stuyvesant Students Protest GOP's Use of 9/11 - Sep 2, 2004
Less than two weeks before the third anniversary of 9/11, about 30 current and former Stuyvesant students rallied against President George W. Bush, and the GOP Convention's use of Ground Zero. (Newsday )

New Yorkers Split on GOPs Use of 9/11 - Sep 1, 2004
Some New Yorkers expressed outrage yesterday over the Republicans' use of the Sept. 11 terror attacks for political purposes, while others said the GOP was correct in keeping alive the memory of the tragic event. (Newsday )

Serving Delegates, Former Trade Center Workers Silently Recall Windows on the World - Sep 1, 2004
As Republicans rally and party in New York this week, they have frequently raised the subject of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, some more delicately than others. That day is history, of course. But in the city they have chosen for their political coronation, it is also personal - so personal that they may be closer to the tragedy than they realize, in the form of that silent person before them, offering tenderloin tips on a tray. (New York Times )

Delegates Continue to Flock to Ground Zero - Sep 1, 2004
Energized by speeches that framed President George W. Bush as the right leader in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, Republican delegates flocked to Ground Zero Tuesday to see the site where they say a presidency was forged. (Newsday )

Giuliani Has Told Story About 9/11 Prayer for Bush Before - Sep 1, 2004
The anecdote seemed almost too scripted, too on-message to be true. Rudolph W. Giuliani told the Republican National Convention on Monday night that, in a spontaneous moment, in the midst of the attacks on Sept. 11, he had grabbed the arm of his police commissioner and said, "Thank God George Bush is our president." (New York Times )

Father Who Abandoned Son Will Get 9/11 Cash - Sep 1, 2004
The state's highest court yesterday let stand a decision making a man who abandoned his son at age 20 months eligible for half of a death benefit after the son perished in the World Trade Center attacks. (New York Daily News)

Procession of Convention Speakers Evoke 9/11 - Aug 31, 2004
The Republican Party opened its convention yesterday with a searing evocation of the Sept. 11 attacks that leveled the World Trade Center three years ago, as former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York asserted that Senator John Kerry did not have the fortitude to lead the nation through a war on terror. A procession of speakers - including a former New York City police commissioner, the current mayor of New York and a former terrorism prosecutor - invoked Mr. Bush's leadership after Sept. 11, 2001, in the city where the attacks took their greatest toll to recount the tragedy that the president's aides view as the linchpin to his re-election (New York Times )

Giuliani Boldly Uses 9/11 to Defend Bush in Convention Speech - Aug 31, 2004
President Bush must be re-elected because the nation owes it to the victims of 9/11 to continue his unrelenting war on terrorism, Rudy Giuliani declared last night. (New York Post )

With 9/11 as Focus, GOP Treads Delicate Line - Aug 31, 2004
There is only the finest of lines between invoking a disaster in which all New Yorkers , and all Americans, regardless of party, felt such a devastating stake, and exploiting it for partisan advantage. From morning to night, the Republicans strode proudly, even defiantly, right up to that line - if not over it - and the delegates responded with roaring approval. (New York Times )

Bloomberg, Thanking Bush for Help After 9/11, Gets Mixed Reception at Convention - Aug 31, 2004
Former Democrat Mayor Bloomberg yesterday welcomed Republicans to their convention, removing any doubt about where his political allegiances lie. He threw his support behind President Bush and thanked the GOP for aiding New York in the wake of 9/11. (New York Post )

Bloomberg: City Has Recovered from 9/11 - Aug 31, 2004
Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed delegates to the Republican National Convention on Monday by proclaiming that the city has fully recovered from the World Trade Center attack and thanking Republicans for choosing New York. (Newsday )

Some 9/11 Families Say GOP Exploiting Attacks - Aug 31, 2004
As Republicans begin their convention Monday, they remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and the Bush administration's response to the attacks (NY1)

For New Visitors, An Emotional Tour of Ground Zero - Aug 31, 2004
The difficulty of visiting ground zero is more than emotional and spiritual, though it is certainly that. After all, this is where 2,749 people died on Sept. 11, 2001. The difficulty is also practical. There is no one place to take it all in, no public vantage that offers an all-encompassing panorama of the World Trade Center site and neighboring towers, some of which — it may shock you to see — are almost as ravaged now as they were that Tuesday morning. (New York City)

Delegates Find Emotion and Debate at Ground Zero - Aug 31, 2004
Even more than usual, cultures clashed at ground zero. Ruled off limits to formal political protests or organized patriotic parades, the edges of the scarred 17 acres became a place for people to act out the stresses and strains that are natural when a tidal wave of Republicans washes up on a rocky Democratic shore. (New York Times )

Delegates See Ground Zero as Bush Symbol - Aug 31, 2004
The politicking is taking place at Madison Square Garden, but for many Republican delegates gathered for the convention, the key to re-electing President George W. Bush actually lies a little farther south. (Newsday )

Republicans Will Feature 9/11 Prominently at Convention - Aug 30, 2004
Republican leaders said yesterday that they would repeatedly remind the nation of the Sept. 11 attacks as their convention opens in New York City today, beginning a week in which the party seeks to pivot to the center and seize on street demonstrations to portray Democrats as extremist. (New York Times )

Delegates Drawn to Ground Zero - Aug 30, 2004
Convention delegates who visited the former site of the Twin Towers said they felt compelled to see Ground Zero. Sept. 11, they said, was a turning point for the country and for them, deepening their patriotism and desire to see the nation swiftly defended. (Newsday )

One Tribute to 9/11 Victims Has Never Been Seen by Public - Aug 30, 2004
One of the most moving tributes to the victims of Sept. 11 has never been seen in public — a 30-foot flag emblazoned with images of the victims. (New York Post )

Religious Group Call for More Aid to 9/11 Victims, Families - Aug 30, 2004
A local religious organization says it wants more help for victims and families of 9/11. (NY1)

With Ground Zero as GOP Backdrop, 9/11 Families Express Raw Emotion - Aug 29, 2004
With the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks coming little more than a week after the convention, a survey by The New York Times shows that those with the most personal connection to 9/11 - those who lost a loved one - differ from the public at large on some political and national issues: They are more skeptical about national safety and less impressed with the administration's efforts before and after the attacks. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Approach Convention From Different Perspectives - Aug 29, 2004
Jimmy Boyle, who lost his firefighter son Michael at the World Trade Center, will be attending the Republican National Convention. David Potorti, whose brother James was also killed on Sept. 11, is in the city for the event as well. But the two men are driven by very different motivations and will play very different parts. (Newsday)

Anti-War Signs Face Ground Zero - Aug 28, 2004
Convention delegates and tourists who venture down to the World Trade Center site to pay their respects to the victims of 9/11 will also see a series of anti-war signs in condominiums owned by rap mogul Russell Simmons and two of his former neighbors. (Downtown Express)

Protesters to Ring Bells and Form Ring Around Ground Zero - Aug 28, 2004
In a dimly lit room in the back of Cafe Figaro on Bleecker St. on a recent Sunday afternoon, Christian Herold and nine other individuals were getting down to details. (Downtown Express)

Ferry Riders Against Naming Boat "September 11" - Aug 25, 2004
Most Staten Island Ferry riders say naming a new boat the "September 11th" in honor of those killed in the terror attacks is "a bad idea," a new survey says. (New York Post )

Port Authority Announces 9/11 Plans - Aug 24, 2004
The Port Authority, which lost 84 employees in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, will hold a memorial service this Sept. 11 in a church near the Twin Towers site. (Newsday)

Ground Zero Ad Removed - Aug 24, 2004
The MTA has decided to remove a bright electronic advertising screen at the top of the Cortlandt Street subway station, near Ground Zero, after a lawmaker argued it would interfere with ceremonies marking the anniversary of 9/11. (New York Post)

9/11 Search Dogs Dying of Cancer, But Scientists See No Link - Aug 22, 2004
Fourteen search and rescue dogs have died since their exposure to toxic rubble from the Sept. 11 terrorist attack - including eight from cancer, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. But researchers believe there is no connection between the deaths and the chemicals they were exposed to. (New York Daily News)

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)

Citigroup Atrium Reopens After Terror Warning - Aug 21, 2004
Until Thursday, Citigroup Center at Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street had been off-limits to visitors and shoppers following the Aug. 1 warning that the building was a terrorist target. It was only Friday that nontenants were finally allowed to enter the building and visit some 20 shops on its ground and underground levels. (Newsday)

9/11 Families Support Immigrant Driver's License Restrictions - Aug 20, 2004
Families of Sept. 11th victims backed yesterday a controversial state plan to revoke driver's licenses from hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who got them using fake Social Security numbers. (New York Daily News)

Muslim FBI Agent Sues US, Charging Post 9/11 Bias - Aug 20, 2004
The FBI's legal attache to seven countries including Saudi Arabia during and after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks sued the Department of Justice on Thursday, saying the FBI all but sabotaged his efforts in a petty campaign to discredit him. According to his lawsuit, Rattigan was subjected to harassment and discrimination because he turned to the Islamic religion in December 2001. (Newsday )

Flag Found in Ground Zero Rubble Flies Over Reopened Post Office - Aug 20, 2004
An American flag that flew over the post office across from the World Trade Center was returned to Ground Zero yesterday during a rededication ceremony for the newly restored postal facility. The flag, found in the rubble of the WTC after 9/11, will be mounted in the lobby of the post office at 90 Church St. as a memorial. (New York Post )

Environmentalists Accuse President of Misleading Residents on Air Quality - Aug 19, 2004
The Bush administration repeatedly misled New Yorkers on air quality around Ground Zero and played down the health problems suffered by residents and workers after the 9/11 attacks, an environmental group charged yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Advertising Arrives at Ground Zero - Aug 19, 2004
Having mournfully contemplated the place where 2,749 people perished on Sept. 11, 2001, you may be ready to plan your next ski vacation. If so, you can read all about the All for One Pass, which entitles you - for as little as $349 - to admission at six New England resorts, including Killington and Mount Snow. The information is displayed about 25 feet from the viewing wall at ground zero, animated and bright as daylight, atop a stairway to the Cortlandt Street subway station. You can't miss it. (New York Times)

Parents to Lead Ceremony Honoring 9/11 Victims - Aug 17, 2004
The ceremony commemorating the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack will closely follow the script for last year's event. But officials said yesterday that there would be a change in the cast: instead of the victims' children taking center stage, the victims' parents and grandparents will. (New York Times)

Plans for 9/11 Anniversary Ceremony Announced - Aug 17, 2004
The parents and grandparents of the 2,749 people lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack will read the names of victims at the third anniversary of the tragedy, officials announced yesterday. (Newsday)

Construction on Staten Island's 9/11 Memorial Begins - Aug 17, 2004
Workers started installing a memorial to the September 11 victims on Staten Island Monday. (NY1)

Name Added to 9/11 Death List - Aug 17, 2004
This name has been added to the list of confirmed dead in the World Trade Center attacks: Meredith Lynn Whalen, 23. (New York Post )

Many Companies Haven't Increased Security Since 9/11 - Aug 16, 2004
Thomas E. Cavanagh set out last spring to answer a basic question: were executives of midsize companies - including potentially vulnerable industries like transportation, financial services, utilities and telecommunications - spending more on security than they did before 9/11? The results were not without surprises: almost half the roughly 100 companies on which he gained information had not increased annual spending on security at all after Sept. 11. (New York Times)

Reopening of Ground Zero Post Office Makes Life Easier Downtown - Aug 15, 2004
Downtowners living and working near the World Trade Center now have a shorter trek to make when sending packages and picking up mail — the Church St. post office reopened earlier this month after a three-year closing caused by damage from the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. (Downtown Express)

Scientologists Offer 9/11 Detox Program for $5,000 - Aug 15, 2004
The managers of a Scientology-based detox program that's been free for those officially involved in the 9/11 rescue effort now want to offer the service to thousands of other Ground Zero victims — for $5,000 each. (New York Post )

Muslim Cabdriver Attacked in 9/11-Related Bias Crime - Aug 13, 2004
A taxi driver was punched in the face by a pedestrian near the World Trade Center site Wednesday night in what police are investigating as a possible bias incident. (Newsday)

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Favors Corporate Interests, Says Report - Aug 12, 2004
A budget watchdog group said yesterday that the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation had favored corporate interests and had approved millions of dollars in contracts with organizations connected to the corporation board. (New York Times)

Tourist or Terrorist? - Aug 12, 2004
The family pictures depict what relatives say is the real Kamran Akhtar: a loving family man, not a video-shooting potential terrorist. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Tree to be Cast in Bronze - Aug 12, 2004
A sycamore tree shielded St. Paul's Church from falling debris from the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, 2001. Now, the tree’s root system is being made into a sculpture that will rest on the church grounds. (NY1)

For Bush, No Trips to Ground Zero During Convention - Aug 11, 2004
There will be no formally sanctioned commemorations at the site of the former World Trade Center during the Republican National Convention, convention planners and government officials have told The Observer. (New York Observer)

Queens Street Named for 9/11 Victim - Aug 11, 2004
Hundreds of family, friends, rescue workers and city officials gathered in Queens Sunday as a street was renamed for a man killed in September 11, 2001, attacks. (NY1)

Responding to Warning, Feds Take Over Helicopter Security - Aug 10, 2004
Federal security officers will take over the screening of all passengers on helicopter tours in New York City, after officials found that suspected Qaeda operatives in Pakistan had photographs, a brochure and other information about the tours. (New York Times)

Couples Avoid September 11 Weddings - Aug 10, 2004
For the first time since the terror attacks of 2001, Sept. 11 falls on a Saturday this year. September has become a popular month for brides - second only to June - but people who plan weddings say that some prospective brides and bridegrooms are avoiding the day and the overtones of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They do not want grief-laden memories of loss and fear dimming the joy and hope that will come with saying "I do," running the gantlet of rice-throwing guests and dancing their first dance as a married couple. (New York Times)

Son of Firefighter Who Died on 9/11 Becomes Firefighter - Aug 10, 2004
The FDNY's graduation for 170 probies yesterday was bittersweet for its class valedictorian — the young man's beloved dad, a firefighter who perished on 9/11, wasn't there to see him accept his certificate. (New York Post )

City Using New Technology to Identify 9/11 Remains - Aug 9, 2004
Of the 2,749 victims of 9/11, investigators identified 738 using dental records and 827 through traditional DNA testing, according to the medical examiner's office. The city just hired Affymetrix, a California-based genetics company, that has developed a new technology officials say could succeed where others have failed. (New York Post )

Health Registry Prepares for Final Registration Push - Aug 7, 2004
The World Trade Center Health Registry has become the largest registry in U.S. history, but the more than 50,000 enrollees still fall short of the city’s expectations for the program. In the three weeks remaining before the Aug. 31 cutoff, officials hope to enroll many more people, particularly Lower Manhattan residents. The effort aims to track the long-term physical and mental health consequences of the World Trade Center disaster. (Downtown Express)

Russell Simmons' Signs at Ground Zero Cause Controversy - Aug 7, 2004
Signs posted on the windows of millionaire music mogul Russell Simmons’ apartment reading “No More War, “Peace,” and “No More Lies” are causing a bit of controversy. The apartment overlooks Ground Zero. (NY1)

Downtowners React to Terror Warning - Aug 7, 2004
It wasn’t quite business as usual on Monday, as Downtowners went about their routines amid heightened security in response to terror threats against the Citigroup buildings and the New York Stock Exchange. But many residents and workers greeted the alert with resolve, saying it would not cause them to change their behavior. (Downtown Express)

WTC Cultural Institutions Tell Residents What to Expect - Aug 7, 2004
Representatives from the four cultural institutions selected for the arts and museum complex at the redeveloped World Trade Center site told residents what kinds of amenities they could expect when the complex opens in five years. (Downtown Express)

A Cartoonist's Account of 9/11 - Aug 7, 2004
Unlike most cartoonists, the Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman, 56, tends to focus on the big traumas of contemporary history and their impact on his life. Mr. Spiegelman's graphic novels about how his Polish-Jewish parents survived the fires of World War II, "Maus I" and "Maus II," sold 1.8 million copies in the United States, according to his publisher, Pantheon Books. Next month Pantheon is releasing "In the Shadow of No Towers," Art Spiegelman's artistic response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as an expression of his deep opposition to the war in Iraq. (New York Times)

Maryland Man Guilty of $450,000 9/11 Fraud - Aug 6, 2004
A Maryland man pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing $450,000 in federal funds targeted for downtown businesses affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office announced yesterday. (New York Post)

City Works on Skyscraper Evacuation Plans - Aug 5, 2004
More than 11 years after terrorists first struck at the World Trade Center, the city is still struggling to complete guidelines for evacuating high-rise buildings where thousands of workers would face vital questions of what to do if their skyscraper were to come under attack. (New York Times)

Restrictions on Trucks Entering Manhattan Eased - Aug 5, 2004
Three days after sharply increasing security in response to a federal alert about possible terrorist plots, the New York City Police Department last night partly lifted its ban on trucks and vans entering Manhattan. (New York Times)

Tourists Not Letting Terrorists Win - Aug 5, 2004
The tourists aren't letting the terrorists win. New York City welcomed a record 37.8 million visitors in 2003, bringing more than an estimated $16 billion into the local economy, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Statue of Liberty Reopens Under Heavy Security - Aug 4, 2004
Lady Liberty is back as a beacon for huddled masses of tourists after being closed for nearly three years following the 9/11 terror attacks. (New York Daily News)

After Terror Alert, How Long to Keep Extra Security in Place? - Aug 4, 2004
Just two days after the new terror alerts, questions - and even resentment - arose from inside the cross hairs, and police officials coordinating stepped-up security measures were looking ahead to when it would be possible to step back down. (New York Times)

Bloomberg Takes Current Threat More Seriously Than Previous Ones - Aug 4, 2004
Since the day Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took office, his responses to numerous federal warnings about possible terrorist attacks have been almost identical. Without exactly being dismissive, he has told New Yorkers to leave security concerns “to the professionals,” and then promptly cantered around the city, spreading the word that the city is safe and open for business. This week, however, while continuing his breakneck tours of the five boroughs, Mr. Bloomberg has taken a slightly different tack, viewing the latest alert issued by the Department of Homeland Security in a very sober light. During a television interview yesterday, (New York Times)

More Than 50,000 Enroll in WTC Health Registry - Aug 4, 2004
Mental health problems and respiratory ailments top the list of short-term effects on those who were in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, according to a preliminary review of the Health Department's World Trade Center registry. More than 50,000 people have enrolled so far in the registry, which will monitor the long-term impacts of exposure. The deadline for enrollment is Aug. 31. (Newsday)

Another Day, Another Security Alert - Aug 4, 2004
New Yorkers adjusted their schedules and continued to cope on the second business day of terrorist-inspired threats that officials described as real, albeit based partially on old information. (Newsday)

Working to Calm New Yorkers During Terror Alert - Aug 4, 2004
What’s happening behind closed doors at the Pentagon, the C.I.A. and the White House is above our security clearance. And the complex engineering and construction work required to secure buildings like the Citigroup tower against terrorist attack is beyond our layman’s understanding. But Laura Bush sitting in the atrium of the Citigroup Center, joined by Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki—especially in the weeks leading up to the Republican National Convention—as armed gunmen trawl Manhattan’s streets, is something that we all can understand. (New York Observer)

New Yorkers Carry On Despite Terror Alert - Aug 3, 2004
New Yorkers forged on in the face of the latest Al Qaeda terror threat yesterday as the First Lady and her daughters made a morale-boosting mission to the jittery city. (New York Daily News)

Statue of Liberty Reopens For First Time Since 9/11 - Aug 3, 2004
On the way to the Statue of Liberty National Monument yesterday, visitors could pick up glossy brochures featuring a cutaway diagram of the statue's interior, complete with an image of tiny tourists ascending the spiral stairs to the crown. But when the base of the statue reopens to the public today for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, people will have to be content with only their memories, or imaginings, of making the long, claustrophobic climb to the top. Like the torch, which was closed in 1916 after being damaged by a saboteur's bomb, the crown is now off limits. (New York Times)

Bloomberg Takes His Own Advice on Terror Alert - Aug 3, 2004
Mayor Bloomberg took his own advice yesterday and went about his day as usual - riding the subways, breaking ground on a new office tower, even hosting a relaxed barbecue at Gracie Mansion for city workers. (New York Daily News)

On Wall Street, Traders Ignore Terror Alert - Aug 3, 2004
Traders at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday defied the terror warnings and went about their business — the business of making money. (New York Post)

Names Added to 9/11 Death List - Aug 3, 2004
These names were added yesterday to the list of confirmed dead in the World Trade Center attacks: Melissa C. Doi, 32, and Heinrich Kimmig, 43. (New York Post)

Bloomberg on Warnings: Go About Your Business - Aug 2, 2004
Go about your business. That was the message from Mayor Bloomberg yesterday. (New York Post)

Jitters Spread With News of Terror Warning - Aug 2, 2004
Security guards gathered around a radio in the lobby of the Citicorp Center yesterday as Homeland Security czar Tom Ridge named the building as a potential terror target. Cops welded shut manhole covers and searched trucks near the Wall St. home of the New York Stock Exchange. Across the river in Newark, police in flak jackets erected concrete barriers in front of the Prudential Plaza, yet another possible target. (New York Daily News)

Terror Warnings Will Bring Traffic Troubles - Aug 2, 2004
Terror fears are expected to bring traffic headaches throughout the city this morning, as police impose restrictions on bridges and tunnels, as well as streets around potential targets. (New York Daily News)

Feds Plan to Extend Environmental Testing - Aug 1, 2004
Community members and scientific experts applauded an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to expand testing for 9/11 contaminants to residences and workplaces north of Canal St. (Downtown Express)

Spitzer Warns GOP Against Using 9/11 for Political Gain - Jul 30, 2004
New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer had a blunt warning Thursday for Republicans opening their national convention late next month in New York City: Don't politicize the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Newsday)

Nina, the Brainy Libeskind - Jul 30, 2004
Imposing, somehow, at just a smidgen over five feet tall, with a black-on-black wardrobe, a grayish brush cut of military precision and beyond-nerdy specs, Nina Libeskind seems a female photocopy of her husband, Daniel, architect of the master plan for the reconfigured World Trade Center. Taken together - and they usually are together - they're living proof that cutting edge can come in small packages. Matching packages. But the resemblance ends at the resemblance. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Plan to Hold Congress to Commission's Recommendations - Jul 29, 2004
Families of Sept. 11 victims vowed yesterday to keep a "watchdog" list of any members of Congress who oppose legislation implementing changes recommended by the 9/11 commission. (Newsday)

Air from 9/11 Didn't Inflate Cancer Risk - Jul 27, 2004
After the World Trade Center collapsed, air samples collected nearby showed that levels of some cancer-causing chemicals had soared but had fallen so quickly that the pollution spike was unlikely to increase cancer risks in nearby communities, researchers reported yesterday. (New York Times)

9/11 Commission Chair: Attacks Could Have Been Prevented - Jul 27, 2004
The chairman of the 9/11 commission, Thomas Kean, said Sunday that he believes the attacks could have prevented. (NY1)

Congress Will Hold Hearings to Discuss 9/11 Commission's Proposed Reforms - Jul 25, 2004
Senate and House committees will hold an unusual round of August hearings on intelligence reform after leaders of the Sept. 11 commission warned that America remained vulnerable to another deadly terror strike. (Associated Press)

Firefighter Training Evokes Memory of 9/11 - Jul 25, 2004
Tommy Gies gripped the gleaming bar and began to do his pullups, part of the daily routine for Fire Department recruits. But for the 169 men and one woman in this year's class, the pullups are more than merely a fitness exercise. They are a lasting reminder of the 343 Fire Department members lost in the 9/11 attacks. The twin pullup bars are bracketed by a pair of rusty steel columns fetched from the rubble at Ground Zero - the place where Gies' father died. (New York Daily News)

Vets Protest Iraq War at Ground Zero - Jul 25, 2004
Flashing peace symbols and yelling “Congress has spoken, the people have spoken: No more Vietnams,” eight members of Veterans for Peace came to the World Trade Center Site for about 20 minutes Tuesday to protest the war in Iraq. None of them made any mention of Sept. 11 during the protest. (Downtown Express)

Firefighters Have Mixed Reactions to Report - Jul 24, 2004
City firefighters say they are still concerned about communication problems mentioned in the 9/11 commission report, but they agree with the panel's recommendation that cities which are prime terror targets should receive more homeland security funding. (NY1)

Motorcycle Riders Hit the Road in Memory of 9/11 Victims - Jul 24, 2004
Hundreds of bikers hit the streets for the annual Independence Motorcycle Ride commemorating the victims of 9/11. The ride was conceived three years ago by construction workers who served during the 10-month cleanup of Ground Zero. (NY1)

9/11 Families Ambivalent About Commission Report - Jul 23, 2004
As the nation digested a 567-page report detailing the failures of intelligence agencies, politicians and first responders before and on Sept. 11, 2001, many of those most directly affected by the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 found yesterday that they weren't particularly interested in its conclusions. (Newsday)

Study Determines Location of Deaths on 9/11 - Jul 22, 2004
Now, nearly three years after the attack, federal investigators with the National Institute of Standards and Technology have come up with the most comprehensive, but still not final, tally of just who died where on Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Times)

Video Show Hijackers in Airport on September 11 - Jul 22, 2004
Surveillance video from Washington Dulles International Airport the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, shows four of the five hijackers being pulled aside to undergo additional scrutiny after setting off metal detectors but then permitted to board the fateful flight that crashed into the Pentagon. (Associated Press)

Victims' Families Briefed on 9/11 Commission Report - Jul 22, 2004
Victims’ family members, Bush administration officials and lawmakers are being briefed on the 9/11 commission’s final report Wednesday, a day before the findings will be made public. (NY1)

For Officer in Pipe Bomb Inquiry, 9/11 Scars Never Healed - Jul 22, 2004
Police Officer Joseph Rodriguez, now 27, never seemed to fully recover from September 11. From there, his short career continued to spiral downward, his guns taken away and his duties restricted to answering telephones. Having effectively ended with the World Trade Center attack, while he was still a rookie, it officially ended yesterday, as he completed the last of his disability pension paperwork. But Officer Rodriguez remains at the center of an investigation into whether, before reporting that he had discovered a flaming knapsack stuffed with a pipe bomb in a subway station on Monday night, he in fact was the one who had placed it there. (New York Times)

Congressman Fears Health Hazards from Deutsche Building Destruction - Jul 20, 2004
Rep. Jerrold Nadler yesterday blasted the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.'s planned demolition of the Deutschebank Building, saying it could release toxins that may pose a health hazard to residents. (Newsday)

Immigrants Say Post-9/11 Crackdown Persists - Jul 20, 2004
Nearly three years after 9/11, New York immigrants, their determined advocates and Catholic clergy told an emotional forum Monday that the effects of heightened enforcement of immigration laws are felt every day. (Newsday)

Furor Over Lies About Post 9/11 Air Quality - Jul 18, 2004
Robert Gulack returned to work downtown after 9/11 because federal officials said it was safe to go back. He woke up two days later choking with asthma. Now, after a blistering memo from an Environmental Protection Agency scientist claiming the city and the EPA withheld data showing the area was actually clogged with asbestos, Gulack is fuming and demanding reparations. (New York Post)

Memo Reveals Asbestos Cover-Up After 9/11 - Jul 16, 2004
An Environmental Protection Agency memo claims city and federal officials concealed data that showed lower Manhattan air was clouded with asbestos after the World Trade Center collapse. And officials sat on the alarming information even as they told the public it was safe to return downtown, the internal memo says. (New York Post)

City Urges People to Sign up for Health Registry - Jul 16, 2004
The World Trade Center Health Registry is just seven weeks away from closing the enrollment books, and a new campaign is urging people to sign up while they still can. (NY1)

Benches Become Individual 9/11 Memorials - Jul 16, 2004
Since 1986, the Central Park Conservancy has run a program called "Adopt-a-Bench." For $7,500, one can have a brief message inscribed on a plaque. In return, the conservancy promises to maintain the bench forever. It was inevitable perhaps that, in this form of urban shorthand, some would speak for those who perished on Sept. 11. At least 21 benches reflect that day, though "there could be more," said Linda Blumberg, a conservancy spokeswoman. (New York Times)

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)

Same-Sex Domestic Partner of 9/11 Victim Entitled to Payout - Jul 14, 2004
A lesbian who lost her life partner in the World Trade Center attacks is entitled to an award from the federal 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, a Brooklyn judge has ruled. (New York Daily News)

Family Members, Survivors Want 9/11 Commission Briefings in NYC - Jul 14, 2004
The 9/11 Commission is set to release some of its findings this month and plans to brief families in Washington, despite the fact that the bulk of the victims of the attacks died in the New York City area. Family members of New York victims are trying to persuade the members of the federal Sept. 11 commission to hold briefings for the relatives of the victims and survivors of the attacks in New York as well as in Washington. (Newsday)

9/11 Camps Become Popular With Children of Victims - Jul 13, 2004
America's Camp, a free week-long camp in Massachusetts for children who lost family during the attacks, was designed to distract children from 9/11's trauma. In that first summer following Sept. 11, America's Camp and at least five other camps opened on the East Coast to help children cope with the trauma of the terrorist attacks. Now, with more distance from the horror of that day, enrollment in these camps is higher than ever and continuing to grow. (Newsday)

Workers Prepare for Demolition of Last Structural Obstacle to Freedom Tower - Jul 12, 2004
Deep within the smoke-blackened ruins of an underground parking garage, 30 workers are installing tendonlike bundles of steel cable, called tiebacks, to anchor the concrete perimeter foundation wall to bedrock. This will permit the demolition in coming months of the last major structural vestige of the old World Trade Center. (New York Times)

Woman Asks for Help Finding Ring Lost on 9/11 - Jul 12, 2004
Heartsick Erin Jackman has issued an urgent appeal to New Yorkers — begging them to find the ring that was her cherished link to the kid sister she lost in the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (New York Post)

Man Accused of Fabricating Tale of 9/11 Bravery - Jul 12, 2004
A man who claims to have waded in ``toxic soup'' deep beneath the World Trade Center rubble to help find bodies is being accused of making up his tale of courage and defrauding the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of nearly $650,000. (1010 WINS)

US Open Women's Final Scheduled for September 11 - Jul 11, 2004
Is it a backhand to victims and survivors or a lob for the healing process? The United States Tennis Association has scheduled the U.S. Open's women's singles final for Sept. 11 — the third anniversary of the attacks on America that claimed nearly 3,000 lives. (New York Post)

First 9/11 Victim Identified - Jul 11, 2004
The latest World Trade Center victim to be identified is Daniel Lewin, an Israeli soldier who became a Massachusetts computer tycoon. The married father of two kids was reportedly the first 9/11 casualty. A passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 11 — the first of two hijacked planes to crash into the Twin Towers — Lewin is believed to have been the businessman stabbed to death by terrorists. (New York Post)

New Home for Trade Center Art Studios - Jul 11, 2004
From 1997 until 2001, artists worked on the 91st and 92nd floors of Tower One of the World Trade Center, capturing the city’s landscape from the highest vantage point in the Manhattan. One artist in the program died on Sept. 11, 2001. After 9/11, L.M.C.C. hopscotched from the World Financial Center, to Brooklyn and spent last year Downtown in the Woolworth Building, before artists and members of L.M.C.C. learned that Silverstein Properties had donated the artists’ current space on Broadway between Pine and Cedar Sts. (Downtown Express)

With Post 9/11 Revitalization, Downtown’s Parks Get a Little Greener - Jul 9, 2004
Bowling Green, New York's oldest park, is looking especially fresh. The park, at the foot of Broadway, has just undergone an $690,000 renovation by the city Parks Department as part of a $37 million crash program to restore and create 14 parks downtown in the wake of 9/11. (New York Times)

Daughter of 9/11 Victim Honors Cops by Becoming One - Jul 8, 2004
Catherine Hernandez believed there was only one way to repay the heroes who gave their lives trying to save her father in the World Trade Center — by donning a uniform, too. (New York Post )

9/11 Counseling Program Extended - Jul 7, 2004
An unprecedented federal crisis counseling program set up to help New Yorkers cope with the aftermath of the terror attacks has beenextended through Dec. 31, officials said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Timeline of Freedom Tower's Key Moments - Jul 7, 2004
Key events in the planning for the World Trade Center's new skyscraper: (Newsday)

Commuters Get First Glimpse of Ground Zero Construction - Jul 6, 2004
Starting today, commuters will get their first look at the construction of the new Freedom Tower at Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

I Had to Settle Family Feuds, Says 9/11 Fund Chief - Jul 6, 2004
The man who divvied up the $6 billion compensation fund to relatives of the Sept. 11 attacks said he had to resolve some pretty prickly disputes among feuding family members. (New York Daily News)

Visitors Flock to Ground Zero to See Cornerstone - Jul 6, 2004
The newly unveiled cornerstone for the Freedom Tower became lower Manhattan's latest attraction as visitors from around the world descended on Ground Zero yesterday to catch a glimpse of the 20-ton block of granite. (New York Post)

The Fishing Fanatic Behind the Freedom Center - Jul 6, 2004
Once Tom Bernstein latches onto something, be it a combative fish, a maligned development scheme for four neglected city piers, or a controversial proposal for a world-class museum devoted to world freedom at ground zero, he doesn't let go. (New York Times)

Ceremony Marks Symbolic Start to Ground Zero Construction - Jul 5, 2004
New York took the first tangible step to recover its place at the pinnacle of the global skyline in a ceremony that was held within the trade center's foundation, in bright sunshine but far below street level, where bedrock begins. With many questions unanswered, symbolism was the order of the day at the hourlong ceremony. (New York Times)

Skyscraper Museum Opens Twin Towers Exhibit - Jul 5, 2004
As the city marked Independence Day with the groundbreaking of the new Freedom Tower, the Skyscraper Museum opened its exhibit on the buildings it will replace — the Twin Towers. (New York Post)

Freedom Tower Assignment: One Quarry's "High Profile" Job - Jul 5, 2004
Had it not been chosen as the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower, the 20-ton block of granite from the Ruby Mountain quarry in the Adirondacks was destined for slightly humbler duty. "It would have ended up as someone's countertop," said Tim Conboy, the vice president for strategic planning of the Barton Group in Lake George, N.Y., which owns the quarry about 30 miles northwest, near North River. (New York Times)

For One Junior High Student, Groundbreaking Ceremony Meant a Big Performance - Jul 5, 2004
Julian Davis tried to focus on the words on the page as he took the stage at Ground Zero yesterday, and declared in a strong, clear voice "that all men are created equal." The 12-year-old, whose dad, Port Authority cop Clinton Davis, was killed on 9/11, read from the Declaration of Independence before a crowd of hundreds at the laying of the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower. (New York Daily News)

Groundbreaking Brings Varied Crowd - Jul 5, 2004
There were three kinds of people outside Sunday's groundbreaking for the Freedom Tower: spectators, protesters and sunbathers. (Newsday)

Head of Victims Compensation Fund Honored - Jul 5, 2004
A legal organization has awarded a lifetime achievement award to the head of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. Special Master Kenneth Feinberg received the award from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America at the group's annual convention in Boston. (NY1)

Construction at Ground Zero Begins, But Finished Product Still Unclear - Jul 4, 2004
The language this morning during the cornerstone laying for the Freedom Tower at ground zero will probably be as lofty as the skyscraper itself. But no one gathered around the great granite block - not the governors, the mayor, the civil servants, the developer, the planners, and certainly not the reporters - can say for certain how much of the current vision for the new World Trade Center will be realized. (New York Times)

Development at Ground Zero Moving Too Fast, Say Families - Jul 3, 2004
The Coalition of 9/11 families says developers eager to start work on the World Trade Center memorial are jumping the gun. (NY1)

Freedom Tower Opponents Prepare for a Fight - Jul 3, 2004
It’ll either be the beginning of the beginning or the beginning of the end when a cornerstone is laid for the Freedom Tower on Independence Day. Some see the start of construction of the first tower on the World Trade Center site as an important milestone three years after Lower Manhattan was left with a destroyed place where almost 2,800 people were killed. To those who dislike the new W.T.C. plan for emotional, environmental or aesthetic reasons, the ceremony this Sunday represents another step in the wrong direction. Several groups opposing the plan have been in discussions and are considering filing a lawsuit to stop it. (Downtown Express)

Housing Complex Residents Split on Rebuilding Project - Jul 3, 2004
With the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation considering the Chatham Green Houses complex as a potential site for an underground parking garage, the building’s shareholders and board members are already split as to whether the project would be a blessing or a boondoggle. (Downtown Express)

Pedestal of Statue of Liberty to Open August 3rd - Jul 1, 2004
Visitors will be able to again enter the Statue of Liberty on Aug. 3, after being closed for nearly three years of safety and security improvements, the National Parks Service said yesterday. (New York Times)

Bush Will Not Visit Ground Zero - Jun 30, 2004
President Bush will make no visits to Ground Zero during this summer's Republican National Convention, his campaign manager said yesterday. But he was quick to note that the president's not making the trip does not indicate any lack of respect. (New York Post)

Cash Found at Ground Zero Given to Victim's Father - Jun 30, 2004
A small wad of bills found in the debris of the World Trade Center has finally found its way home to the family of a firefighter who died on 9/11. The remarkable journey of these folded $10s, $5s and $1s — a total of $74 — ended at Police Headquarters on Monday after James Boyle received a call saying that DNA tests confirmed they belonged to his son, Michael. (New York Post )

Controversy Rages Over Jersey City's Proposed 9/11 Memorial - Jun 30, 2004
Chances are there would have been some degree of opposition sooner or later had anyone suggested building a 10-story, 175-ton nickel-surfaced teardrop suspended within a bronze-clad tower on a pier across the water from the World Trade Center site as a 9/11 memorial. (New York Times)

New Study Looks at Cancer Link for Ground Zero's Rescue Dogs - Jun 28, 2004
After the 9/11, about 100 search dogs from across the country and Canada who participated in the cleanup were contacted by word of mouth and through dog handler groups. Through local vets, a new study looks at blood samples, X-rays and general physical attributes to judge the health of the dogs. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Motorola Still Under Fire for 9/11 Radio Failures - Jun 27, 2004
Motorola's most passionate critics are families of New York City firefighters who died in the World Trade Center's collapse on Sept. 11, 2001. They say many firefighters never heard orders to evacuate the burning towers because their radios weren't working properly--a charge Motorola denies. (Chicago Tribune)

Brooklyn Street Renamed for Firefighter Killed on 9/11 - Jun 27, 2004
The corner of 48th Street and Seventh Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, was renamed Saturday for Firefighter David DeRubbio, one of the fallen heroes of 9/11. (NY1)

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)

Amidst Public Frustration, Ground Zero Environmental Panel Debates What To Do - Jun 26, 2004
Members of the public told an Environmental Protection Agency panel on Tuesday that the agency was losing time and jeopardizing their trust in its efforts to determine whether World Trade Center toxins remain in their communities. Residents and workers voiced their frustrations about the pace of the panel’s inquiry during public comment periods at the June 22 meeting. (Downtown Express)

Head of Victims Compensation Fund Questions its Formula - Jun 25, 2004
With his work now complete, the special master of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is questioning the formula used to determine the awards. (NY1)

Son of Highest Ranking Firefighter Killed on 9/11 Becomes Lieutenant - Jun 25, 2004
Firefighter John Feehan became an FDNY lieutenant yesterday, surrounded by his family and a cadre of fellow fire-eaters. But the event was bittersweet because his father, the man who inspired him to join the FDNY, wasn't there. His dad, First Deputy Commissioner William Feehan, was the highest-ranking FDNY official killed in the 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Center. (New York Post)

Victims Compensation Fund Releases Final Numbers - Jun 24, 2004
The final numbers are in Wednesday, and the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund says it has authorized payouts to more than 5,000 people totaling almost $7 billion. (NY1)

Firefighter Restores Motorcycle to Honor Memory of Colleague Lost on 9/11 - Jun 24, 2004
It started with a simple wish to learn to ride a motorcycle, and when tragedy claimed the life of one of New York's Bravest, one of his brothers decided to help make his dream come true. (NY1)

Bloomberg Cancels Republican Fundraiser in Feud over Security Funds - Jun 22, 2004
A fund-raiser in Mayor Bloomberg's home for the National Republican Congressional Committee was abruptly dropped yesterday in a growing feud over the allocation of federal funds to fight terrorism. (New York Post )

In One Case, Proof that 9/11 Caused Health Problem - Jun 22, 2004
After the hijacked planes struck the twin towers on 9/11, Julio Roig was among thousands of downtown workers who poured into the narrow streets from nearby buildings to watch the raging fires. He is one of the few people to demonstrate a direct link between a post 9/11 illness and toxic dust from Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

Trauma Cases Related to 9/11 Continue to Emerge - Jun 21, 2004
An average of 179 firefighters a month - new cases all - seek help from the FDNY's counseling services unit to deal with Sept. 11-related trauma, according to the unit's director, Malachy Corrigan. (New York Daily News)

South Asians Still Suffering Economically Because of 9/11 - Jun 21, 2004
The South Asian community, which is yet to recover from the economic tailspin that began after the September 11 attack, is experiencing severe economic difficulties in New York City, a study contends. (rediff.com)

A 20-ton Granite Slab Will be Focus of July 4 Ceremony at Ground Zero - Jun 20, 2004
Rather than breaking already broken ground at the World Trade Center site on July 4, Gov. George E. Pataki will instead preside as a cornerstone is laid for Freedom Tower - more than 20 tons of garnet-flecked granite from the Adirondacks. (New York Times)

Chock Full O' Nuts Removes Twin Towers from its Cans - Jun 19, 2004
Half-asleep coffee drinkers may not pay much attention to what is on the coffee can, but in redesigning its product, Chock full o'Nuts removed the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

In Wrenching Detail, Commission Recounts Morning of 9/11 - Jun 18, 2004
The nation has relived that morning countless times since Sept. 11, 2001, but never with the harrowing detail and minute-by-minute drama of the staff report released Thursday by the independent commission investigating the attacks. The 29-page report recounts a frenetic 149 minutes unlike anything ever faced by the nation's aviation and military defenses. And it details moments both of unflinching calm, like actions by the air traffic controllers who managed to orchestrate the landings of all 4,500 flights aloft, and of maddening miscommunications, mangled coordination and broken chains of command. (New York Times)

Victims Compensation Fund Sparks Question: Will Government Pay Next Time? - Jun 18, 2004
As the Victims Compensation Fund ends, questions linger, none graced with easy answersIs the genie out of the bottle, requiring us to compensate the unfortunate each time the monsters strike? Or may we pick and choose among victims? Whatever Congress's intention, whether to be generous to grieving families or to spare the airlines potentially ruinous lawsuits, was its hasty creation of the compensation fund a mistake? (New York Times)

Congressman Calls for Full Reopening of Statue of Liberty - Jun 18, 2004
The Statue of Liberty should be reopened to her crown - not just to her feet - by July 31, Rep. Anthony Weiner said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Judge Denies Workers’ Compensation for Man Claiming Stress Caused by Watching 9/11 - Jun 18, 2004
A financial analyst who worked blocks away from Ground Zero on 9/11 and claimed he could not return to his job because of post-traumatic-stress disorder cannot collect workers' compensation, a state appeals court ruled yesterday. The state Supreme Court Appellate Division unanimously ruled that Joseph Betro's problems did not arise from his job, noting that he voluntarily hung around to watch the tragedy unfolding. (New York Post)

9/11 Widower Pushed to Make Victims Compensation Fund Fair - Jun 18, 2004
After Charles Wolf's wife, Katharine, died at the World Trade Center, he became a leading critic of the 9/11 compensation fund. Wolf even set up a Web site dubbed "Fix the Fund" to attack what he called overseer Kenneth Feinberg's stinginess. (New York Post )

Widow of Firefighter Accepts Money from Fund, Angrily - Jun 18, 2004
For Marian Fontana of Brooklyn, accepting a settlement from the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund was a deal with the devil. The widow of firefighter Dave Fontana is, of course, grateful for the nearly $1 million she received as compensation for his death. But she's still angry about the process. (New York Post )

Victims Compensation Fund Ends Tasks, But Controversies Remain - Jun 17, 2004
The federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund may be closing its doors, but a number of controversies remain. Despite the fund's efforts to dissuade people from suing the airlines and others, 108 lawsuits have been filed in federal court, along with an unknown number of personal injury claims. (Newsday)

9/11 Families Want More Detailed Version of Plot from Commission - Jun 17, 2004
The narrative of the Sept. 11 terrorist plot unfolded in fresh, chilling detail on Wednesday, complete with maps and photographs. But for some listeners - family members of those who lost their lives in the attacks - the story was not nearly comprehensive enough. (New York Times)

Almost Three Years and $7 Billion Later, Victims Compensation Fund Completes Work - Jun 16, 2004
Nearly three years after establishing a fund to compensate the families of Sept. 11 victims, the federal government said yesterday that it had completed the task and that it would end up paying more than 5,000 families almost $7 billion. (New York Times)

Tapes From Hijacked Planes Reveal That Ground Personnel Muffled Attacks - Jun 16, 2004
Am FBI-organized briefing in New Jersey two weeks ago was attended by about 130 family members of victims. Previously unavailable calls from passengers and crew were to be played for families of victims of the four infamous flights that were turned into missiles by terrorists. Who knew what, and when? And what did the airlines and federal officials do about it? (New York Observer)

The Man Behind the Victims Compensation Fund - Jun 16, 2004
No one lived as deeply in the emotional and financial complexities of the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund as the person who designed it and became its public face: Kenneth R. Feinberg. (New York Times)

To Victims of 9/11, One Lawyer Couldn't Say No - Jun 16, 2004
Thousands of lawyers helped Sept. 11 families. Many accepted a family or two; a few took on as many as half a dozen. But Daniel Kramer accepted about two dozen cases that were submitted to the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund - far more than anyone else, according to a fund official. (New York Times)

For One 9/11 Widow, Somber Acceptance of Victims Compensation Fund - Jun 16, 2004
Like many who lost loved ones in the collapse of the World Trade Center, Grissel Rodriguez-Valentin had her doubts, initially, about the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund. But her gradual acceptance of the program was emblematic of how an overwhelming majority of families, in the painful end, reluctantly decided that even a program they viewed as flawed was a better option than an individual lawsuit against the airlines or the owners of the twin towers. (New York Times)

Victims Compensation Fund Deadline Is Tonight at Midnight - Jun 15, 2004
With one day to go before the deadline, the fund set up to compensate victims of 9/11 has paid out close to $6 billion — more than $3 billion more than its overseer's original estimate. The Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund, which closes at midnight in accordance with a congressional mandate, has authorized $5.9 billion in payments to the families of injured or killed World Trade Center workers. (New York Post)

Green Market Returns to World Trade Center Site - Jun 15, 2004
New York blueberries, homegrown lettuce and fresh-baked bread are making their return to the World Trade Center site for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001. Four green market farmers will set up tables of homegrown produce on the north side of the entrance to the WTC PATH terminal starting Thursday. (New York Daily News)

Janitor Tells of Encounter With 9/11 Hijacker - Jun 15, 2004
A hero janitor who helped victims escape from the World Trade Center's north tower before it collapsed told the 9/11 panel that he came across one of the hijackers in the building a few months before the attack. (New York Daily News)

Plans to Memorialize 9/11 Victims at Fresh Kills Prove Controversial - Jun 14, 2004
Fresh Kills was the world's most colossal dump when the city closed it in early 2001. And now that the Department of City Planning is developing a master plan for turning its 2,200 acres into a vast and innovative new park, it is could become the world's most controversial trash heap. The problem is not how many soccer fields to build or whether to plant oak trees or magnolias. Rather, a battle is looming over a comparatively tiny area of the vast landfill and the city's intention of preserving the painful memories of what happened here. (New York Times)

Judge Rebuffs 9/11 Families Looking to Sue - Jun 11, 2004
A judge yesterday barred the families of six 9/11 victims from suing. Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled that families had waived their right to sue by filing claims with the Victims Compensation Fund. (New York Daily News)

Last Uniformed Officer Found Alive in WTC Retires - Jun 10, 2004
Rescuers pulled Lt. John McLoughlin from the wreckage about 22 hours after the twin towers collapsed, making him the last uniformed person rescued from the site where 2,749 others perished, said the Port Authority, which owns the trade center complex. In a ceremony punctuated by tears and cheers, McLoughlin -- leaning on a cane for support after undergoing 30 operations on his legs -- bid an emotional goodbye to his co-workers during a ceremony marking his retirement. (Associated Press)

Activists Take Up Cause of Pakistani Caught in Post-9/11 Roundups - Jun 6, 2004
On a cloudless autumn day three years ago, Ansar Mahmood, a pizza deliveryman for a Domino's near here, took a few hours off from work to snap pictures of the Hudson River amid the foliage, to send home to his family in Pakistan. That moment marked the end of Mr. Mahmood's brief American dream, as he stumbled into a vortex of fear, politics and deportation proceedings. But the moment also thrust him into the embrace of a local community of peace activists who took up his cause with a gritty intensity. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Hear Tapes from Planes' Last Moments - Jun 5, 2004
Family members who lost relatives gathered at a New Jersey hotel for the 3 1/2 hour-long, closed-door briefing with federal officials. Participants estimated that about 130 people attended. Justice Department letters sent to family members said they would hear tapes of cell phone calls between the passengers and family members or co-workers on the ground. The tapes were said to include calls made by American Airlines Flight 11 flight attendants Betty Ong and Amy Sweeney before their plane hit the World Trade Center. (Associated Press)

Police Officers Sue City for 9/11 Illnesses - Jun 5, 2004
Two NYPD detectives are claiming in a new lawsuit that the city failed to protect them from toxic fumes at Ground Zero and from 9/11 debris at Fresh Kills landfill. (New York Daily News)

Religious Group Center Across from Ground Zero - Jun 5, 2004
The faith-based organization New York Disaster Interfaith Services, which has been involved in assisting victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center, dedicated a disaster resources and training center to the Manhattan law firm Chadbourne & Parke on May 25th following a series of donations by the company over the past two years. (Downtown Express)

9/11 Environmental Panel Considers Next Move - Jun 4, 2004
The Environmental Protection Agency’s goal of retesting Lower Manhattan apartments by the end of June seemed remote as the agency’s expert panel grappled with how to measure lingering contamination from the World Trade Center collapse. At its third public meeting on May 24, the 17-member panel of government and independent experts continued discussing whether World Trade Center dust has a chemical fingerprint that would distinguish it from normal urban grit. This so-called signature would help scientists determine what, if any, contamination remains from the World Trade Center collapse. (Downtown Express)

For Survivor, 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Grant is Bittersweet - Jun 4, 2004
Deborah Mardenfeld had the sad distinction of being one of the most gravely injured New Yorkers to survive the attacks of 9/11. Hit by falling debris from the second plane that slammed into the World Trade Center, she spent more than a year in hospitals, trying to regain the use of her badly damaged legs. Now, Ms. Mardenfeld has been awarded roughly $8.6 million by the federal September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, which says it is among the largest of the 4,127 payments it has agreed to make so far(they total more than $5 billion). (New York Times)

Bob Kerrey Speaks About the 9/11 Commission - Jun 4, 2004
Bob Kerrey, former U.S. senator, currently president of New School University and member of the federal 9/11 commission, gave the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce his views Tuesday on the World Trade Center attack and on his career since he came from Nebraska in 2001 to head the New School. (Downtown Express)

Kentucky Woman Quilts 9/11 Tribute - Jun 4, 2004
Nearly three years after the attack on the World Trade Center, Mary M. Henderson wants to let the city’s firefighters know she hasn’t forgotten their sacrifice and loss. The Kentucky grandmother spent more than a year cross-stitching the names and company affiliations of all 343 firefighters who died on 9/11 onto a king-sized quilt. Now that it’s done, Henderson, 48, would like to deliver her red-white-and-blue tribute to the firefighters in Ten House across from ground zero. (Downtown Express)

Fire Chief Urges 9/11 Commission To Avoid Unfair Criticism of FDNY - Jun 3, 2004
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta had a tough message for the 9/11 Commission during yesterday's Medal Day ceremony: Don't knock the FDNY. (New York Post)

Man Pleads Guilty to 9/11 Con - Jun 2, 2004
A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty yesterday to inventing a dead wife in order to scam World Trade Center charities out of $100,000. (New York Post)

World of Golf to Become Transit Center's Casualty - Jun 1, 2004
The latest project unveiled for Lower Manhattan, the Fulton Street Transit Center, will connect four subway stations under a crystalline glass dome. It will also almost surely doom the World of Golf in its building at 189 Broadway. (New York Times)

Poll Gauges Downtown Residents' Thoughts on Rebuilding - May 28, 2004
A new survey of Lower Manhattan residents gathered opinions on how to redevelop the World Trade Center site and the surrounding area. (NY1)

Businesses Face Eviction To Make Way for Station - May 28, 2004
For the businesses in buildings that will have to be knocked down to make way for the Fulton Street Transit Station there is more resentment than excitement. (NY1)

Inspired by 9/11, NYPD Officer Helps Crack Terror Case - May 28, 2004
Hero Detective George Corey couldn't wait to join the ranks of the elite FBI-NYPD joint terrorist task force after the 9/11 attacks on his beloved city. He knew it might cost him weeks, even months, away from his wife and kids on Long Island while he tracked leads from Alaska to Cuba. Yesterday, Corey's tireless work paid off. (New York Post)

Mistress of 9/11 Victim Sues His Widow For Greater Share of Benefits - May 28, 2004
The mistress of a Port Authority officer who died in the attack on the World Trade Center is suing his widow, seeking a greater share of benefits for a child from their affair (New York Post)

Some Firefighters Leaving Their Wives for 9/11 Widows - May 27, 2004
If 9/11 was the earthquake, the families of firefighters are still, nearly three years later, trying to ride out the aftershocks, the painful, unforeseeable shufflings and reconfigurations that follow any death, much less hundreds within a single professional community. Unlikely though her story seems, Susan Zazulka is not the only wife of a firefighter whose husband left her for a 9/11 widow. There is also Mary Koenig, who lives in upstate New York, whose husband left her for a Staten Island widow named Madeline Bergin. And there is Christina Garger, a teacher on Long Island whose husband, Richard Garger, started seeing a 9/11 widow. One widow who wouldn't use her name said that she briefly dated a firefighter until she found out that he was still officially married. Fire Department sources say there are 10 or 11 such love triangles. (New York Times)

New Yorkers Shrug Off Terror Warnings - May 27, 2004
New Yorkers took the latest terror warnings in stride. They believe the city is a likely terror target, particularly when the Republican National Convention is at Madison Square Garden this summer. But they have lived through too many alerts in recent years to do anything different. (New York Daily News)

Officials Tell New Yorkers Not to Worry About Warnings - May 27, 2004
Relax, New York - and leave the worrying to us. That was the message of calm delivered yesterday by Gov. Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, even as the White House warned of possible terror attacks against the U.S. in the coming months. (New York Daily News)

Ground Zero Workers With Cancer Face Legal Challenge - May 26, 2004
In the agonizing hours after the towers collapsed on Sept. 11, Brooklyn Firefighter Pete Strahl was on his belly, crawling in a tunnel of debris under 7 World Trade Center to reach an injured civilian. Strahl is now battling a deadly throat cancer. His lung tests are also showing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dubbed the "World Trade Center cough" by medical experts. The difficulty for Strahl and other first responders at the World Trade Center is that they must prove their illnesses are job-related. So far, there is no medical evidence linking Ground Zero to cancer. (New York Daily News)

Ground Zero Workers Developing Cancer - May 25, 2004
The Daily News revealed yesterday that many cops and firefighters assigned to Ground Zero are developing serious illnesses, including cancer. And though no direct link between Ground Zero and cancer has yet been established, more victims came forward yesterday to tell their stories. (New York Daily News)

All But 9 of 1,700 Ground Zero Worker Lawsuits Have Been Dropped - May 25, 2004
In a glaring front-page blunder, The Daily News yesterday reported that a staggering 1,700 cops and firefighters have filed lawsuits against the city for health problems stemming from 9/11 - when only nine such suits are in the courts. The embarrassing goof prompted an unprecedented effort by the city's Law Department to set the record straight by firing off an e-mail "clarification" to reporters and editors across the city to rebut the false claims. (New York Post)

9/11 Widows Moving On - May 25, 2004
A circle of firemen’s widows have a secret: They’re getting on with their lives. (New York Metro)

Pension Bill Would Help Ill Ground Zero Workers - May 25, 2004
City workers would be eligible for a tax-free disability pension - even if they've already retired - if they can prove their illnesses were caused by the terror attacks, under a controversial bill. Last year, the World Trade Center Presumption bill was passed by the state Senate and Assembly, but was canned after Gov. Pataki vetoed the measure at Mayor Bloomberg's urging. (New York Daily News)

1,700 Cops, Firefighters Sue City Over 9/11 Sicknesses - May 24, 2004
In a dramatic sign of escalating health problems stemming from 9/11, more than 1,700 cops and firefighters have filed lawsuits against the city claiming they were sickened by work at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill. To handle the unprecedented legal overload, the city's Law Department set up a special division to tackle 9/11 claims and appointed attorney Kenneth Becker as chief of the World Trade Center unit. (New York Daily News)

NYPD on Alert for Truck Bombers - May 21, 2004
Cops will begin checking trucks entering the Big Apple and other major cities today after the FBI received information that terrorists may use truck bombs to attack high-profile targets like the Empire State Building, The Post has learned. NYPD and Port Authority cops will check trucks entering the city via bridges and tunnels, sources said. They will also check trucks already in the city if they look suspicious. (New York Post )

9/11 Families Object to Congratulatory Tone at Hearing - May 20, 2004
Families of Sept. 11 victims are furious at what they call the failure of the 9/11 commission to investigate the disaster that cost more than 2,700 lives. "Today was a joke," widow Beverly Eckert said of yesterday's wrap-up of two days of hearings into how city officials responded to the World Trade Center attacks. (New York Post)

For Deputy Fire Chief, Panel Hearing Highlights Tragic Decision - May 19, 2004
As the television and radio murmurs of the 9/11 commission hearing flowed through Fire Department headquarters in Brooklyn yesterday, no one listened more intently than one thin, unassuming man with a notebook in his lap. Sometimes he jotted notes, sometimes he nodded and sometimes he just shook his head. In many ways, Sept. 11 now defines this man, Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph W. Pfeifer. He witnessed the first jet hit the north tower, and immediately reported that "it looks like the plane was aiming toward the building." He arrived very early on the scene, and stayed long after. At one point, he and his only brother gazed at each other for a few moments before Fire Lt. Kevin Pfeifer went up some stairs, never to return. (New York Times)

Family Members Suffer Through 9/11 Once More - May 19, 2004
Grieving relatives of Sept. 11 victims yesterday were pierced once again with unspeakable pain and raging anger as the 9/11 commission presented graphic evidence about the World Trade Center attack. As family members braced themselves by holding hands or wrapping their arms around each other, the hearing began with a minute-by-minute reconstruction of the catastrophe, including video of the planes' impact with the towers and the skyscrapers' collapse. (New York Post)

Many 9/11 Family Members Fear What Awaits Them At Hearings - May 18, 2004
Many relatives of people killed on Sept. 11, 2001 dread watching the latest round of hearings by the federal commission probing the attacks. Those hearings begin this morning at the New School with a recounting of the city's response. Even before the hearings convened, 9/11 families prepared to have raw wounds reopened. Family members say they sleep badly, have nightmares or are experiencing increased stress in anticipation of the graphic retelling of the worst terror attack in U.S. history. (New York Daily News)

Families Brace For Difficult Days at Commission Hearings - May 17, 2004
Families who have never stopped imagining their loved ones' last moments inside the burning World Trade Center are preparing to watch officials reconstruct that horrific day when the Sept. 11 commission comes to Manhattan this week. The panel will convene just miles from ground zero on Tuesday to examine the emergency response to the disaster, and officials are warning families that video footage of the attack and collapse of the towers will accompany detailed witness testimony. (Associated Press)

Sanitation Workers Seek Compensation for 9/11 Health Problems - May 17, 2004
In pending lawsuits filed in federal and state courts, 57 sanitation workers at Fresh Kills claim that city officials misled or did not inform them about the dangers of the World Trade Center dust and failed to train them and provide respirators for as long as two months. Their throats, lungs and stomachs, they said, were coated with the corrosive dust, causing mild to severe respiratory discomfort, such as asthma and persistent heartburn, and exposed them to potential future illness. Because they did not work at Ground Zero, the men could not qualify for the federal Victim Compensation Fund. (Newsday)

9/11 Worker Meets Elementary School Pen Pal - May 15, 2004
Sgt. Maj. Mike Hughes returned to his cot after a long day of dealing with the debris from the terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center and found a small note and drawing sent to him by a little Kansas boy. "I picked it up, read it, looked at the drawing of the plane crashing into the trade center, and it just hit me," said Hughes, of Egg Harbor, N.J. "It was just a real nice note from a kid, and it really hit home. So I kept it with me for the entire seven weeks I was there." Hughes came face to face with the note's author, a fourth grader named Hunter Basye, Thursday when he and his wife, Joan, made a surprise visit to Basye's school. (Associated Press)

Many Still Struggle To Get Workers' Compensation for 9/11 Ailments - May 13, 2004
Thousands of workers' compensation claims related to 9/11 have been filed, and many more, some people say, have gone unfiled because of a lack of faith in the system. To be sure, some workers were compensated without argument - for an arm that was broken or an ankle that was burned. Some recovered back wages after months of frustration and financial hardship. And some have not received any of what they believe they were owed. (New York Times)

First Lady Dedicates Garden To 9/11 Vicitms - May 11, 2004
First Lady Laura Bush yesterday dedicated a garden in Battery Park to victims of 9/11, invoking a beauty tip from a past First Lady. "Flowers in the city are like lipstick on a woman," said Bush, quoting Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of former President Lyndon Johnson and an avid horticulturist. "It just makes you look better to have a little color." (New York Daily News)

Security Guards Attempt to Arrest Man For Photographing Building - May 10, 2004
Camera buff Ram Porat didn't think twice about snapping pictures of an Upper West Side housing complex - until he was surrounded by security guards with post-9/11 jitters who put him under "civilian arrest." Now Porat, 43, has filed a lawsuit against the Lincoln Towers complex and the city, saying his rights were violated by the guards who demanded he stop taking pictures and the cops who charged him with trespassing at their request. (New York Post)

9/11 Victim's Remains Will Go to Estranged Father - May 8, 2004
For nearly two years, the ex-wife of Sept. 11 victim Michael Trinidad has been battling in court with his eight sisters and brother over his remains. Now it appears that the precious few bones will not go to any of them - but instead to the father Trinidad barely knew. (New York Daily News)

New Report Examines Health Effects of 9/11 - May 4, 2004
The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center caused ``the largest acute environmental disaster that ever has befallen New York City'' and could lead to long-term health problems in rescue workers and city residents, according to a new report. The report -- an overview of work by six research centers that have studied health effects of the attacks -- found that dust from ground zero had caused a rise in cases of asthma and severe cough, particularly among firefighters and other rescue workers. In one study of 183 cleanup workers, 33 percent were found to have new-onset cough, 18 percent had a wheeze and 24 percent experienced phlegm production, the report said. (Associated Press)

Anti-Muslim Bias Reports Rise - May 4, 2004
In New York, the anti-Muslim atmosphere has not dissipated since a spike after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. In New York state, the number of harrassment or profiling incidents went from 48 in 2002 to 191 in 2003, a 296 percent increase, according to a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations Research Center, Unpatriotic Acts. Most of those took place in the city. 1,019 incidents were reported nationally. (Newsday )

Two Men Detained After 9/11 Sue Justice Department For Abuse - May 3, 2004
In a federal lawsuit to be filed today, two immigrants who were detained after 9/11 charge that they were abused in the harsh maximum-security unit of a federal detention center in Brooklyn - the one cited by the Justice Department's inspector general last year for widespread physical abuse of its detainees. The accusations are similar to those now being made against military officers guarding prisoners in Iraq. (New York Times)

Over 33,000 Sign Up For 9/11 Health Registry - May 2, 2004
The World Trade Center Health Registry has now enrolled more than 33,000 people who may have inhaled harmful debris following the collapse of the twin towers. Health officials want even more to sign up, and they are making a special appeal for parents of children who attended school below Canal Street to register. Residents below Canal Street, rescue and recovery workers and anyone who was south of Chambers Street on September 11, 2001, are also encouraged to sign up. (NY1)

Ground Zero Priest Retires - May 2, 2004
With memories both fond and profound of how his little chapel came to be shrine, Rev. Dr. Daniel Matthews, rector of St. Paul's Chapel, is retiring today after 17 years. His last act as the rector of Trinity Church on Wall St., to which St. Paul's belongs, will be to cut the ribbon on a new exhibit at St. Paul's called, "Unwavering Spirit," which chronicles the grief and love shared inside its walls after Sept. 11. (New York Daily News)

St. Paul's Chapel To Open Lasting Exhibit Dedicated to 9/11 - May 1, 2004
Just as it comforted rescue workers after Sept. 11, 2001, St. Paul’s Chapel now brings solace to those who want to remember and commemorate the terror attack that happened in its backyard. On May 3, the chapel will unveil “Unwavering Spirit: Hope and Healing at Ground Zero,” an exhibit of artifacts that highlight the rescue and recovery efforts. (Downtown Express)

Jury Deals Blow to Developer in WTC Insurance Trial - Apr 30, 2004
A federal jury in Manhattan handed the developer Larry A. Silverstein a major setback yesterday in his bitter legal battle with two dozen insurers over how much money will be available for rebuilding the sprawling World Trade Center site. The panel ruled that many of the insurers were not liable for the double payments he had sought. (New York Times)

Westchester Picks 9/11 Memorial - Apr 30, 2004
Westchester County unveiled the winning design on Thursday for its own Sept. 11 memorial, a soaring sculpture with 109 intersecting steel rods, each representing a victim who lived in the county. The memorial, named "The Rising," was designed by Frederic Schwartz, an acclaimed Manhattan architect and a founder of the Think team. Think's entry in the master plan competition for ground zero was the runner-up in that contest. The Westchester memorial will be built at Kensico Dam Plaza, a county-owned park in Valhalla. Unveiling is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2005. (New York Times)

Police Parking Impeding Chinatown's Post 9/11 Recovery - Apr 29, 2004
Even though the attack on the World Trade Center happened two and a half years ago, residents and business owners in Chinatown say their neighborhood, just a short distance from ground zero, has not recovered. Because of the security measures imposed on the nearby police headquarters and other government offices, they say, conditions in their part of Lower Manhattan have actually grown worse. (New York Times)

New Subway Tunnel May Require that Sphere Statue Be Moved - Apr 29, 2004
It appears that a subway tunnel leading to the planned new South Ferry terminal would come close to Fritz Koenig's "Sphere for Plaza Fountain" -- which has been in Battery Park since soon after 9/11 -- suggesting strongly that the sculpture may have to be relocated. (New York Times)

New Documentary Film Looks at NY Firefighters Post 9/11 - Apr 29, 2004
Thomas Burke has been a firefighter for 25 years. He's just one of the firefighters featured in "Brotherhood," an up-close and very personal look at New York's Bravest as the department rebuilds after 9/11. (NY1)

Feeling Shortchanged on Security Funds, Police, Firefighters Plan Convention Protest - Apr 28, 2004
Feeling shortchanged by Washington, some city firefighters and police are vowing to protest against President Bush and the Republicans at their convention in New York this summer. Unions representing cops and firefighters have requested permits to protest at the Republican National Convention in August at Madison Square Garden. (New York Daily News)

Community Board One Battles Over Rebuilding Funds - Apr 26, 2004
In the face of a report that most of the remaining $1 billion in post-9/11 aid has already been slated to build a commuter-airport rail link to Downtown, Community Board 1 recommended spending much of the money on affordable housing, park space, community centers and a school. (Downtown Express)

Memorial Designer Joins NY Architecture Firm - Apr 25, 2004
Girding for the commission of a lifetime - translating an evocative idea into the reality of a permanent World Trade Center site memorial - New York's best-known unknown architect, Michael Arad, has joined a 50-person firm in Manhattan. On Monday, Mr. Arad was named a partner in Handel Architects, a 10-year-old firm that reshaped the Lincoln Center area in the 1990's with mixed-use projects for Millennium Partners. (New York Times)

City Claims it Hasn't Received $2.6 Billion in Promised 9/11 Aid - Apr 21, 2004
New York City estimates it has not received some $2.6 billion in promised Sept. 11 aid, and is quietly seeking to swap that shortfall for hard cash as part of a key Senate vote expected as early as next week. (Associated Press)

Firefighters' Post 9/11 Stress Not Unusual, Says New Study - Apr 21, 2004
City firefighters reported increased stress and emotional problems after 9/11, but that should be expected in such a high-risk job, according to a study by Cornell University. The report also said that firefighters are no different than the general population when it comes to possible alcohol abuse, despite several highly publicized events involving firefighters and drinking in recent months. (Newsday)

Firefighters Still Suffer Stress From Working At Ground Zero - Apr 20, 2004
Firefighters who worked at Ground Zero are experiencing high rates of depression, anxiety and stress, a new study shows. The survey of 2,000 firefighters found that 62% of those who worked at the World Trade Center site in the month after 9/11 still suffer from depression, said Samuel Bacharach, director of Cornell University's Smithers Institute, which conducted the study. (New York Daily News)

Name Added to 9/11 Death List - Apr 20, 2004
The following name has been added to the list of those lost in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks: Thomas J. McCann, 45. (New York Post)

Park Used Since 9/11 by Police Returned to Chinatown - Apr 17, 2004
The small stretch of asphalt is surrounded by 1 Police Plaza, Murry Bergtraum High School, a strip mall and the Gov. Alfred E. Smith Houses. Central Park it is not. But even a little bit of open space is better than none, so it was with some fanfare yesterday that residents and community leaders in Chinatown celebrated their reclamation of the park, James Madison Plaza, which the Police Department had been using as a parking lot since 2001. (New York Times)

Emergency Truck Is One Officer's 9/11 Legacy - Apr 16, 2004
George Howard's legacy weighs in at 12-1/2 tons - and saves lives. Howard, one of 37 Port Authority cops killed in the World Trade Center attacks, created the special rescue unit that handles emergencies at Kennedy Airport. Now his team is ready for plane crashes, hijackings and worse, thanks to the million-dollar rescue truck Howard designed before he died. (New York Daily News)

Activist Who Lost Mother on 9/11 Snaps Back into Action - Apr 15, 2004
Theresa M. MocGovern has never shied away from speaking her mind. But the death of her mother in the World Trade Center attack stunned her into silence. This public person became very private. Ms. McGovern is an assistant professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, though she is best known as the founder of the H.I.V. Law Project, where for a decade she fought to change policies affecting women and poor people with AIDS. Now, she is snapping back (New York Times)

City Agency Eyes Site of a 9/11 Memorial -- Without Considering Negatives - Apr 15, 2004
A city agency is planning to build a science park on the site of a Sept. 11 memorial—but it will "not reveal all negatives" of the project, according to an internal document obtained by The Observer. The city’s Economic Development Corporation (E.D.C.) is eyeing Memorial Park, which sits under a large white tent on the corner of East 30th Street and the F.D.R. Drive. Most of the tent is occupied by refrigerated trailers that hold unidentified body parts found at the World Trade Center site—11,499 of these painful relics. The indoor park, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg dedicated at the end of 2002, is lined with shrines to the dead. (New York Observer)

Secret Service Worker Accused of Stealing Cars from Ground Zero - Apr 14, 2004
Hundreds of cars were destroyed when the World Trade Center collapsed. But several United States Secret Service cars listed as "crushed," prosecutors said yesterday, were actually stolen by the head of the agency's motor pool at 7 World Trade Center, a retired police sergeant who received a commendation for rescue work on Sept. 11, 2001. (New York Times)

Bloomberg: Drunken Firefighters Dishonor Memory of 9/11 - Apr 13, 2004
Furious about the weekend arrest of two firefighters on DWI charges, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday demanded that the city's Bravest clean up their act - and not dishonor their heroic brothers who died on 9/11. (New York Post)

Rice Knew of Al-Qaeda Surveillance of New York - Apr 9, 2004
Condoleezza Rice told the 9/11 Commission Thursday that the Bush Administration was aware of al-Qaida's "surveillance" of buildings including the Federal Courthouse in lower Manhattan and threats that the building could be the target of a possible terrorist attack. (Newsday)

New Yorkers React Favorably to Rice's Testimony - Apr 9, 2004
A politically diverse panel of New Yorkers assembled by The Post generally gave Condoleezza Rice high marks yesterday for showing grace under pressure during her appearance before the 9/11 commission. (New York Post)

9/11 Families Rip Rice Over Testimony - Apr 9, 2004
Relatives of the Sept. 11 victims ripped into Condoleezza Rice yesterday after she insisted the Bush administration had no clue the U.S. would be attacked. "Shame," Terry McGovern, a New Yorker whose mother was killed, yelled at the national security adviser during Rice's testimony before the 9/11 commission (New York Daily News)

Some 9/11 Families Skip Rice's Testimony - Apr 9, 2004
While some families of Sept. 11 victims eagerly awaited Rice's nationally televised testimony, others chose not to watch. They said they didn't care to hear her speech or had more pressing daily concerns. (Associated Press)

Four '9/11 Moms' Keep Heat on 9/11 Commission - Apr 7, 2004
Mashing spinach in her kitchen in East Brunswick, N.J., for a family Seder on the first night of Passover, Lorie Van Auken can hardly have looked like one of the driving forces behind new developments with the 9/11 commission as she cradled a telephone in the crook of her neck and spoke with this writer, firing off a list of angry questions that she wants to ask Ms. Rice. (New York Observer)

FBI To Return Paperweight Taken From Ground Zero To Its Owner - Apr 3, 2004
The Justice Department is looking for the rightful owner of a Tiffany globe paperweight taken by an FBI agent from the wreckage of the World Trade Center - the same paperweight that a New Jersey woman whose son died on Sept. 11 claims belonged to her son. (New York Post)

Man Who Left Family Collects On Their 9/11 Cash - Apr 3, 2004
A heartbroken mother whose son was killed in the 9/11 attacks blasted a court ruling that allows her ex-husband - who abandoned the family 30 years ago - to cash in on her son's estate. (New York Daily News)

Victims Compensation Fund Has Paid Out $2.6 Billon - Apr 2, 2004
The federal compensation fund for Sept. 11 victims has paid out more than $2.6 billion so far, officials said Thursday. The fund, created to compensate those killed and injured in the attacks while protecting U.S. companies from potentially crippling litigation, is scheduled to finish processing claims June 15. (Associated Press)

Federal Panel Split On Clean-Up Of Ground Zero - Apr 1, 2004
A panel of experts began its critical review yesterday of the federal government's cleanup of Lower Manhattan after the collapse of the World Trade Center, and immediately found itself torn between the needs of science and the health concerns of residents. The 17-member panel, meeting publicly for the first time, released the outlines of a plan to retest 250 to 1,000 of the 4,167 apartments that were tested and cleaned by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2002 and 2003. (New York Times)

Statue of Liberty To Reopen in July, WIth Limitations - Mar 31, 2004
For the first time since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty will be open beginning in July to visitors, thanks to $7 million in private donations — $100,000 from Mayor Michael Bloomberg. But the National Parks Service may never allow the public back into the copper-clad statue itself, according to Interior Secretary Gale Norton. (Newsday)

9/11 Families Accuse Clarke Of Exploiting 9/11 - Mar 28, 2004
A group of New York families of 9/11 victims came out swinging against Richard Clarke yesterday, accusing the former White House anti-terror chief of cashing in on the tragedy with his explosive book. (New York Post)

9/11 Families Can't Recover Possessions of Loved Ones - Mar 28, 2004
About a third of 9/11 families are still hoping to claim loved ones' missing belongings, but the NYPD won't let them see the thousands of yet-unidentified pieces of jewelry, watches and other objects remaining in storage. (New York Post)

Statue of Liberty Will Reopen To Public - Mar 26, 2004
You can almost see the twinkle in the lady's eye. Federal officials revealed yesterday that the Statue of Liberty, which has been shuttered for more than two years, is about to reopen to the public. (New York Daily News)

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)

9/11 Families Criticize Staten Island Memorial - Mar 24, 2004
Many unhappy families of World Trade Center victims are refusing to articipate in Staten Island's 9/11 memorial after hearing that some preliminary sketches of the victims don't look like their loved ones. The $2 million waterfront memorial, entitled "Postcards," will be covered with 9-by-11-inch tablets featuring facial profiles of Staten Island's 268 victims etched in granite. To create the initial paper and pencil sketches, families have been asked to submit pictures of the victims by April 1. But about 15 families have said the sketches are inaccurate or unflattering, said Dennis McKeon, who runs St. Clare's WTC Outreach Committee, a group that includes most Staten Island victims' families. (New York Post)

Unprecedented Security Measures on Subways - Mar 22, 2004
In the wake of the commuter train bombings in Madrid that claimed 202 lives, the NYPD has mounted an unprecedented security effort in the city's subway system in the hopes of thwarting a massive terror attack here. (New York Post)

Downtown Residents Approve Of Rebuilding, Distrust Environmental Protection Agency - Mar 22, 2004
Things are looking up Downtown, according to a new poll of Downtown residents, but the distrust of the Environmental Protection Agency has climbed to 72 percent. (Downtown Express)

Disagreement Over How To Spend $1.2 Billion In Federal Rebuilding Funds - Mar 21, 2004
here is only $1,163,955,348.58 left. Though that sounds like a lot, it is not enough to cover the many claims on the federal grants for rebuilding Lower Manhattan. These competing claims expose something of a divide between the established downtown, an unalloyed business hub, and the emerging downtown, with its residential overlay. It is not that businesses and residents disagree on the broad goal of creating a lively mixed-use area. But they may struggle over the spending needed to get there. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Sickened Over Ground Zero Souvenirs - Mar 21, 2004
Families of 9/11 victims are sickened that their loved ones' belongings and other Ground Zero remains may now be strangers' trophies. (New York Post )

Taking Souvenirs From Ground Zero Common Practice For FBI Agents - Mar 21, 2004
Everbody does it. That's the response Jane Turner got when she told federal investigators that a fellow FBI agent had stolen a Tiffany globe found at the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (New York Post )

New Yorkers Happy With Rebuilding Process, Poll Finds - Mar 18, 2004
People who live in Lower Manhattan appear to approve of the direction rebuilding plans are taking there, according to a new poll released Wednesday. (New York 1)

Senators Tell FBI Director To Return Ground Zero Souvenir - Mar 18, 2004
Four senators are calling on the FBI to return a Tiffany globe lifted from Ground Zero to the mother of the 9/11 victim it belonged to, The Post has learned. The letter, to be sent today to Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director John Mueller, also demands the return of "every other souvenir that FBI agents took from the rubble of Ground Zero," officials said. (New York Post)

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 )

Ground Zero Architect, Memorial Juror To Discuss "Building Memory" At Jewish Museum - Mar 14, 2004
“Remember, never forget.” The words on the wall of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan will come to life this month when the museum hosts a half-day symposium exploring how Holocaust memories are preserved and passed down from generation to generation. The symposium will feature three separate panels. Daniel Libeskind and James Young will discuss building and rebuilding memory in the symposium’s closing session at 4 p.m. Libeskind, the son of Holocaust survivors, designed the master site plan for the World Trade Center and Young, a Holocaust scholar, was one of 13 members of the jury that evaluated entries in the World Trade Center site memorial competition. (Downtown Express)

GOP Head "Insults" 9/11 Families Who Oppose Bush's 9/11 Ads - Mar 10, 2004
The head of the Republican Party angered 9/11 families again yesterday by saying only a "small segment ... who are very anti-war" objected to President Bush's use of Ground Zero scenes in his reelection ads. The father of one 9/11 victim called the comment "insulting." (New York Daily News)

Brooklyn Unveils 9/11 Memorial - Mar 9, 2004
It'll be a tribute in light and a warning in bronze. The winning design for Brooklyn's official Sept. 11 memorial, unveiled yesterday, is a 25-foot-tall pillar that was inspired by the trumpets blown by turn-of-the-century firefighters as they rushed to burning buildings. A spotlight on top will shine every night from 9 to 11 p.m. (New York Post)

Brothers Become Firefighters To Honor Friend Killed On 9/11 - Mar 9, 2004
Brothers Salvatore and Randy Ranieri grew up admiring their friend Kenny Watson, a firefighter who died Sept. 11. And yesterday, they made good on their vow to honor his memory when they became the newest members of New York's Bravest. (New York Post)

Brooklyn's 9/11 Memorial To Be Unveiled Today - Mar 8, 2004
The winning design for Brooklyn's official Sept. 11 memorial will do more than honor the hundreds of residents who died on that awful day - it will provide a spiritual connection to one of America's greatest triumphs. Artist Robert Ressler's winning design will be forged at the same Greenpoint foundry that produced the famous statue in Arlington, Va., of six Marines planting the American flag at Iwo Jima. Ressler's design will be unveiled this morning at the 69th Street Pier in Bay Ridge, where it will be installed this summer. The group backing the memorial still must raise $35,000 to maintain it. Checks can be sent to: Brooklyn Remembers, 9201 4th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11209. (New York Post)

Bush Defends Ground Zero Scene In First Public Comments About Controversial Ads - Mar 7, 2004
In his first direct comments on the advertisements with Sept. 11 images, President Bush showed no sign of backing down. The White House has been embroiled all week in criticism from families of some victims of the attacks, as well from Mr. Kerry and his allies, that the commercials have crassly politicized a tragedy. (New York Times)

Group of 9/11 Families Issue Letter Supporting Bush's Ads - Mar 7, 2004
More than a dozen families who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 attacks released an "Open Letter to America" Saturday declaring their support for President Bush and his use of images of the destroyed World Trade Center in campaign ads. (Associated Press)

Ground Zero Photo Used To Promote Credit Card - Mar 5, 2004
A photograph that became an enduring symbol of patriotism and firefighter resolve at Ground Zero is being used to promote a credit card. (New York Daily News)

Reluctantly, Jury Convicts Firefighter Of Removing Items From Ground Zero - Mar 3, 2004
It wasn't exactly a scene out of "Twelve Angry Men" - a juror put his arm around a former firefighter and apologized to him yesterday minutes after he helped convict him of filching personal items from the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center. (New York Post)

Emotion As Ground Zero Theft Trial Proceeds - Feb 27, 2004
A young Queens woman sobbed on the witness stand yesterday as - for the first time since 9/11 - she saw her charred World Trade Center ID badge, allegedly stolen from Ground Zero by a tragedy-obsessed ex-firefighter. (New York Post)

Survivors, Relatives Of Victims Mark 1993 Bombing - Feb 27, 2004
Survivors and relatives of victims of the 1993 bombing on the World Trade Center Thursday marked the anniversary with a Mass, a moment of silence at Ground Zero and a preview of the temporary memorial planned to honor the six people killed in that earlier attack. (Newsday )

1993 Bombing Still Haunts Victims - Feb 26, 2004
Today is the 11th anniversary of the bombing, an event that will pass almost unnoticed in a city where time seems to have started anew on Sept. 11, 2001. But for the 32 kindergartners from Public School 95 in Brooklyn who endured that first bombing, the wounds are as deep and fresh as ever. (New York Daily News)

Firefighter Accused Of Stealing From Ground Zero Kept A Collection Of Gory 9/11 Photos - Feb 25, 2004
A retired Manhattan firefighter, on trial for stealing grisly "souvenirs" from Ground Zero, kept a macabre collection of body-part photographs from the tragedy - including a gilt-framed portrait of himself holding a human hip bone. (New York Post)

Couples Reject September 11 As Wedding Date - Feb 25, 2004
When Exeter resident Alison Antos began planning her September wedding, she found three Saturday dates open for booking. One of them she immediately rejected: Sept. 11. This year, for the first time since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the anniversary will fall, inauspiciously, on a Saturday. Couples across the country have had to soul-search as they booked their big days in what has always been a popular wedding month. Should their day of bliss correspond with a date remembered for mass tragedy? (Mercury News )

Trial Begins For Ex-Firefighter Charged With Stealing From Ground Zero - Feb 24, 2004
Jury selection began yesterday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan for the trial of a retired firefighter who is charged with stealing items from ground zero while working as a volunteer after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. (New York Times)

Museum Displays Painting Of Children Who Lost Loved Ones On 9/11 - Feb 24, 2004
Two-and-a-half-year-old Andrew Cappers yesterday showed Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg where his hand, dipped in paint and pressed against a small piece of canvas, had left its mark in memory of his father, James C. Cappers. Andrew's handprint appears in one of scores of canvas panels now on display at the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West, in an exhibit of work by children who lost their parents in the Sept. 11 attack and in the attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. (New York Times)

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)

Mexican National Vanished In Late 2001, But Was He Killed On September 11? - Feb 15, 2004
From the World Trade Center files, consider the confounding case of Arturo Alva Moreno, first listed as killed on 9/11, but then removed from the list of victims, despite the fact that he has vanished without a trace. Moreno did not leave enough footprints to prove that he was even in New York City, let alone at the trade center on the day of the attacks. It is one of six cases involving Mexican nationals, which are in similar circumstances. (Newsday)

15 Institutions Stay In Running For Arts Hub At Ground Zero - Feb 11, 2004
The Museum of the City of New York, the New York City Opera, the New-York Historical Society and the Signature Theater Company are among 15 cultural organizations that are the top contenders to inhabit a performing arts center at ground zero, or help create an interpretive museum there that will describe the attacks on the World Trade Center in 1993 and 200.1 (New York Times)

New Proposal Would Move 9/11 Remains To Ellis Island - Feb 10, 2004
Some 9/11 victims' families are exploring a proposal to move the incinerated remains of their loved ones from a Staten Island garbage dump to a permanent burial site that would be created on Ellis Island. (Star Ledger)

Interview With New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta - Feb 10, 2004
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta took command of New York City's 11,500 firefighters at a turbulent time. The department had suffered grievous losses on 9/11 when 343 firefighters perished. The people of New York have always had a special affection for the men and women of this department. After the World Trade Center attack, they were clearly New York's heroes. But ironically, recently, the department has been making another kind of news. A brawl in a Staten Island firehouse resulted in severe injury to one firefighter and charges that a superior officer tried to cover up the incident. A few days ago, a fire lieutenant and a captain were suspended for downing free drinks at an East Village bar. (WNBC)

Families Of 9/11 Victims Unsatisfied With Extension Of Commission's Deadline - Feb 5, 2004
Bowing to pressure from a Sept. 11 survivors group, President Bush agreed yesterday to extend the deadline for the federal 9/11 commission report - but not as long as many wanted. Bush agreed to give the panel 60 extra days, until July 26, but relatives of victims killed in the terror attacks, and some members of Congress, wanted the extension to stretch beyond the elections. (New York Daily News)

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Board Member Takes Job With Tribeca Film Group - Feb 4, 2004
She is on so many boards focusing on Lower Manhattan that it may seem like she has always had a fulltime job, but Madelyn Wils has just been hired by Robert De Niro and his film partners to become president and C.E.O. of the Tribeca Film Institute, and in February, she will start collecting her first regular paycheck in three years. (Downtown Express)

Judge Says Bank Robber's Crimes Stemmed From 9/11 - Feb 3, 2004
A female bank robber dubbed "The Blond Bandit" landed just four years behind bars yesterday - after a judge ruled she has mental problems stemming from her volunteer work at Ground Zero. (New York Post)

9/11 Sparks Drop In Runaways - Feb 1, 2004
The number of city children reported missing or having run away has plummeted by more than one-third since the 9/11 terror strikes, The Post has learned. (New York Post)

Firefighter's Paintings Recall 9/11 - Feb 1, 2004
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, four Easton firefighters, including Robert Halley, spent several days at ground zero assisting in the cleanup. After seeing the destruction at the site and the many images in the media, Halley set about painting his interpretations of what he saw and how he felt. (Allentown Morning Call)

17,300 Sign Up For World Trade Center Health Registry - Jan 31, 2004
The New York City Department of Health said Friday that more than 17,300 people had so far enrolled in its World Trade Center Health Registry, which tracks the health of people who were exposed to dust and debris after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on lower Manhattan. (1010 Wins)

1,168 Staten Islanders Sign Up For World Trade Center Health Registry - Jan 31, 2004
Of the 17,304 people who have enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry as of December 31, 2003, 1,168 are from Staten Island, according to a report released yesterday by the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. (Staten Island Advance)

Man Charged With 9/11 Equipment Theft - Jan 31, 2004
Firefighters responding to a report of smoke in a Brooklyn apartment did not find a fire, but they did find firefighting equipment that had been lost at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, the Fire Department said Friday. (Newsday)

Arab Culture Near Ground Zero - Jan 31, 2004
In the wake of 9/11, and especially in Downtown Manhattan, Alwan for the Arts is trying to highlight the diversity of Arab culture, showing New Yorkers that it is more than just the destructive force we witnessed two years ago. It can also be extraordinarily creative. (Downtown Express)

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)

Flight Attendant Was Calm On 9/11 - Jan 28, 2004
Shortly before Flight 11 slammed into the World Trade Center, the American Airlines operations center received a calm phone call from one of its flight attendants. (Associated Press)

2,749 May Be Final Death Toll Of 9/11 - Jan 23, 2004
2,749. Unless something unexpected happens, this figure could well be the final count that history books will record as the number of victims who died in the World Trade Center attack, city officials said yesterday. (New York Times)

Roxbury Firefighters Honored For Work On 9/11 - Jan 22, 2004
A plaque of appreciation from the New York City Fire Department, along with two framed chunks of steel taken from the wreckage of the World Trade Center have been presented to the volunteer firemen and first aiders in Roxbury Township, New Jersey. (Roxbury Register)

Michael Arad: Memorial Designer - Jan 21, 2004
What made Michael Arad stop feeling like an outsider and start feeling like a bona fide New Yorker was, he says, the horror of Sept. 11: he watched the second plane hit from his rooftop, raced downtown to find his wife and, from Fulton Street, experienced the collapse of the first tower. Even before the memorial contest, he began work on a memorial. (New York Times)

Memorial Name Order Final - Jan 15, 2004
The controversial decision to list the names of the World Trade Center victims in random order - with rescue workers getting special designation - is final, officials said yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Victims' Families Renew Request For 9/11 Records - Jan 15, 2004
Families of victims of the World Trade Center terrorist attack said Wednesday they will go back to court to find out more about the final hours of their relatives' lives on September 11, 2001. (CNN)

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)

Starting Over: A Firm Rebuilds After Being Hit Hard On 9/11 - Jan 14, 2004
When the planes slammed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, few companies were as hard-hit as a small, close-knit firm called Sandler O'Neill. Of the 83 people in the office that morning, only 17 got out alive. Employees lost mentors, assistants lost bosses, friends lost friends. This is the story of what happened next. (Fortune)

Cop Caught Videotaping Girl In Shower Blames 9/11 - Jan 7, 2004
A Port Authority cop who admitted to videotaping an 11-year-old Queens girl while she showered blames the horrors of 9/11 for his candid-camera work, his lawyer said yesterday. (New York Post)

Security Concerns Don't Stop The Partying - Jan 1, 2004
Helicopters swept the sky, and clusters of police officers stood guard on street corners. But for revelers in Times Square, the New Year's Eve countdown was about party, not panic. (New York Times)

Firefighter Reunited With Colleague He Rescued on 9/11 - Dec 28, 2003
Louis Cacchioli saw himself in the Daily News more than a year ago, in a photo showing him helping a fellow firefighter escape from the World Trade Center collapse. Yesterday, he finally met the man he rescued. (New York Daily News)

No Fear On Christmas - Dec 26, 2003
New York celebrated an Orange Christmas with defiance and grit, as the spirit of the holidays conquered all fears of terrorism. From the Empire State Building to the Rockefeller Center tree, New Yorkers and tourists ignored the nationwide orange alert and enjoyed a sun-soaked Christmas Day. (New York Daily News)

New Yorkers Shrug Off Heigntened Threat Level - Dec 22, 2003
New Yorkers weren't quaking in their boots with the word yesterday that the Department of Homeland Security raised the threat of a terrorist attack nationally from "elevated," or code yellow, to "high," or code orange. The move didn't actually alter New York City's threat alert level, which has been at Code Orange since the color coding system began. So for many people in the city, this was nothing to get nervous about. (Newsday)

Despite Clamping the City Down, Bloomberg Urges People to Enjoy the Season - Dec 22, 2003
Faced with a rising national terror alert, Mayor Bloomberg ordered a new security clampdown yesterday even as he urged New Yorkers to enjoy the holidays in "the safest city in the world." (New York Daily News)

Victims' Opinions On Tower Differ - Dec 20, 2003
Two survivors of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centers yesterday had sharply different opinions of the redesigned Freedom Tower skyscraper to be constructed at Ground Zero. (New York Post)

For the First Time Since 9/11, An NY Firefighter Is Killed by a Fire - Dec 17, 2003
A rookie firefighter died yesterday while battling a fire at a second-floor warehouse in Upper Manhattan, becoming the first New York City firefighter to die by fire since Sept. 11, 2001. The firefighter, Thomas C. Brick, 30, was one of the first in his company to enter the mattress and furniture warehouse, officials said, and had gone farther into the building than other firefighters said they were able to get because of the ferocity of the four-alarm blaze. (New York Times)

9/11 Rugs Not Big Sellers on New York Streets - Dec 15, 2003
With an appraiser's scrutiny, Ed Cutting, a New York City firefighter, stared at a fine Afghan rug painstakingly hand woven in a style centuries old. Its handiwork depicted an epic scene. He stood Saturday in a weekend flea market at Avenue A and 11th Street in the East Village, at a booth displaying rugs. Several of the rugs, in a style usually reserved for depicting landscapes or abstract tribal patterns, showed a crudely rendered interpretation of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

Number of Firefighters Rises to Pre 9/11 Level - Dec 12, 2003
It took more than two years, but the Fire Department finally has built back its staffing to where it was before the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when the department lost 343 men. With the new class of probationary firefighters that began training this week, the department has 8,660 firefighters on its rolls, 12 more than on Sept. 10, 2001. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Counselor Examined for Lung Problems - Dec 12, 2003
A Colorado cop who counseled cops after 9/11 has returned to the Big Apple - this time to undergo tests for a lung disorder he developed after working at Ground Zero. Police officer Tony Sanchez's bittersweet visit to the city was prompted by his need to prove to disbelieving Colorado health officials that a bacterial virus wracking his body since October 2001 was contracted amid the smoky ruins of the World Trade Center. (New York Post)

Power Struggle Over Freedom Tower - Dec 11, 2003
The two architects on the Ground Zero Freedom Tower project can't agree on a design, with one even bringing his lawyer to a meeting, sources said yesterday. The fractious relationship between Ground Zero master planner Daniel Libeskind and architect David Childs imploded on Monday, exactly a week before Gov. Pataki's deadline for the two to produce a concept for the tower. (New York Daily News)

Man Convicted of Crime Avoids Jail Because of Service on 9/11 - Dec 11, 2003
At ground zero, David Margules was a celebrated figure. He took thousands of photographs of the firefighters at work and captured a famous image of crossed beams, which he called "Crucifix." One of his pictures, he says, is in the White House. But Mr. Margules had a festering problem that dated from before the terror attacks. Yesterday, his two worlds collided in Federal District Court in Brooklyn whenhe came before Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis for sentencing for securities fraud. (New York Times)

Outrage Over 9/11 Video Game - Dec 5, 2003
A ghoulish Internet video game challenging players to shoot down passenger jets before they hit the twin towers is a huge hit - outraging families of Sept. 11 victims. "My daughter was on one of the planes," Tom Roger, father of slain American Airlines flight attendant Jean Roger, told the Daily News. (New York Daily News)

Fire Department Sends Counselors to Station Depicted in NY Post Comic - Dec 4, 2003
The FDNY sent counselors yesterday to a Manhattan firehouse depicted in a New York Post cartoon that mocked the Bravest killed in the terror attacks. In the Post cartoon, printed Tuesday, a firefighter with a "35" on his helmet tells a dying comrade at Ground Zero: "Goodbye dear friend. By the way, is your wife free Tuesday?" Counselors talked with firefighters at Ladder 35/Engine 40 on the upper West Side, which lost 12 men in the World Trade Center attacks. (New York Daily News)

Fire Department Attacks Post Over 9/11 Cartoon - Dec 3, 2003
Fire Department brass and rank-and-file Bravest blasted the New York Post yesterday for a cartoon showing a firefighter telling a dying comrade at Ground Zero: "Goodbye dear friend. By the way, is your wife free Tuesday?" Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta sent the Post a letter calling the cartoon "tasteless," sources said. (New York Daily News)

Port Authority Pays Silverstein's Debt - Dec 2, 2003
The Port Authority agreed yesterday to use $710 million in World Trade Center insurance proceeds as part of a reordering of the project's tangled finances - buying back the rebuilding rights to the WTC mall and paying off the mortgage of Twin Towers leaseholder Larry Silverstein. (New York Post)

Firefighters Union Criticizes FDNY for Inappropriate Relationships - Dec 2, 2003
A powerful firefighters union boss says the FDNY outright ignored the "unquestionable certainty" that some firemen would ignore their own families and get "too close" to the widows and kids of their fallen Sept. 11 comrades. "From the get-go, the Fire Department acted irresponsibly," United Firefighters of America Manhattan trustee Rudy Sanfillipo told The Post. (New York Post)

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)

The Last Train Out on 9/11 - Nov 25, 2003
Noel Roman is haunted by the solitary figure of an older, well-dressed man who plodded up stairs toward the World Trade Center in the final moments of a world that ended on Sept. 11, 2001. "I'm not sure if he was limping or moving with a cane," says Roman, 44, who was at the controls of the last PATH train to leave the trade center before the towers collapsed. "I think he died, you know. What upsets me is that if we knew what was going on, that man never would have gone up those stairs." (Newsday)

Street in Queens Renamed for Firefighter - Nov 24, 2003
Hundreds of people gathered at a street corner in Queens yesterday to rename a street after firefighter Carl F. Asaro, who was killed at the World Trade Center. The intersection of 147th Street and Willets Point Boulevard in Whitestone, where Asaro was born and raised, now bears his name. (New York Post)

As Deadline For 9/11 Aid Nears, Many Families Haven’t Filed - Nov 22, 2003
Members of New York's Congressional delegation say the federal government's ambitious effort to compensate the relatives of Sept. 11 victims will fall far short of its intent if Congress does not act soon to extend the Dec. 22 deadline for filing claims. Were such a shortfall to occur, it would amount to a major disappointment in what was seen as an extraordinary attempt to compensate thousands of people quickly and generously for one of the worst catastrophes on American soil. (New York Times)

On World Trade Center Memorial, Criticism Outstrips Praise - Nov 22, 2003
The experts having already weighed in voluminously on the subject, the Municipal Art Society asked ordinary people to give their perspectives on the eight finalists in LMDC's memorial competition for Ground Zero, in a handful of small sessions that seemed to blend the give-and-take of a creative writing workshop with the raw emotions of a 12-step meeting. (New York Times)

New Yorkers Split on Memorial Designs - Nov 21, 2003
Some memorials console, some teach. And the Sept. 11 memorial proposed for the World Trade Center site may eventually do both. But after the announcement on Wednesday of the eight final designs in the competition, New Yorkers remain deeply split over the memorial's most basic outlines: What is its purpose? Whom is it for? And when should it be done? (New York Times)

Duty Calls After 9/11, Straining Family Finances - Nov 20, 2003
A kidney on the verge of shutting down. A home on the verge of being lost. For Kenneth and Angelean Thomas, the last few years have been one ordeal after another. A call to serve after the Sept. 11 terrorist attack gave rise to the Thomases' other major challenge: keeping a roof over their heads. (New York Times)

Schumer Sees Terror Threat to NYC Cruise Ships - Nov 10, 2003
Sen. Charles Schumer yesterday called on the U.S. Coast Guard to assess security at Manhattan's Hudson River cruise ship passenger piers - saying the terminals were ripe for terrorist attacks. "The security here at cruise terminals is not up to snuff," said Schumer in a press conference at the West 48th Street pier operated by P & O Ports. "We ought to have the same kind of security here as we do at the airports." (New York Post)

Toxin Levels in Lower Manhattan to be Retested - Nov 5, 2003
Some Lower Manhattan residences will be retested for World Trade Center toxins as part of an agreement reached by Senator Hillary Clinton and government officials. But details of the plan remained foggy last week, even as the Environmental Protection Agency reported elevated levels of lead in 13.5 percent of the wipe samples the agency tested for metals and other toxins before cleaning the apartments in response to 9/11. The lead results were released at an Oct. 28 Congressional hearing on the health effects of the W.T.C. disaster held at Mount Sinai medical center and attended by U.S. Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler. (Downtown Express)

Firefighter returns 911 medal to protest firehouse closings - Nov 4, 2003
Retired firefighter Girard Owens has sent back the Survivor medal he earned for heroism on 9/11, demanding that Mayor Bloomberg reopen a Williamsburg firehouse closed in May. "I cannot accept this award at this time. I would rather have my neighborhood properly protected," wrote Owens in a letter sent to the mayor and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. (New York Post)

Families Anguished Over Removal of Names from 911 Victim List - Nov 2, 2003
Two families living in Mexico were shocked to find that their relatives were among those removed from the list of 911 victims. Both men were undocumented immigrants, who, according to their families, were working at the World Trade Center during the attacks. (New York Post)

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)

Some Say WTC Health Survey Is Poorly Run - Oct 30, 2003
The city’s World Trade Center Health Registry has not asked enough questions of enough people, downtowners criticized at an environmental forum last week. At the event, sponsored by New York University School of Medicine and held in the landmark Woolworth Building, scientists presented 9/11-related research to an overflow crowd of more than 120 people. Some said that the forum failed to provide the practical health information they were seeking. (Downtown Express)

A New Account of Sept. 11 Loss, With 40 Fewer Souls to Mourn - Oct 29, 2003
After what officials call an exhaustive investigation that spanned the world, the city has removed more names from the official tally of people killed in the World Trade Center attacks. The reasons are the same as in the past: finding people once thought dead; duplication; insufficient data; fraud. In many cases, investigators could not prove a supposed victim had ever existed --a jarring concept, given that some names are embedded in the collective memory. (New York Times)

Ground Zero Workers Still Suffering Health Problems - Oct 29, 2003
One-third of Ground Zero workers are suffering serious health problems, and many face life-long illnesses, doctors told a congressional panel yesterday. But much of the money earmarked to help the firefighters, cops, construction workers and others sickened by the toxic plume at the World Trade Center site is stuck in limbo. The funds have been authorized by the federal government but not disbursed. (New York Daily News)

Silvertein Near Deal on Buyout - Oct 29, 2003
World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority appear to be close to making a buyout offer to the mortgage company that loaned Silverstein the money to lease the complex, lawyers said yesterday. (Newsday)

Chinatown Store Founded in 1891 Succumbs to Effects of 9/11 - Oct 26, 2003
Last month the 32 Mott Street General Store, Chinatown's longest continuously operating store, became the latest victim of the economic troubles that have gripped this community since Sept. 11, 2001. City marshals came and evicted Paul Lee, who had fallen badly behind in his rent. For more than a century, Lee's family worked at the store. It is clear now that the store, long a stop on Chinatown walking tours, will not be reopening. (New York Times)

Marriott Ceding Property Where Hotel Stood on the World Trade Center Site - Oct 24, 2003
Yesterday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted to proceed with an agreement for the Host Marriott Corporation to cede the property where the Marriott Hotel stood, and clear the southwest edge of the 16-acre trade center site for redevelopment as a memorial. (New York Times)

Visions for Tower Clash at Trade Center Site - Oct 23, 2003
Only 10 months before groundbreaking is expected to take place for the Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center site, the master planner of the site and the architect for the tower's developer, who are supposed to be collaborating, have reached an impasse on how the skyscraper should look. (New York Times)

Test Runs of PATH Train Stop at WTC - Oct 23, 2003
A PATH train, carrying only a conductor and an engineer, zipped under the Hudson River and eased into a bare-bones station at Ground Zero yesterday. The commuter train came to a stop at 1:42 p.m. - weeks ahead of schedule. There was no fanfare. No political speeches. But the moment foreshadowed a significant triumph in the long, hard recovery of lower Manhattan. (New York Daily News)

Many People Who Spent Months At Ground Zero Have Respiratory Ailments - Oct 21, 2003
Thousands of people who are not cops or firefighters but who toiled at ground zero are now sick, even disabled, from asthma, chronic infections, and other respiratory illnesses. These conditions, some experts maintain, were caused by the “crud” - the mixture of dust, ash, fumes from burning plastic, pulverized concrete, and vaporized human remains around ground zero. (New York Magazine)

EPA Delays Release of Lead Tests - Oct 15, 2003
The Environmental Protection Agency says it is not ready to release its findings on the post-9/11 toxin tests the agency conducted in 250 Lower Manhattan apartments, although community members are concerned after obtaining what appears to be raw data from the tests. (Downtown Express)

Council Introduces Downtown Pollution Reduction Bill - Oct 9, 2003
At a City Council hearing last week, the Environmental Protection Agency urged the passage of a bill that would mandate the use of clean air technology for vehicles rebuilding the World Trade Center site. Under the proposed law, construction equipment Downtown, including the WTC site, would have to use ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and special technology to reduce emissions. (Downtown Express)

White House to Help Review Downtown Air Quality After 9/11 - Oct 1, 2003
The White House has agreed to work with Congress and independent environment experts to review the quality of air in lower Manhattan immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, Sen. Hillary Clinton said yesterday. The review will seek to determine whether air near Ground Zero was safe to breathe and whether toxins continue to linger in buildings near the attack site. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Counseling Program to be Extended - Sep 25, 2003
Federal officials are giving New Yorkers more time to seek counseling in a program to help cope with the horror of the terror attacks, Sen. Hillary Clinton said yesterday. New York's Democratic junior senator said Federal Emergency Management Undersecretary Michael Brown had committed to extending the deadline for Project Liberty treatment from December until June. (New York Daily News)

Families to Hold Memorial Walk - Sep 25, 2003
Relatives of Sept. 11, 2001, victims will participate in a remembrance walk to Ground Zero on Sunday to honor those who died in the attacks - and soldiers fighting the war on terror. The Rev. Bill Minson, the event's organizer, said people with family in the military also are welcome in the second annual We Remember Walk. (New York Daily News)

WTC Health List Draws 10,000 - Sep 24, 2003
More than 10,000 people have signed up for the World Trade Center Health Registry, less than two weeks after it opened, officials said yesterday. The registry, which aims to track health effects of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack over 20 years, includes people from 47 states and nine countries, so far. (New York Daily News)

A 9/11 Widow Finds a Renewal Amid Sorrow - Sep 23, 2003
If life is a lottery, it is hard to say just yet whether Virginia S. Bauer has won or lost. She has had her share of heartache. Her husband was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center. Yet she has also risen from the catastrophe to build a new identity, as one of the state's best-known advocates for 9/11 widows and as the new executive director of the New Jersey Lottery. (New York Times)

E.P.A. Clears Building Despite Toxic Report - Sep 17, 2003
The Environmental Protection Agency oversaw the cleaning of 114 Liberty St. and cleared the building for re-occupancy despite the presence of toxic dust from the World Trade Center collapse, residents charged last week. (Downtown Express)

New Yorkers Protest Downtown Air Quality - Sep 16, 2003
Anger about the air quality in lower Manhattan escalated yesterday as a coalition of residents, office workers and health experts cited evidence that asbestos and other toxins remain inside buildings at dangerous levels. (Newsday)

Arts Groups Vie for a Home at Ground Zero - Sep 16, 2003
The Wooster Group, an experimental theater company whose founders include Willem Dafoe and Spalding Gray; a nonprofit multiracial theatrical group that recently produced the popular new musical "Zanna, Don't!" off Broadway; and an international art-glass center that wants to offer demonstrations are just a few of the more than 70 arts groups that are now formally vying to be part of the ground zero redevelopment. (New York Times)

Whitman: EPA Did All it Could - Sep 14, 2003
Christie Whitman, who headed the federal Environmental Protection Agency on 9/11 and afterward, said yesterday her agency did everything it could to warn rescue teams they needed to worry about their own health and safety while conducting their heroic work. (New York Post)

Mosque in WTC Shadow Flourishes - Sep 13, 2003
Immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, the Masjid Manhattan mosque - which was the closest to the towers - and its members lost the relative anonymity they enjoyed. (New York Daily News)

Study Says Ground Zero Soot Lingered - Sep 11, 2003
New research into the impact of air pollution from the World Trade Center disaster mostly confirms, for better and for worse, some of the earliest tentative conclusions reached just after the attack, scientists said yesterday. The air across most of Lower Manhattan quickly returned to generally normal conditions, with periodic jumps in the levels of ash and soot, but remained downright horrible for weeks at the smoldering mound of ground zero itself. (New York Times)

Some WTC Families Have Only Headstones - Sep 11, 2003
The city medical examiner's office worked round-the-clock during the first year after 9/11, identifying 649 people through DNA alone, about 23 percent of all those killed. As existing gene-typing technology reached its limits in mid-2002, the number of DNA identifications dropped dramatically. Since last September, only 136 sets of remains have been positively identified. Many relatives, tired of waiting for identifications, erected headstones on empty plots. (Newsday)

Giuliani: No Reason to Distrust EPA - Sep 11, 2003
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday he has "no reason to distrust" information the city received about the air quality near Ground Zero right after Sept. 11, 2001. The former mayor's comments marked the first time he has spoken publicly about a report by the Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general that said the agency gave overly rosy statements about the air. (New York Daily News)

Health Study Begins for Residents, W.T.C. Workers - Sep 11, 2003
The city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has launched a major effort to track people who were in the vicinity of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. (Downtown Express)

Nadler: Buildings Contaminated After EPA Cleanup - Sep 10, 2003
Buildings around Ground Zero were still contaminated even after a cleanup led by the feds, Rep. Jerrold Nadler charged yesterday. Nadler (D-Manhattan) released a memo from a veteran Environmental Protection Agency official, Cate Jenkins. (New York Daily News)

For One 9/11 Family, Five Waves of Grief - Sep 10, 2003
For families like the Petrocellis, who have been forced to confront the remains of a loved one piece by piece, there is no "closure," no "moving on." (New York Times)

Asian-Americans Face Cultural Barrier to 9/11 Counseling - Sep 9, 2003
According to a study being released today by the Asian American Federation of New York, many Asian-Americans rejected professional therapy after Sept. 11. Even some counseling services developed for Asians were not used much more in the year after Sept. 11, the study found. (New York Times)

Two Years Later, 9/11 Survivor Still Recovering - Sep 9, 2003
On 9/11, Lauren Manning was on her way to work as a senior executive at Cantor Fitzgerald when she was engulfed by a fireball in the lobby of 1 World Trade Center. Burned over most of her body, she was given little chance to live. She spent months in a drug-induced coma before pulling through faster than even optimists had thought possible. (New York Times)

Two Years Later: Living at Ground Zero, and Tiring of the Neighborhood Sideshow - Sep 9, 2003
With ground zero as their front yard, the residents of 125 Cedar have developed a low tolerance for the constant procession -- tourists, construction workers, dignitaries, vendors hawking DVD's of the attacks -- that rolls by night and day. (New York Times)

Moving On After 9/11, From Park Slope to Staten Island - Sep 9, 2003
Life two years later for the family of Dave Fontana, one of 12 firefighters lost on Sept. 11 from Squad 1, the elite fire company in Park Slope, Brooklyn. (New York Times)

9/11 Still Strains New York Psyche - Sep 8, 2003
In the second year of living with the memory, the simmering disquiet persists, a lengthening shadow that won't leave. A New York Times poll of 976 adult New Yorkers, taken last week, underscores how much lasting damage 9/11 inflicted on the city's psyche. Two-thirds of the people questioned said they were very concerned about another attack in New York. (New York Times)

Uncertainty Lingers Over 9/11 Air Pollution - Sep 7, 2003
The air in Lower Manhattan after Sept. 11 has swirled back into the news -- what people knew about it, when they knew it and what they said about it. The underlying issue, researchers, doctors and politicians say, remains just as unresolved today as it was back then in the chaotic, emotional days after the attacks: How do you communicate something about which no one has ever had any experience? Was there a standard of confidence about the environmental risks and unknowns that was scientifically or perhaps even morally appropriate under the circumstances? (New York Times)

Companies Honor the Fallen As They Forge Ahead - Sep 7, 2003
The companies that once occupied the north and south towers and lost employees on Sept. 11, 2001, have searched for ways to remember their fallen colleagues as they strive to continue their work in new offices. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Children's Journeys of Grief - Sep 7, 2003
Two years later, psychologists caution against measuring as a group how the children who lost parents on September 11 are doing now. Perhaps the only useful generalization to make is a statistical one: there are about 3,051 children who lost a parent, according to a Newsday analysis last year, 2,172 of whom were 17 or younger that day. (Newsday)

Love, Terror and the Chance of Love Again - Sep 7, 2003
For some, it is unthinkable. The other side of the bed must remain forever empty. Children must cleave to the parent they have. Lives shall be lived alone. But there are other widows, widowers and partners of those who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, who are dating again. They have found that every tentative new love is alloyed with an inconsolable regret. And every new journey of the heart traverses a minefield of expectations, emotions and financial quandaries. (New York Times)

Children Still Suffering Psychological Effects of Attacks - Sep 7, 2003
As the second anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches this week, some of those who are still suffering in the city are children. Many are from poor neighborhoods and attend underperforming schools. Some are from families where there is little support for the problems. And now, funding for the therapy that could address the anguish of some of those children is being discontinued. (New York Post)

Profiles: People Picking Up the Pieces After 9/11 - Sep 7, 2003
A series of short profiles of people working to rebuild New York: the chief of forensic biology at New York City medical examiner's office, the head of New York City FBI office, and others. (New York Post)

300,000 Around WTC to be Studied for 20 Years - Sep 6, 2003
Some 300,000 people who lived, worked or were near Ground Zero after Sept. 11, 2001, are being asked to join an official registry to monitor any health effects from the World Trade Center debris plume. (New York Daily News)

WTC Families Protest Rebuilding Plans - Sep 4, 2003
Loved ones of Sept. 11 victims who hoped to shut down Ground Zero yesterday were stymied by the Port Authority, which chained the main entrance and rerouted trucks before the protesters showed up. No entrance to block meant no civil disobedience. And no civil disobedience meant the victims' families would not be arrested - as they had hoped. Determined to get out their message about preserving more of Ground Zero, the relatives gathered in front of the locked gate around noon and slammed Gov. Pataki and other officials. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Relatives Plan Protest at Ground Zero Work Site - Sep 3, 2003
When trucks carrying construction materials try to enter the work site at ground zero today, Beverly Eckert and 14 other people who lost family members in the Sept. 11 attack plan to block the road to protest plans to redevelop the site. Ms. Eckert isn't a radical, schooled in the practice of civil disobedience, but is a grieving widow convinced that the memory of her husband, and the thousands of others who died on Sept. 11, is being betrayed by state and local officials overseeing redevelopment of Lower Manhattan. (New York Times)

Minister Begings Peace Walk from Ground Zero to Pentagon - Sep 2, 2003
With prayers and songs, a lone minister yesterday began a trek from Ground Zero to the Pentagon in honor of those killed on Sept. 11, 2001. The Rev. Danny Garcia, 58, plans to walk the approximately 250 miles, and he expects to arrive at the new chapel built where a hijacked jetliner crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., on the second anniversary of the deadly terrorist attacks next week. (New York Post)

Fire Experts Find That Burning Office Materials Brought Down Towers - Aug 31, 2003
The fiery hell that raged inside the World Trade Center on 9/11 has been recreated in a test that highlights how today's office space can be dangerously flammable. Using a cubicle based on the offices of insurance firm Marsh & McLennan - a north tower tenant that lost 295 employees - federal fire experts conclude it was more likely the heat of burning office materials brought down the tower, rather than jet-fuel-fed flames. (New York Post)

Reactions to Port Authority Transcripts - Aug 30, 2003
Anger at terrorists - and sadness for their victims - marked the mood at Ground Zero yesterday as visitors talked about newly released transcripts of World Trade Center occupants' last desperate calls for help. (New York Post)

EPA Assured Public Before Actual Testing - Aug 28, 2003
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, testing to monitor levels of debris dust didn't begin for 10 days - and analysis of the findings didn't become available until October. Months later EPA scientists would conclude that the dust caused lung disease in test animals - ailments that mimicked those reported in people who lived and worked near Ground Zero. (Newsday)

Governor Wants To Know How Dangerous 9/11 Air Really Was - Aug 28, 2003
Six days after a federal report said the White House misled New Yorkers about the air around Ground Zero after Sept. 11, Gov. Pataki said yesterday he wants to know how dangerous it really was. But Pataki stopped short of criticizing President Bush, his fellow Republican, and didn't support a call from Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) to reclean area buildings. (New York Daily News)

Study Finds Rise in Benefits for the Unemployed of 9/11 - Aug 27, 2003
In one way at least, the thousands of New York City workers left jobless after 9/11 were luckier than those unemployed earlier or later - because they were far more likely to collect benefits from New York State's unemployment insurance program. That is the unexpected finding of a report to be released this week by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. (New York Times)

Relatives Uncomfortable About Releasing 9/11 Tapes - Aug 27, 2003
Relatives of World Trade Center victims reacted with discomfort yesterday to a judge's decision to release transcripts of 9/11 emergency radio transmissions and phone calls. A New Jersey judge ordered the Port Authority to release the material by 5 p.m. tomorrow as part of a lawsuit filed by The New York Times. (New York Post)

Residents Angry, but not Surprised at Premature E.P.A. 9/11 Air Reports - Aug 21, 2003
Downtowners expressed outrage but little surprise last week at the news that the White House allegedly influenced statements the Environmental Protection Agency made soon after the collapse of the World Trade Center about air quality in Lower Manhattan. (Downtown Express)

Downtown Moms Question W.T.C.Baby Study Findings - Aug 14, 2003
Despite research showing a possible link between trade center toxins and lower baby birth weight, several downtown mothers who participated in a recent study said last week that the preliminary results did not appear to describe them or their babies. Mount Sinai School of Medicine tracked 182 women who were pregnant and in the vicinity of the World Trade Center on Sept.11, 2001, or within three weeks thereafter. In results released last week, researchers found that women who were exposed to dust from the trade center collapse were twice as likely as a control group to have babies who were slightly small for their gestational age, or for the amount of time they spent in the womb. (Downtown Express)

Remains of As Many as 1,000 9/11 Victims May Not Be Identified - Aug 14, 2003
The remains of as many as 1,000 people lost in the World Trade Center attack might never be identified, says the top forensic biologist leading the city's monumental DNA project. The Medical Examiner's Office has identified slightly more than half of the 2,792 people killed in the attack - only about 100 of those in the last year as technicians struggle with DNA degraded and damaged by fire and the elements. (New York Post)

WTC Health Problems Persist - Aug 11, 2003
Thousands of New Yorkers say they still suffer from the World Trade Center attacks - and they are reaching out to help hot lines in numbers greater than last year, The Post has learned. Callers are seeking assistance for health complaints - ranging from respiratory ailments and pneumonia to acid reflux - that many link to the toxic plume created when the Twin Towers fell, as well as for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. (New York Post)

Feds Launch Long-term WTC Health Studies - Aug 10, 2003
Long-term studies to monitor the health effects of the World Trade Center attacks on New Yorkers are getting under way. A 20-year study conducted by the city Department of Health and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will begin in September or soon after to identify patterns of physical and psychological illness attributable to 9/11. (New York Post)

Fireboat That Pumped Water to Firefighters on 9/11 Is Now in Need - Aug 7, 2003
The fireboat that pumped water to firefighters during and after Sept. 11 and became the focus of a children's book, in now itself in need of help. The John J. Harvey Fireboat, is said to need about $700,000 in repairs. (New York Times)

Smoke and Dust at World Trade Center Is Linked to Smaller Babies - Aug 6, 2003
Scientists say they have measured a slight but significant rise in the percentage of small babies born to women who were around the World Trade Center during or after the terror attack compared with babies of a large sample of pregnant women who were elsewhere at the time. The researchers, from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, proposed that air pollution from the pulverized, smoldering wreckage was the most likely cause of the difference. (New York Times)

Families Considering Protest on 9/11 - Aug 2, 2003
Some relatives of World Trade Center victims are calling for a protest during the ceremony marking the two-year anniversary of the terror attack. The Coalition of 9/11 Families is asking "families, survivors, rescue workers and our fellow Americans" to wear yellow and gather together during the commemoration to oppose part of the rebuilding plans for the site. (New York Daily News)

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)

Low-key Tribute Likely for 9/11 Anniversary - Jul 16, 2003
The second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks will be commemorated in New York - but the tribute likely will be more subdued than last year's. State and city officials are beginning to prepare for Sept. 11, and will meet privately today with victims' families to gather ideas. Officials have held a handful of meetings in the last few weeks to discuss how to observe the solemn day. Several sources acknowledged that this year's tribute probably will be less ambitious than last year's. The first anniversary of the attacks were marked with a morning ceremony at Ground Zero attended by thousands and with coordinated evening activities in all five boroughs. (New York Daily News)

Bill Extends Deadline For 9/11 Suits - Jul 8, 2003
Relatives of those killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center will have an extra six months to file wrongful death suits under a bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. George Pataki. The measure extends the two-year statute of limitations for filing suits, previously set to expire Sept. 11, 2003, to March 11, 2004. The bill was approved by the Legislature before it completed its regular 2003 session last month. (Newsday)

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)

FEMA Closes Temporary Office In Lower Manhattan - Jul 7, 2003
The Federal Emergency Management Agency office in Lower Manhattan that administered aid following the World Trade Center attack is closing Monday. (NY1)

WTC Graffiti Fix Still On Hold - Jul 3, 2003
Weeks after the Port Authority vowed to replace vandalized panels describing the twin towers' history, the tribute is still marred with graffiti messages - some well-meaning, some crude - from Ground Zero visitors. (New York Daily News)

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)

Graffiti WTC Memorial Site - Jul 2, 2003
Underneath the names listed on memorial plaques at the World Trade Center site, visitors can view six information panels featuring illustrations and descriptions of the towers _ now covered with graffiti. (Newsday)

Firefighter Claims Are Up - Jul 1, 2003
Firefighter claims against the city increased more than 20-fold last year due to the World Trade Center disaster, city Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. will report today. (Newsday)

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)

Governor Pushes for Release of Aid to WTC Volunteers - Jun 26, 2003
Ailing Ground Zero volunteers denied medical coverage and financial aid from the state should be getting help soon. Gov. Pataki has ordered the state Workers' Compensation Board to fast-track claims filed by the volunteers, officials said yesterday. Congress gave New York $25 million to cover the volunteers' medical bills and lost wages. Even though the federal aid was approved 18 months ago, not a dime of it has been used. (New York Daily News)

118 Charged in A.T.M. Thefts After 9/11 - Jun 19, 2003
More than 100 members of the Municipal Credit Union were charged yesterday with looting hundreds of thousands of dollars from automated teller machines when a computer failure caused by the collapse of the World Trade Center allowed virtually unlimited access to money, prosecutors said. (New York Times)

Medical Examiner Identifies 1,500th WTC Victim - Jun 19, 2003
The medical examiner has identified the remains of 1,500 World Trade Center victims, a milestone that represents slightly more than half the number of people killed. Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch has said his goal is to eventually reach 2,000 identifications, but has acknowledged that could take years as DNA technology improves. (Associated Press)

Bill Banning Peddling At Ground Zero Is Threatened - Jun 18, 2003
State lawmakers yesterday agreed to ban peddling around Ground Zero - but the deal could be threatened by three last-minute provisions quietly slipped into the bill by its key Assembly sponsor. (New York Post)

WTC Family Gains Closure on Birthday - Jun 13, 2003
On the day that would have been his 49th birthday, a bone fragment from the World Trade Center was identified as that of fire Capt. Brian Hickey, his family said Thursday. (Newsday)

Feds Delay Money for 9/11 Worker Health Screenings - Jun 10, 2003
Some $90 million in disaster aid earmarked for monitoring the health of Ground Zero workers is being held up by federal officials, the Daily News has learned. Congress signed off on the money in February after months of partisan sparring between President Bush and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). Yet the money has not reached the city - and if the delay drags on, it could shut down a World Trade Center health screening program run by Mount Sinai Medical Center, officials said. (New York Daily News)

Families Wait for Remains - May 31, 2003
One year after the official cleanup was ended at the World Trade Center site, about 1,300 families are still waiting for the remains of their loved ones to come home. (Associated Press)

TV Stations to Put Antennas on New Ground Zero Tower - May 29, 2003
The 1,776-foot Freedom Tower planned at the World Trade Center site is meant to send a signal of resilience to the world. Now it will also be designed to send signals of another kind to households from the New Jersey Shore to the end of Long Island to Fairfield County, Conn. Specifically, Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 31, 41, 47 and 68. On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Television Alliance signed an agreement with Larry A. Silverstein, the leaseholder and developer at the trade center site, to install as many as 22 antennas atop Freedom Tower, to be completed in 2008. (New York Times)

Survey: Residents Will Stay Despite 9/11 - May 21, 2003
With a new poll finding that 78 percent of downtown residents plan to stay in lower Manhattan, they said their neighborhood must improve to keep them there. While about 42 percent of lower Manhattan residents living below Canal Street rated the overall quality of life as "excellent" prior to Sept. 11, 2001, that number dropped to 14 percent when the poll was conducted two weeks ago, according to a Blum & Weprin Associates poll released Tuesday. (Newsday)

9/11 Families Weigh Lawsuit Options - May 18, 2003
More than 75% of those eligible for death benefits from the 9/11 victim's compensation fund- about 2,160 families - are taking a wait-and-see attitude, with the application deadline more than seven months away. They are on an unusual fence, with one of two options under fund rules: go with the fund or file a wrongful-death suit against the airlines, the Port Authority, airport security companies and others. (New York Daily News)

Asbestos Found in Tribeca Building - May 7, 2003
Lori Mogol and Richard Zimbler watched from their balcony at Independence Plaza North as ground zero was cleaned ahead of schedule. But almost a year after the last of the debris was hauled away, the couple’s home has still has not been cleared of toxins that likely resulted from the collapse of the World Trade Center. (Downtown Express)

FEMA To Stay Downtown, For Now - Apr 30, 2003
With the Federal Emergency Management Agency set to close its lower Manhattan assistance center Thursday, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and others took to the streets to protest .Except FEMA officials told a different story after Tuesday's event. The office won't close on May 1, but officials expect it to close in "the next few weeks." (Newsday)

Daniel Libeskind: Tracing the Empathy of an Architect - Apr 6, 2003
American architect Daniel Libeskind is a master at relating the beauty of a building to its meaning and purpose. His works are a blend of space and story -- the reason he won the intense, highly publicized competition earlier this year to redesign the World Trade Center site in New York. It may take a decade before his exciting complex is complete. But Americans can see what may be in store for New York with his two earliest works in Germany: the acclaimed Jewish Museum Berlin and the little-known Felix Nussbaum House in the northwestern town of Osnabruck. Visiting them is an emotional, even wrenching, experience. (Los Angeles Times)

Firefighter's Widow Seeks to Fill a Husband's Boots - Apr 2, 2003
Sigalit Brunn says she has been groping her way through life since her husband, Andrew Brunn, a New York City firefighter, died in the collapse of the World Trade Center. So she has decided to try to become a firefighter to take his place. Ms. Brunn, 30, is seeking to do what very few women have ever done: become a New York City firefighter. With about 70 other women, she is training at a boot camp to prepare for the physical part of the exam, which will be given by the New York City Fire Department this summer. (New York Times)

9/11 Panel Hears Families' Anguish - Apr 1, 2003
After a 19-month wait that they said was too long and too painful, the relatives of those who died in the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as some survivors, finally had their chance yesterday to testify as the first witnesses before a government panel investigating the attacks. And as the all-day hearing unfolded at the United States Custom House in Lower Manhattan, not far from where the World Trade Center once towered, it was hard for those on the 10-member commission not to sigh, or wince, or shed a tear. (New York Times)

Support Our Troops Rally Organized by 9/11 Families - Mar 31, 2003
Waving American flags and singing the national anthem, 200 people gathered at Ground Zero yesterday in a peaceful rally to support U.S. troops in Iraq. Among the demonstrators bearing yellow ribbons were 9/11 victims' loved ones, veterans and firefighters, who braved wind and rain at the site where many believe the war began. (New York Daily News)

Police Officers Who Sifted Through WTC Debris Sue City - Mar 28, 2003
A group of police officers has filed suit against the city, charging they suffered "serious and permanent injury" from sifting through World Trade Center debris at the Fresh Kills landfill. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the seven officers and detectives say they were exposed to "dangerous levels of toxins, contaminants and teratogens and other harmful elements in the air" at the landfill as they examined debris. (New York Post)

City Finally Gets $33M 9/11 Grant - Mar 19, 2003
More than a year and a half after the World Trade Center attack, the federal government Tuesday announced that it had finally released funds to pay for the mental health needs of city schoolchildren. A $33 million grant to the city was approved last week by the Federal Center for Mental Health Services, which works in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. (Newsday)

Federal Records Show EPA Made Mistake In Declaring WTC Air Safe - Mar 18, 2003
The Environmental Protection Agency failed to gather sufficient evidence before declaring the air around Ground Zero "safe to breathe" in the days after the collapse of the twin towers, federal documents reveal. The EPA inspector general's office found that the agency based its conclusion on a cancer risk level 100 times greater than the traditional standard used to determine acceptable public exposure to toxic contaminants. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Claims by Firefighters Could Cost $12 Billion - Mar 15, 2003
Michael A. Cardozo, the city's corporation counsel, said yesterday that New York City could end up paying at least $12 billion to more than a thousand firefighters who have filed Sept. 11-related lawsuits. The bulk of the claims come from firefighters who, along with some police officers and sanitation workers, say their health was jeopardized during the recovery and cleanup effort at ground zero because they were required to work without proper respiratory equipment. (New York Times)

Schumer Wants Relatives of 9/11 Victims to Have Voice at Terror Trials - Mar 9, 2003
The voices of Sept. 11 victims’ relatives should be heard at military tribunals where terrorists are on trial, Sen. Charles Schumer said today. Crime victims currently have the right to speak at the sentencing of convicted defendants in federal court, and that right should be extended to military tribunals, the lawmaker said. (Newsday)

Information Forum For 9/11 Victims' Families - Mar 7, 2003
Hundreds of Sept. 11 victims' relatives are expected to attend an information forum tomorrow, where they can get answers to questions on issues such as the Ground Zero memorial and the victims' compensation fund. The forum, organized by the St. Clare's World Trade Center Outreach Committee on Staten Island, will feature representatives from dozens of victims' advocacy groups as well as from City Hall, said Dennis McKeon, who helped organize the event. (New York Daily News)

Victims' Families Oppose Bus Depot On WTC Site - Mar 1, 2003
Some victims' family members are calling a plan to build an undergound parking garage on the World Trade Center site disrespectful. The Coalition of 9/11 Families says the thought of buses parking on what they consider sacred ground is upsetting. They also say the plan is a security risk. (NY1)

Buildings on Broadway To Make Way For New Transit Center - Mar 1, 2003
A tailoring shop a block from the World Trade Center survived 9/11, but it may not survive the rebuilding effort. New York State and New York City are planning a new Fulton Street Transit Center, a $750 million project on the east side of Broadway between Fulton and John Streets that will simplify connections between nine subway lines at the Fulton Street and Broadway-Nassau stations. But some buildings will be razed to make way for the transit center. (New York Times)

WTC Federal Aid Program Plagued By Scams - Feb 20, 2003
As many as 90% of the people who applied to a $100 million federal program to clean apartments of World Trade Center dust were scam artists, officials admitted yesterday. Some of the 219,000 applications - seeking reimbursement for items to purify their air of WTC dust - were from people who lived several miles away from Ground Zero, officials said. (New York Daily News)

German Court Convicts Moroccan For Involvement In WTC Attack - Feb 20, 2003
New Yorkers who lost family members at the World Trade Center said Wednesday they were pleased that a German court convicted a Moroccan student of being an accessory to murder in the terrorist attacks. "I'm thrilled," said Joan Molinaro, who testified last month at the trial of Mounir el Motassadeq in Hamburg. "He's only one person, but one's better than none. It's justice for my son and 3,000 other victims." (Newsday)

A Slow, Deliberate Process of Weighing 9/11 Awards - Feb 18, 2003
High above the streets of Manhattan, one judge presides over a deeply intimidating institution: the unofficial Supreme Court for the families of Sept. 11 victims. There are no gavels or robes, no jurors or bailiffs. Sometimes, only one relative shows up for a businesslike proceeding that can be as brief as 15 minutes. Sometimes, though, there can be an entire battalion of relatives, lawyers and forensic experts who fold heartbreaking videos and head-hurting statistical presentations into two-and-a-half-hour crucibles during which even foreign-language interpreters have been moved to tears. (New York Times)

Interviewers In 9/11 Oral History Project Were Changed By Experience - Feb 14, 2003
About a year ago, 30 interviewers armed with tape-recorders and resolute curiosity fanned out across New York City, seeking true-life stories of 9/11. The 449 accounts they came back with, on more than 400 hours of tape, captured the horror, and sometimes, the spiritual transcendence of those days. But something else happened, too. The interviewers, working for Columbia University's 9/11 Oral History Narrative and Memory Project, became entangled themselves in the stories they'd heard. (New York Times)

Federal Government Allots $90 Million for Ground Zero Health Study - Feb 12, 2003
The feds will set aside $90 million to pay for health screening for hundreds of firefighters and other heroes who rushed to Ground Zero after 9/11, officials said yesterday. The funding should insure that Mount Sinai and other hospitals can study and track the long-term health of scores of first responders - some of whom are beginning to report lung and breathing woes they attribute to Ground Zero. (Select one or type in another)

Families Angry At Plan To Put Bus Garage in WTC Pit - Feb 11, 2003
Secretive plans to turn part of the World Trade Center "bathtub" into a bus garage could put development officials on a collision course with angry family members who consider the Ground Zero pit sacred space. The decision - and the reluctance to talk about it publicly - has angered relatives of 9/11 victims who have been calling for months for the WTC pit to be declared off-limits to all development down to bedrock. (New York Post)

$90 Million in Federal Aid for Ground Zero Workers Expected To Be Approved - Feb 11, 2003
Millions of dollars in federal aid to monitor the long-term health of Ground Zero workers is expected to be approved this week -- after being tied up for months by partisan sparring. Congressional leaders and the White House inserted the $90 million yesterday into the 2003 omnibus spending package. (New York Daily News)

A Blue Collar Doctor Tracks Ground Zero Workers - Jan 31, 2003
Captivated in the 60's by the effect one's station in life has on one's health, Dr. Stephen M. Levin, director since 1987 of the Mount Sinai Irving J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine and co-director of an unprecedented $12 million health screening for ground zero workers, veered off the beaten path to practice occupational medicine (New York Times)

Relatives of Sept. 11 Victims Face a Suspect in Germany - Jan 31, 2003
Spectators and even the court-appointed interpreter wept in a Hamburg, Germany court today as the horror of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- planned in this city -- coursed through the accounts of relatives of victims, who for the first time confronted a man charged with conspiring in the attacks with their loss and suffering. (New York Times)

Prosperous Hopes for Year of the Ram in Chinatown - Jan 29, 2003
As the Lunar New Year approaches, Chinatown prepares to shake off its economic woes in a celebration intended to boost the fortunes of a community still struggling after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. (Downtown Express)

Fire Unions Snub Von Essen - Jan 28, 2003
The leaders of the city firefighter unions say they will boycott an awards dinner tonight because former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen is among those being honored. The firefighters are still angry at Von Essen for several reasons, including his acceptance of a cutback ordered by City Hall in the number of firefighters searching for victims at the World Trade Center. (Newsday)

Study Says WTC Workers Had A Year Of Bad Health - Jan 28, 2003
Among the first wave of ground zero workers who came forward for physical examinations at the Mount Sinai Medical Center last summer, nearly three-fourths had ear, nose or throat problems more than 10 months after the World Trade Center attack, doctors said yesterday. More than half still had lung complaints or abnormal results in pulmonary function tests. (New York Times)

Twin Towers Created 'Ash Footprint' - Jan 28, 2003
The collapse of the World Trade Center may have left a permanent chemical record on the bottom of the Hudson River. It is possible that the new layer of sediment will become a permanent reminder of the tragedy for generations of geologists to come. The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, launched thousands of tons of ash and dust into the atmosphere. (BBC)

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)

WTC Crews Plan Symbolic Reminder - Jan 25, 2003
Ground Zero firefighters and rescue workers plan to attend President George W. Bush's State of the Union speech Tuesday night, their presence a symbolic reminder of the administration's reluctance to allocate $90 million in federal funds to keep track of rescue workers' respiratory problems. (Newsday)

Firefighters Want 9/11 Aid From Bush at State of Union - Jan 24, 2003
Will he help the heroes? The weary, retired firefighter President Bush tossed his arm around at Ground Zero days after the terrorist attacks is making a special trip to Washington to plead for help for ailing rescue workers. Upset that $90 million in federal aid to monitor the long-term health of Ground Zero laborers is tied up, Bob Beckwith will join a silent - but very visible - protest at the State of the Union address Tuesday. (New York Daily News)

Some 9/11 Victims May Need to Risk Homes to Creditors to Qualify for Aid - Jan 24, 2003
As time runs out for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to apply for federal mortgage and rental assistance, some are considering risking their homes to creditors to qualify for the cash. That's because help is available only if those seeking aid can produce a late-payment notice, showing that they are in danger of possible eviction or foreclosure. (New York Daily News)

Man With Few Trade Center Ties Traces His Asthma to 9/11 - Jan 22, 2003
Glenn H. Abatemarco got sick two weeks after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, and he has still not fully recovered his ability to breathe normally. Abatemarco does not fit the pattern, and therein lies a medical mystery. First of all, he lives in Brooklyn, miles from ground zero, and works in Midtown Manhattan, where he is a vice president at a financial services firm. He had no intense exposure from the dust cloud from the towers' collapse and no chronic exposure afterward of the sort that downtown workers and residents faced as smoke from the smoldering fires swirled through the streets. (New York Times)

Hunger Strike by 6 Immigrants, Detained in 9/11 Sweeps, Continues - Jan 22, 2003
A stalemate between immigrant detainees and immigration officials entered its second week yesterday, as six men continued a hunger strike to protest the conditions at a New Jersey jail. The men, held for months on various immigration charges, have been drinking juice and water but have refused solid food since Jan. 14. The government has arrested hundreds of Muslim and Arab men since Sept. 11, 2001, and charged them with immigration violations that rarely caught the attention of federal officials before. (New York Times)

Aviation Firms Seek to Dismiss 9/11 Claims - Jan 21, 2003
A group of aviation-related companies has asked a federal court to dismiss claims stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed more than 3,000 people, saying the companies were not liable for damage or casualties on the ground in New York City or at the Pentagon. (Associated Press)

Sept. 11 Commission Faces Challenges - Jan 21, 2003
Sixteen months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, an independent commission charged with investigating what happened is only beginning to confront a task complicated by a ticking clock, limited finances and the high expectations of those who lost loved ones. (Associated Press)

New Yorkers Warned of Deceptive FEMA Cleanup Salesmen - Jan 19, 2003
Federal officials are warning New Yorkers to avoid unscrupulous salesmen seeking to profit from a 9/11 program to provide residents with air filters and vacuums - by misleadingly peddling their wares as "FEMA approved" and selling them at inflated prices. "There's a lot of waste and fraud and abuse going on," said Brad Gair, New York's top official in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (New York Post)

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)

Garden of Remembrance To Honor 9/11 Victims - Jan 16, 2003
A "garden of remembrance" honoring the victims of Sept. 11 will be designed by Dutch horticulturist and landscape artist Piet Oudolf in lower Manhattan, the city announced yesterday.The garden of remembrance will encompass 10,000 square feet of perennial plantings, flowers and passages for meditation, according to the Battery Conservancy and the city Parks Department. (New York Post)

New Jersey Receving Bulk of Ferry Funds - Jan 15, 2003
New York and New Jersey will get $54.8 million to fund five Hudson River ferry projects as part of the federal government's post-9/11 aid to the city, the Department of Transportation said yesterday. The money includes $11.4 million to help build a new ferry terminal at West 38th Street. The remainder will be spent in New Jersey. (New York Post)

Public Says "Slow Down" At Hearing On Memorial - Jan 15, 2003
If there was one demand people made last night to those in charge of building a memorial for the World Trade Center site it was to slow down. "What's the rush?" asked Amy Rogers of Manhattan. "Let's do it right." She was among scores of speakers at the continuation of a two-night public forum at Pace University on the redevelopment of the site. (Newsday)

Downtown Residents Still Waiting For $7 Million in Rent Aid - Jan 12, 2003
The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. is holding hostage more than $7 million in rent grants it promised to downtown residents - saying their landlords have to fix building violations first. The agency, charged with helping revitalize neighborhoods around Ground Zero after 9/11, is withholding grants to more than 550 individuals and families who moved downtown or remained there to take advantage of the development corporation's rental-assistance offer. (New York Post)

Build Memorial First, Says Victims Family Group - Jan 8, 2003
A coalition representing victims' relatives demanded last night that a memorial be built at Ground Zero before anything else - and complained that most rebuilding plans ignore that concern. Lee Ielpi of the Coalition of 9/11 Families said relatives of those killed in the terror attack on the World Trade Center have always wanted a memorial occupying the entire 9-acre "bathtub" to rise first on the site. Ielpi said only two of the nine architectural plans for the site - the ones by Daniel Libeskind and United Architects - set aside the needed space for a memorial. (New York Daily News)

Victims Family Group Cool To Idea of Keeping Pit Empty - Jan 8, 2003
A Ground Zero design proposal to preserve the empty pit where the Twin Towers once stood is getting a cool reception from a surprising quarter - the 9/11 families who have campaigned for months to set aside the trade center "bathtub" area for a memorial. "We don't want to leave a hole in the ground," said Lee Ielpi, a member of the Coalition of 9/11 Families, whose firefighter son Jonathan was killed. "I don't want to go below grade for the memorial. I want the memorial to be up in the sunlight." (New York Post)

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)

Council Member: Add Brooklyn to WTC Health Study - Jan 5, 2003
A City Council member is urging health officials to include Brooklyn in a massive study of people who inhaled the plume of World Trade Center smoke and debris. In a letter to city and federal health authorities, Councilman Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn) said there was no reason to exclude Brooklynites from the study, which will track roughly 200,000 people who were caught in the thick, chemical cloud rising from Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

City Request Stalls Insurance for 9/11 Cleanup - Jan 4, 2003
A long-delayed plan to have the federal government provide insurance for four construction companies against legal claims arising from their cleanup efforts at ground zero has been stalled by a request from the city government that it be covered, too. Already, 45 lawsuits have been filed against the city, mostly by construction workers (New York Times)

Tenants Begin to Return to Building Damaged Sept. 11 - Jan 3, 2003
Tenants are returning to 125 Cedar Street, the closest residential high-rise to Ground Zero. Five of the 19 families in the 13-story building have made homecomings in the last three weeks, the scars from that awful day, such as the broken windows, largely repaired. State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, whose district includes parts of lower Manhattan, ensured that the building was included in the nine plans now being considered for the development at Ground Zero. It had been omitted from the first six proposals, and residents feared the loss of their building. (Newsday)

Study to Follow 200,000 Exposed to Trade Center Ash - Jan 3, 2003
New York City and federal health officials are working out the final details of what they say would be the largest study of its kind ever undertaken -- a far-reaching health registry to follow as many as 200,000 people exposed to ash and dust from the destruction of the World Trade Center. The primary goal of the $20 million registry, paid for by federal disaster relief money, is not so much to obtain treatment for people who might still be sick more than a year after the attack, health officials say, but rather to interview people to get a broader picture of who was affected and to look for patterns in illness and recovery that individual physicians and clinics might have missed. (New York Times)

No Serious Health Risks for Public Near Ground Zero, E.P.A. Reports - Dec 28, 2002
Most people living or working in the area around ground zero are unlikely to suffer serious short- or long-term health effects from the terror attack, according to a draft report released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency. But the report said anyone exposed in the early hours was at risk of chronic sickness, as many firefighters have already reported. (New York Times)

Fire Union Seeks To Stop Staff Cutbacks - Dec 27, 2002
Attorneys for the city firefighters union, claiming the World Trade Center attack had severely affected firefighter work attendance, told a state judge Thursday that he should stop the city from reducing engine company staffing. In arguments before State Supreme Court Justice James G. Starkey in Brooklyn, the Uniformed Firefighters Association was trying to halt the Bloomberg administration from eliminating the fifth firefighter per tour of duty at 53 engine companies throughout the city. (Newsday)

9/11 Dust Seen as Less Toxic Than Feared - Dec 24, 2002
The soot in the air of Lower Manhattan in the first few days after the Sept. 11 attack was less likely to cause cancer and other long-term health problems than many had feared, according to a report released yesterday. The report, by a team of environmental scientists studying the pollution caused by the burning and collapse of the World Trade Center towers, found that dust particles collected at 14 sites from Sept. 12 through 17, 2001, were primarily larger than those much more dangerous particles that are more likely to lodge deeply in the lungs and stay there. The larger particles are more easily expelled. (New York Times)

For Downtown Residents: Bittersweet Homecoming at Ground Zero - Dec 24, 2002
After 15 months, it is finally time to return to 125 Cedar Street, to live day to day, side by side, with ground zero, in a neighborhood at once strange and familiar. The residents of the squat turn-of-the-century loft building confront their return with a welter of emotions — anxiety, sadness, joy, longing for the past, but mainly relief. Many had shuffled from one temporary apartment to the next, adrift in a city focused on the dead. (New York Times)

WTC Study: Rescuers Still Suffering Ailments - Dec 15, 2002
Fifteen months after the twin towers attack, health problems remain an intractable issue: More than half of the 2,500 rescue workers and volunteers Mount Sinai Medical Center doctors have screened to date have persistent upper respiratory inflammation and at least one in four people has abnormal breathing consistent with lower respiratory disease. That is more than triple what is found in the general population. (New York Daily News)

Injured 9/11 Rescue Workers Hold Off Lawsuit - Dec 14, 2002
Almost 2,000 firefighters, cops and other workers who said they suffered respiratory ailments at Ground Zero will hold off suing the city for a year. Under an agreement that could potentially save tens of millions of dollars, lawsuits over inadequate respiratory equipment will be frozen to allow the plaintiffs, who include Emergency Medical Service, sanitation and construction workers, to apply to the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund. (New York Daily News)

Revising WTC Death Count - Dec 12, 2002
A roll call of the dead engraved on memorial placards at Ground Zero includes an inconspicuous black mark covering the name of Nickola Lampley, a 24-year-old Brooklyn woman who authorities believed dead at the World Trade Center until she turned up alive on the first anniversary of the attacks. The symbolic resurrection of Lampley will be followed by others next month when the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. revises the memorial placards. The change will be made to reflect a new official tally of those killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. It also brings to light how difficult it has been for the city to determine the exact number of the dead. (New York Daily News)

Families Wait for 9/11 Relics - Dec 9, 2002
Tens of thousands of personal relics carefully culled from the World Trade Center rubble - wedding rings, watches, photos and other sentimental artifacts - have yet to be returned to families of the dead. Fifteen months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the desperation of families to recover their loved ones' belongings from the NYPD has grown into a fear that the items never will be given back. (New York Daily News)

Ground Zero Opens to Families - Dec 5, 2002
Relatives of World Trade Center victims will be allowed into the Ground Zero pit over the next few weeks, giving them a chance during the holidays to be near what many consider the grave site of their loved ones. Relatives will be allowed to walk to the bottom of the steel ramp at Ground Zero from this Sunday through Jan. 5, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (New York Post)

Rescue Dogs Subject of New Studies on Ground Zero Toxins - Dec 2, 2002
New studies on Ground Zero search and rescue dogs could shed light on whether dangerous toxins were harmful to animals and humans alike. So far, rumors about the failing health of the dogs have been put to rest. "There have been no problems that we can link to the work related to the 9/11 attacks," said veterinarian Cynthia Otto, investigator for a University of Pennsylvania study being funded by the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. (New York Post)

Outspoken 9/11 Widow Joins Memorial Panel - Nov 28, 2002
Monica Iken, the widow of a Sept. 11 victim and one of the most outspoken advocates for victims' families during the rebuilding process, has been appointed to one of the two committees overseeing the planning of a memorial. Iken was notified of the appointment by letter this week, more than a week after the committees were announced. Some family members had complained publicly that rebuilding officials were ignoring people who have sometimes criticized the rebuilding effort. (New York Times)

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)

Henry Kissinger Appointed Head of Commission To Investigate 9/11 - Nov 28, 2002
President Bush today named Henry A. Kissinger, a Republican who has been one of the most respected but polarizing figures in foreign policy and Washington for more than three decades, to lead an independent investigation into the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The 10 member-commission will conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the causes of the attacks, whether they could have been averted and what changes are needed to prevent a similar occurrence. The commission is required to complete its work within 18 months. The leaders of the two parties in Congress must appoint the rest of the members by Dec. 15. (New York Times)

FEMA's Latest Bungle: P.O. Box for 9/11 Aid Shut for Nonpayment - Nov 27, 2002
For more than a year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has had no end of problems with its stewardship of the Sept. 11 aid programs. Now comes a bureaucratic bungle of a new magnitude. Last week, a FEMA post office box in Albany was closed after the agency failed to pay the rent for almost three months. The agency had set up the box to handle applications for a major reimbursement program. After the box was closed by the Albany post office, about 300 people who had mailed in applications potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars received their packets stamped "Return to Sender." (New York Times)

Critics Knock E.P.A.'s Downtown Cleanup Plan - Nov 27, 2002
Three months into the Environmental Protection Agency's cleanup of Lower Manhattan apartments, many area residents remain frustrated with the program and the agency's response to their concerns. More than 6,000 Lower Manhattan households have registered for the voluntary asbestos testing and cleanup since the program began in August, said E.P.A. spokesperson Mary Mears. To date, just over 10 percent of the registered apartments, 627, have been tested, cleaned and received results. Of those, 617 have been cleared for asbestos and one has not. Nine were classified as undetermined. (Downtown Express)

Rebuilding Agency To Look At Chinatown Traffic Problems - Nov 22, 2002
State and city officials are asking consulting companies for ideas on how to fix Chinatown's transportation woes, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced last week. The study will identify the major transportation issues in Chinatown and suggest ways to remedy the problems, officials said. Sections of Park Row, a major thoroughfare connecting parts of Broadway to Chinatown, have been closed since Sept. 11 for security reasons. (Downtown Express)

Congressman Nadler Slams Federal Cleanup Program For Downtown - Nov 21, 2002
tacking an apartment cleanup plan in lower Manhattan as a “charade”, Congressman Jerrold Nadler said Wednesday the federal government is avoiding stringent testing and cleanup measures and using inadequate methods to rid homes of World Trade Center dust. (Newsday)

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)

Chinatown Still Struggling After September 11 - Nov 19, 2002
More than a year after the terrorist attacks, Chinatown is struggling to recover economically, according to a report by the Asian American Federation of New York. The neighborhood's largest employer, the garment industry, has been particularly slow. Before 9/11, there were about 250 garment factories in Chinatown; a year later, a quarter, or 65 factories, have closed. Restaurants and jewelry stores are suffering as well with business over the summer down 40 to 60 percent. Most of the dislocated workers in Chinatown are women between the ages of 41 and 54. (Asian American Federation)

Street Renamed To Honor Firefighter - Nov 17, 2002
A Bronx street was renamed yesterday in honor of a firefighter whose voice is heard extensively on the audio tape of the Sept. 11 response recently released by the Port Authority. (New York Post)

Firefighters To Protest Claims of Looting From Book - Nov 17, 2002
Furious FDNY members are gearing up for a protest on Monday against a book claiming New York's Bravest looted World Trade Center stores while the twin towers burned. William Langewiesche, author of "American Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Center," accuses firefighters of loading pairs of jeans from a Gap store in the mall beneath the twin towers onto their Ladder 4 truck while the terror attacks unfolded. (New York Daily News)

More Trouble in Chinatown as Job-Training Effort Fails - Nov 17, 2002
The organization that provides most of the nonprofit job training in Chinatown has eliminated its program for dislocated workers, causing worries in a community still reeling from a battered economy and the aftershocks of the Sept. 11 attack. The organization, Chinatown Manpower Project, sent a letter to the New York City Department of Employment in September, saying it would not continue its four-year contract with the city because it could not meet its performance goals. (New York Daily News)

Post-9/11 Immigrant Treatment Protested - Nov 17, 2002
About 200 people marched yesterday in lower Manhattan against the government's post-September 11 treatment of immigrants. Wearing signs such as "Stand Against Racial Profiling," demonstrators sloshed from One Police Plaza about four blocks to the Jacob Javits Federal Plaza, chanting against detentions and deportations. (Newsday)

September 11 Tape Recording of Firefighters Stirs Controversy - Nov 16, 2002
A 73-minute recording of firefighter conversations in the south tower of the World Trade Center was released yesterday, heightening the dispute between the city and firefighters over whether crucial communication equipment failed Sept. 11. The tapes seem to suggest the signal-boosting repeater used to amplify and retransmit radio signals worked in the south tower -- while few radio conversations in the north tower are heard. An earlier study endorsed by Mayor Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta had blamed malfunctioned equipment for contributing to the deaths of the 343 FDNY members who died in the terrorist attack. (New York Daily News)

Some Victims' Families Feel Influence on 9/11 Memorial Slipping Away - Nov 16, 2002
One of the most potent political forces to rise from the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center -- the widows and other family members of those killed last year on Sept. 11 -- has found its influence over the rebuilding and memorial efforts gradually but significantly eroding. (New York Times)

Scarcity Of Jobs, Housing Threatening Chinatown - Nov 14, 2002
More than a year after the Sept. 11 attacks, a new study presents a bleak assessment of Chinatown and says its existence is threatened by a lack of jobs and affordable housing.The unemployment rate was 12 percent among those surveyed in the area, almost double the city average, according to the Rebuild Chinatown Initiative, a coalition of community groups. (Newsday)

New Study Will Examine Firefighters' Mental Health - Nov 13, 2002
The union representing city firefighters announced yesterday that it has launched a massive study of nearly half its members to examine their mental health and the factors that cause excessive stress on and off the job. The Uniformed Firefighters Association said the study will be conducted by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, which will poll 3,000 firefighters and 300 retirees. (New York Post)

Families Propose WTC 'Tomb' - Nov 12, 2002
Still reeling from the creation of a new committee structure to develop a memorial at the World Trade Center site, a coalition of 9/11 families is proposing a tomb-like structure to house unidentified remains of those lost Sept. 11. (Newsday)

Memorial Fence at St Paul's Chapel Being Cleared - Nov 8, 2002
A grass-roots memorial to the victims of the World Trade Center attack that grew in the last year from a few remembrances on the fence surrounding St. Paul's Chapel to a cluttered collection of tributes is slowly being cleared, one flag, one shirt, one doll at a time. One day a week, workers will clear away memorial tributes on 10 feet of the fence, five feet in each of two sections. The fence should be clear shortly after New Year's Day. (New York Times)

Firefighters Sue Over Arrests in WTC Protest March - Nov 6, 2002
Eight firefighters have filed a lawsuit against the city, senior officials of the Giuliani administration and several police officers, accusing them of false arrest and imprisonment in a violent confrontation a year ago during a protest march to the ruins of the World Trade Center. On Nov. 2, 2001, more than 500 firefighters took part in the protest, which was called in response to the Giuliani administration's decision to reduce the number of Fire Department personnel assigned to a search-and-recovery operation at ground zero. (New York Times)

Sept. 11 Death Toll Declines as 2 People Are Found Alive - Nov 3, 2002
Two more names have been removed from the count of World Trade Center victims after a Florida man and a New York City woman were found alive, discoveries that bring the death toll from the Sept. 11 attack in New York City down to 2,795. (New York Times)

New Yorkers Among Pentagon Design Finalists - Oct 30, 2002
When they learned of the competition to design a memorial at the Pentagon, Brooklyn architects Edwin Zawadzki and Mason Wickham finally found a way to assist in the recovery after Sept. 11. The Fort Greene couple and two other New York City teams have been named finalists in the Pentagon memorial competition, three of six chosen from 1,126 eligible submissions to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. (Newsday)

Despite 9/11, Survey Finds NYC Best City to Visit - Oct 30, 2002
Despite the terror attacks, this is the best U.S. city to visit, according to a Zagat survey to be released today. Zagat, best known for its restaurant guide, said New York took 41% of consumer votes, and second-place San Francisco received 23%, with Los Angeles a distant third at 10%. (New York Daily News)

Student Caught With 9/11 Hero's FDNY Parking Permit - Oct 30, 2002
A Pace University student was arrested yesterday for stealing the FDNY parking permit of a legendary firefighter who died on Sept. 11, officials said. Fire marshals caught Vadim Reznikov, 20, near the university - which is across from City Hall - after noticing the stolen permit on his car, officials said. (New York Post)

Parents And Teachers Oppose Office Tower Near Ground Zero School - Oct 29, 2002
Fearing more terrorist attacks, parents and educators have spoken out against construction of a 32-story corporate tower next to an elementary school near Ground Zero. PS 234, on Greenwich Street between Chambers and Warren streets, is about five blocks from where the Twin Towers stood. Students and staff fled for their lives when the skyscrapers toppled. (New York Post)

DNA Test On Hold for WTC Victims - Oct 29, 2002
A groundbreaking genetic procedure expected to identify the remains of more victims of the World Trade Center attacks is still being scrutinized for approval by the city. The medical examiner's office had hoped to start using the testing method, which looks at tiny variations in the smallest building blocks of DNA, as early as last month. But the medical examiner is still trying to perfect the test. (New York Daily News)

Ground Zero Couple Sue Port Authority for $20 Million - Oct 26, 2002
A couple who live two blocks from Ground Zero sued the Port Authority for $20 million yesterday, saying they fear they may get lung cancer from the soot and ash they breathed for a year. (New York Post)

9/11 Aid Forms Are Becoming Minibiographies of the Dead - Oct 26, 2002
For many people, applying to the federal Victim Compensation Fund figured to be something of a clinical exercise, a statistical blur in which thousands of families would compute the lost earnings of loved ones who died on 9/11, then wait for the government to mail out checks. But for many families and friends of victims, and lawyers who did not even know them, the application process has given the create intimate minibiographies about the dead, based on interviews, photos or videotapes. For the families, the most important motivation to assemble these narratives may not be the push for more compensation, though they certainly may have that effect. Instead, the real value may lie in their timeless and therapeutic resonance in telling the full story of life, love and loss beyond cold, raw numbers. (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)

Airport-Related Business Here Hit Hard by 9/11, Costing 10,000 Jobs - Oct 25, 2002
Since the World Trade Center attacks, La Guardia and Kennedy Airports have suffered larger economic losses than most other major hub airports in the country, a new study by the Center for an Urban Future has found. Those losses permeate almost every aspect of the two airports' business, from cargo and passenger traffic to hotel vacancies, and have caused the elimination of 16.5 percent --10,000 jobs--of all airport-related jobs in the city since 9/11. That is by far the largest percentage loss of any industry in the city, including the securities industry, which has lost 9 percent of its jobs since then. (New York Times)

Families: Return Ash at Fresh Kills Landfill to WTC - Oct 23, 2002
Relatives of people lost in the Sept. 11 attack told a City Council panel yesterday that government officials should collect dust and ash taken to the Fresh Kills landfill during the recovery and return it to the World Trade Center site as part of a future memorial. (Newsday)

Apartments Tested Downtown Are Ruled Free of Asbestos - Oct 23, 2002
The vast majority of the apartments in Lower Manhattan that have been cleaned and tested over the last few months had no asbestos contamination from World Trade Center dust, federal Environmental Protection Agency officials said yesterday in releasing the first results from the cleanup program. (New York Times)

FEMA Gives Schools $80.5M Grant - Oct 23, 2002
Yesterday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave a grant of $80.5 million to city schools. FEMA responded to local elected officials who had appealed for the assistance. The money is to be used to add 15 hours of instruction for students throughout the city and 30 hours for students in lower Manhattan who remained out of school for several days after the terrorist attack, said Schools Chancellor Joel Klein. (Newsday)

9/11 Mental-Health Funding for City Schools Stalls - Oct 22, 2002
Students haunted by the terror attacks will have to wait for extra mental-health counseling as the feds and the state dawdle in getting money to city schools. So far, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed up $8.9 million of the $40 million that school officials deem necessary to deal with the emotional fallout from Sept. 11, according to Education Department records. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Families Upset That Landfill Could Be Final Resting Place - Oct 20, 2002
Diane Horning won't allow the ashes of her son and other Sept. 11 victims to be treated "like garbage." She was stunned recently to discover that soil and ashes containing cremated remains of many killed on 9/11 remain at the Fresh Kills landfill. They have been covered with dirt and sprinkled with grass seed. Horning and her family are leading a drive to return the remains to what she and others believe is their rightful resting place: Ground Zero. (New York Post)

Dangerous Side Affects to 9/11 Antidepressant - Oct 20, 2002
A popular antidepressant drug widely prescribed to New Yorkers affected by the Sept. 11 attacks could trigger suicidal thoughts and cause severe withdrawal problems in some patients, experts say. Paroxetine, marketed in the U.S. as Paxil, is prescribed for those suffering depression, panic attacks, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. But some experts say the top-selling drug may increase the risk of suicidal or violent behavior in some patients when they start using it. (New York Post)

Workers Injured on 9/11 Not Getting Compensation - Oct 20, 2002
Hundreds of workers who claim injuries from the World Trade Center attacks or aftermath have been having difficulty obtaining workers' compensation benefits, according to physicians and lawyers who work with them. (Newsday)

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)

Family Business Still Waiting to Reopen Downtown - Oct 20, 2002
More than a year after terrorists struck the World Trade Center, two of James Costalas' businesses have closed for good. The Costalas family, who have run a business in lower Manhattan for four decades, is still unable to reopen their remaining one, a takeout food shop and cafeteria called the Food Exchange at 112 Liberty Street. The shuttered row of shops sits in the shadow of an overhead platform, built to protect pedestrians during the repair and cleaning of the buildings after the fires and collapses across the street had damaged and contaminated them. (New York Times)

U.S. to Give New York Schools $80 Million in Sept. 11 Aid - Oct 19, 2002
New York City schools will receive an $80 million reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to cover lost instruction time after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, an official familiar with the discussions said yesterday. (New York Times)

After 9/11 U.S. Customs Service Avoids Tall Buildings - Oct 18, 2002
The U.S. Customs Service, which lost its home at 6 World Trade Center on Sept. 11, has not moved back downtown because its employees are now reluctant to work in tall buildings. At a City Council subcommittee yesterday, Customs brass said they were "avoiding high-rise office space." (New York Daily News)

Fire Dept. Retiree Campaigns for Skyscraper Safety - Oct 17, 2002
Retired deputy fire chief Vincent Dunn has wound up in the center of a campaign calling for fire safety improvements in the city's skyscrapers. (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)

Threat of Deportation Is Eased for Husband of a 9/11 Victim - Oct 15, 2002
An illegal immigrant who faced deportation after he lost his wife in the World Trade Center attack will most likely be allowed to stay in this country with his two sons, Senator Charles E. Schumer said yesterday. (New York Times)

Firehouse Memorial Honors Its Heroes - Oct 14, 2002
Made with granite, stained glass and love, a memorial to 10 firefighters from Engine 8/Ladder 2 who died in the terrorist attack now fills their midtown firehouse. Relatives of the 10 men broke into applause seeing the 9-foot-high memorial and then wiped away tears as they placed single red roses upon it. This scene was repeated in many of the city's 75 firehouses during the FDNY's weekend dedicated to its fallen. (New York Daily News)

Immigrant Families Face 9/11 Mystery - Oct 13, 2002
With persistence and swabs of DNA, Rosario Arrazola is trying to piece together the life of her husband and prove he died at the World Trade Center. The woman, from Tlachichuca, Mexico, is among a handful of Latin American family members who say their missing loved ones were lost while working in or near the Twin Towers -- but left no trace here because, as undocumented immigrants, they led lives cloaked in silence. (Newsday)

Firefighters Honor Fallen - Oct 13, 2002
A ceremony at Madison Square Garden yesterday honored the memories of the 343 firefighters who died on September 11, 2001. The memorial service included all those lost since November 2000 and included a 6 1/2 minute standing ovation from the crowd. (Newsday)

Firefighters Rally for Wages - Oct 12, 2002
Thousands of soggy firefighters gathered in a muddy field in Central Park yesterday to demand a bigger pay raise from the city than the 11.5% offer their union rejected this week. Politicians, union leaders and celebrities such as Susan Sarandon, Denis Leary and Steve Buscemi invoked the sacrifice of 343 FDNY members in last year's terrorist attacks and repeatedly implored Mayor Bloomberg to come up with more money. (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)

Firefighters' Union Turns Down City's Pay Offer - Oct 11, 2002
New York's Bravest said "no" to the city's pay-raise offer yesterday, setting the stage for heated contract negotiations between firefighters and a city facing its most serious fiscal crisis in the aftermath of Sept. 11. (New York Post)

Thousands Will Honor Fire Department's Dead - Oct 9, 2002
Tens of thousands of firefighters, some traveling from as far away as Ireland and Japan, are expected to fill Madison Square Garden and the surrounding blocks on Saturday as the Fire Department holds an official memorial service for members who died in the attack on the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

No More Discount Rents At 53 Park Pl - Oct 9, 2002
No one wanted to live at 53 Park Place. The ashes, construction, and tourists that filled Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of Sept. 11 caused the flight of 80 percent of the tenants who lived in this 12-story apartment complex, one of the closest residential buildings to the World Trade Center site. Discounted rent and a grant program for residents brought the first wave of tenants back to the buidling. But now, the owners of 53 Park Place are offering two-year leases, but at an increased rent. (Downtown Express)

9/11 Victim Count Drops - Oct 8, 2002
The number of people listed as victims of the World Trade Center attack has dropped below 2,800, after three people were found alive and one duplication was cut from the names read at the anniversary ceremony, a city spokeswoman said yesterday. (Associated Press)

Bloomberg: Firefighters' Rally Poorly Timed - Oct 6, 2002
The Bloomberg administration criticized the Uniformed Firefighters Association yesterday for organizing a rally seeking higher pay one day before 50,000 firefighters from around the world attend a massive memorial service in New York. (New York Daily News)

Washington Tribute for Firefighters - Oct 6, 2002
Hundreds of firefighter families gathered yesterday in the nation's capital to comfort each other and to honor 446 of the country's firefighters - the vast majority from New York - who gave their lives last year while battling blazes. (New York Daily News)

A WTC Survivor Offers Thanks to Therapists - Oct 6, 2002
World Trade Center survivor Lauren Manning thanked the occupational therapists who helped her, in front of a crowd of therapists gathered at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University for their annual state conference. (Newsday)

After 9/11, New York Is America's De Facto Capital - Oct 6, 2002
While New York has long been the nation's center of culture, finance, fashion and media, the city in the aftermath of Sept. 11 cohered into something more than the sum of its perennially celebrated parts. After its highest towers were taken down, New York rose from its initial shock to illustrate in real time what America actually is, a huge and resilient democracy animated by citizens of every conceivable stripe, pursuit and ethic. (New York Times)

Husband of 9/11 Victim is Told He'll Be Deported - Oct 5, 2002
Vasiliy V. Ryjov, an illegal immigrant who lost his wife in the World Trade Center attack, is facing deportation back to his native Georgia, a former Soviet republic. Last month, the Immigration and Naturalization Service rejected his application for permanent residency, saying he had falsely claimed to be married to another woman, Dora Tobias, in 1993. (New York Times)

NY Congressional Delegation Asks For WTC Health Aid - Oct 3, 2002
Fourteen members of the New York congressional delegation asked President Bush yesterday to sign off on $90 million in federal aid to monitor the health of Ground Zero workers. A month has passed since several members of the bipartisan group asked Bush to meet with them. (New York Daily News)

Downtown Residents Concerned About Safety Amid Endless Construction - Oct 1, 2002
Few things are certain about the future of Lower Manhattan expect perhaps one: residents will be living with massive construction projects for years to come. Already some people say they find themselves tiptoeing around giant cranes wondering just how safe they are. (Downtown Express)

Vast Detail on Towers' Collapse May Be Sealed - Sep 30, 2002
What is almost certainly the most sophisticated and complete understanding of exactly how and why the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell has been compiled as part of a largely secret proceeding in federal court in Lower Manhattan. Many fear, however, that the closely held information, which includes the analysis and the possible answers that families and engineers around the world have craved, may remain buried in sealed files, or even destroyed. Bound by confidentiality agreements with their clients, the experts cannot disclose their findings publicly as they wait for the case to play out. (New York Times)

World Trade Center Cough Still Persistent Among Hundreds - Sep 30, 2002
Physicians in the city have made it clear: The malady now officially called World Trade Center cough is like nothing they've ever seen, and hundreds - perhaps thousands - of people are experiencing it. The ailment, as described recently by Dr. Kerry Kelly, the New York Fire Department's chief medical officer, is characterized by a reduced lung capacity and a hyper-reactivity of the airways to inhaled particles, bacteria and viruses. The cough is dry and nonproductive and can leave the sufferer gasping for air. The culprit appears to be not asbestos, but microscopic bits of glass. (Newsday)

Federal Program Reimbursing For Air Filters Extended Until January - Sep 30, 2002
A program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency that reimburses for air filters, purifiers, vacuums and air conditioners purchased by those affected by the World Trade Center attack was scheduled to end today but has been extended to the end of January. While the city's 3.2 million households are eligible to seek reimbursements for $1,600 in such expenses, just 1,744 air conditioners, 2,821 air purifiers, 1,680 vacuum cleaners and 2,128 air filters have been purchased through the program, the largest portion in Manhattan, officials said. (Newsday)

Echoes of 1993 Attack For Fire Department - Sep 29, 2002
The problems that plagued the FDNY on Sept. 11 were a replay of those the department encountered in handling the 1993 Twin Towers bombing. A report issued last month on the Fire Department's problems on Sept. 11 cited unreliable radio networks, breakdowns in communication with the NYPD and failure to follow nationally recognized emergency protocols. But another report said the same woes plagued the FDNY when it responded to the Feb. 26, 1993, trade center bombing. The report, titled "Unprecedented," was published in the FDNY's official magazine. The 1993 report said, for example, that there was poor radio communication because "the steel construction of the buildings interfered with the radio signals." (New York Post)

Poll Finds Many New Yorkers Would Not Work In Very Tall Buildings - Sep 29, 2002
A New York Times/CBS News Poll conducted in late August found that most New Yorkers would be unwilling to work high up in a tall structure at ground zero. In the poll, 53 percent said they would be unwilling to work high up in a new building at the site. Only 39 percent were willing. Seven percent had no opinion. Asked if the new buildings should be as tall as the twin towers, only 32 percent said yes. Fifty-nine percent said no. (New York Times)

New York's Past Environmental Problems Can Teach Us About 9/11 - Sep 29, 2002
History's lessons on pollution are worth considering when thinking about the consequences of Sept. 11 for public health and government regulation. Most of the horrors of New York's environmental past, scientists say, like the grim air episodes in 1953, 1962 and 1966, were chronic and cumulative. Sept. 11 was sharp and sudden, but for most residents at least, relatively brief. (New York Times)

Firefighter Committs Suicide in Front of 9/11 Shrine - Sep 27, 2002
A veteran firefighter assigned to one of 9/11's hardest-hit FDNY units shot and killed himself yesterday in front of a makeshift shrine he built to friends and colleagues lost in the terror attack, sources said. (New York Post)

Goodyear: I Turned My Cab Driver in to the FBI - Sep 25, 2002
Last July, Sarah Goodyear argued politics with a livery driver who said a friend heard something about Osama, something about the city being in danger. On September 13, 2001, she reported him to the FBI. Now, a year later, she finds out how he feels about it. (Village Voice)

EPA: Toxins Near WTC Low, But Emissions Persist - Sep 25, 2002
The amounts of toxins in cleaned apartments and offices near the World Trade Center site are low and well within public health guidelines, according to a study released yesterday by the American Lung Association of New York City. But the study confirmed the fears of local residents that the concentration of diesel emissions from construction trucks and backup generators in lower Manhattan is "quite high. (Newsday)

Downtowners Request More Time For Cleanup - Sep 25, 2002
People worried that their lower Manhattan homes are contaminated by dust from the destruction of the twin towers pleaded with the feds yesterday for more time to apply for a cleanup program. Federal Environmental Protection Agency chief Christie Whitman told Sen. Hillary Clinton she may be willing to push back the Oct. 3 deadline -- it has already been extended once -- but said the city has not made a formal request. (New York Daily News)

Few of Those Eligible Register for Cleanup Help Near 9/11 Site - Sep 25, 2002
With just a week left to sign up, only about a quarter of the New York City residents eligible to have their apartments tested and cleaned to remove leftover World Trade Center dust have registered, federal environmental officials said today. Many people still do not know that the offer even exists. (New York Times)

Little Health Risk to Residents from 9/11, Panel Says - Sep 25, 2002
Most downtown residents are at minimal risk for health problems from World Trade Center contamination, a panel of experts said last week. Scientists told about 100 participants at a forum Thursday at the Borough of Manhattan Community College that workers at ground zero were the most likely to suffer consequences from the toxic particles that were spewed into the air after the disaster. (Downtown Express)

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 Contractors Near Agreement on Insurance - Sep 21, 2002
The construction companies that excavated the debris from ground zero were near agreement with the city yesterday on a deal to use federal emergency money to buy $1 billion in insurance, which the companies would use to defend themselves against any lawsuits from residents, property owners and workers connected with the cleanup. (New York Times)

9/11 Park to be Built Near Medical Examiner's Office - Sep 20, 2002
City officials are looking at converting the parking lot behind the medical examiner's office - where the remains of hundreds of 9/11's unidentified victims are kept - into a park. (New York Post)

Council Wants Liberty Bonds to Build More Homes for Poor - Sep 19, 2002
More than half of any new apartments built with the special financing created by Congress in response to the terrorist attack on Sept. 11 should be offered at below-market rents for low- and moderate-income families, City Council leaders said yesterday. (New York Times)

9/11 Brought Hardship for Artists - Sep 19, 2002
A recent survey by a downtown arts group found that over 80 percent of New York City artists are making less from their work after 9/11, and that 10 percent are facing eviction. (Downtown Express)

After Buffalo Arrests, Arab Americans Prepare for Backlash - Sep 16, 2002
Ever since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Arab-Americans and Muslims have complained of harassment and discrimination, from a backlash immediately after the attacks to a more recent official crackdown on visas and firings. According to one recent poll conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, 57 percent of 945 American Muslims surveyed said they've experienced bias or discrimination since Sept. 11, while 87 percent said they knew a Muslim who had. (Newsday)

First Lady Laura Bush Addresses Bronx High School - Sep 13, 2002
The World Trade Center attack was one of the "days of infamy" that seem to mark every generation, like the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the assassination of President John Kennedy, First Lady Laura Bush told Bronx high schoolers yesterday. Bush told girls at St. Thomas Aquinas High School she was sitting in class Nov. 22, 1963, when she heard the country's youngest President had been murdered. "I honestly didn't think that the First Lady of the United States would come to the Bronx," said Crump, a sophomore. "But she came and she was so cool, so normal. It didn't even feel like she was the President's wife." (New York Daily News)

Victims' Families Make Trip to Ground Zero - Sep 12, 2002
For some families of Sept. 11 victims, the one-year anniversary was a milestone that had to be stepped over, not a moment to be embraced. (New York Daily News)

In New York on 9/11/02, a Void in the Air - Sep 12, 2002
A year later, New Yorkers were back on their trains, and back to the blank faces, the ones veiled by newspapers, the chador of the subways. The headlines called out the day, its commemorations, the public solemnities. But then and now, hardly anyone in New York is navigated by official declarations. (New York Times)

For the Families, a Long Year's Journey Into Grief, and Back Again - Sep 12, 2002
For Jan Hoffman, a reporter who, starting in late September and concluding this week, interviewed hundreds of friends and relatives of 9/11 victims for Portraits of Grief, the New York Times' series of biographical sketches of the victims, broad shifts in the grieving seemed to emerge. (New York Times)

More Than Half of Victims Identified - Sep 11, 2002
The medical examiner's office passed the halfway mark in identifying the World Trade Center dead yesterday, as the number of victims verified by remains reached 1,401. The bleak but encouraging milestone came a day before the one-year anniversary of the disaster that killed 2,801 and generated the largest and most prolonged forensics effort in U.S. history. (New York Daily News)

Students To Discuss Feelings, Fears on Anniversary - Sep 11, 2002
In high school classrooms across the city today, students will discuss how the world and their lives have changed since the attacks on the World Trade Center. While initially the Board of Education recommended only a moment of silence at 8:46 AM, the time the first plane struck the World Trade Center, officials later supplied teachers with lesson plans and guides from mental health experts. (New York Daily News)

Poll: For Many New Yorkers, Life Did Not Change on 9/11/01 - Sep 11, 2002
One year after the attack on the World Trade Center, nearly half of all New York City residents say the event has not changed their lives. In a New York Times/CBS News poll, conducted by telephone from Aug. 25 to 29, 48 percent of the people questioned said their lives had not changed as a result of Sept. 11. (New York Times)

One Year Later, Still New York, in Pain and Glory - Sep 11, 2002
One year after it faced its own mortality, New York, in its daily curiosities and unexpungeable flavor, is still New York. For some time, no one knew if that could happen. New York has not disconnected from itself and devolved into a trembling mass of paralysis. It has not been unmade but remade. Its sense of control and invulnerability is gone, but New York has become a city of regeneration. (New York Times)

Dozens of Suits Filed Against Port Authority for Attacks - Sep 11, 2002
About 1,000 families and victims of the Sept. 11 attacks beat a deadline yesterday to sue the Port Authority for hundreds of millions of dollars, blaming the owner of the World Trade Center for dangerous design faults and safety failures. (New York Post)

September 11 and Mental Health: The Profession Tests Its Limits - Sep 11, 2002
In the midst of the crisis following the September 11 attacks, the city's abundance of mental health professionals turned out to be a mixed blessing. There was no shortage of help, but few practitioners were trained in disaster response. City officials and agencies like the Red Cross had little control over therapists who wandered into firehouses, made their way to ground zero or stopped people on the street to offer counseling. Also, for the first few days no mechanism was in place to allow researchers to collect data that could teach crucial lessons about why some people are resilient while others are not, and which treatments are effective for whom. (New York Times)

Post-9/11 Coping, From Preparedness to Fatalism - Sep 10, 2002
Some New Yorkers are preparing for another terrorist attack by loading up on safety devices; others are getting their affairs in order. Parents and single people alike are weighing the scary possibilities and quietly pursuing a strategy of personal preparedness. (New York Times)

For Psychologist, Year of Grief Brings New Understanding - Sep 10, 2002
"The past year has forced me to cross the border from provider to patient, and it taught me how much I did not know," writes psychologist Robert Klitzman, whose sister died in the World Trade Center attacks. (New York Times)

Lung Ailments May Force 500 Firefighters Off Job - Sep 10, 2002
As many as 500 New York City firefighters may have to retire early as a result of breathing problems caused by smoke and fumes at the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

City Seeks Names of Students Struggling After 9/11 - Sep 10, 2002
Six months after Sept. 11, an anonymous survey of more than 8,000 New York City schoolchildren found that one in 10 was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and 26 percent had at least one of seven other mental health disorders, including anxiety, depression and substance abuse. Now, city officials want to know who these children are. (Newsday)

Former Employees in World Trade Center Scattered Throughout City - Sep 9, 2002
Most of the largest of the trade center companies relocated in midtown, a Newsday survey found. Others clustered downtown and in Jersey City, while smaller firms also scattered to Queens and Brooklyn. Newsday reporters interviewed more than 100 people who had worked at the World Trade Center and found a wide range of responses to being displaced from the offices in the twin towers they called home. (Newsday)

Legal Deadline Approaches for 9/11 Families - Sep 9, 2002
Thousands who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 attacks could miss their chance to sue the Port Authority because they're either preoccupied with grief or unaware of tomorrow's deadline for filing suit, lawyers say. The Port Authority has received more than 1,000 notices of intent to sue, said agency spokesman Allen Morrison. But perhaps double that number have potential claims and have not filed such a notice, which is required before suing. (New York Post)

A Year After 9/11, Worries About Toxic Dust - Sep 9, 2002
As schools reopen and the city continues testing and cleaning thousands of apartments for lingering dust, residents are voicing unsettling health concerns about the fallout from the city’s worst environmental disaster. (msnbc.com)

Marine Biologists Dig to Find Net Effect of 9/11 - Sep 8, 2002
Marine biologists are studying the effects of the Sept.11 attack on the fish and invertebrates that live on the bottom of New York Harbor. After the attack, a miasma of smoke and fragments of the trade center drifted around lower Manhattan, eventually settling onto the Hudson's surface. (Washington Post)

Two Familes One Year Later: One Stayed, the Other Moved - Sep 8, 2002
Although relatively few families eventually left New York City after the World Trade Center attacks, September 11 forced people to reassess their relationship with the city. Two families living almost exactly at Ground Zero made two very different decisions. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Feel Apart From the Country - Sep 8, 2002
A year later, the families of Sept. 11 — a small city's worth of widows, parents and other kin touched by terror — say that what defines them most is their sense of separation from other Americans. As a nation that wept together resumes its hectic, distracted course, family members and outsiders say, September's bereaved have become a lost legion, left to find their own way. (New York Times)

Rabbis: Think of 9/11 This New Year - Sep 7, 2002
Rabbis around the city are asking Jews who began celebrating Rosh Hashanah last night to focus on remembering those lost on Sept. 11, cherishing life and learning from failures - even those of our government. (New York Post)

Gathering For Widows Who Gave Birth After 9/11 - Sep 7, 2002
Widows who gave birth after Sept. 11 gathered yesterday at Cipriani in Midtown in preparation for the first anniversary of the attacks. (New York Times)

New Yorkers Still Fearful One Year Later - Sep 7, 2002
An overwhelming majority of New Yorkers think about the September 11 attacks at least once a week, with almost half thinking about them at least once a day, according to a poll from Newsday. Furthermore, some New Yorkers from outside Manhattan are taking less frequent trips into Manhattan, while over 70 percent of those surveyed foresee another terrorist attack taking place in the United States in the future. (Newsday)

125 Cedar St: Still Coated in Dust and Ash - Sep 6, 2002
The rest of the city might have moved past 9/11, but a year after a year after the destruction of the trade center flooded their living rooms and bedrooms with ash and debris, the residents of 125 Cedar Street are still living it every day. The apartments sit largely barren, still coated in dust and ash, with no sign of the vibrant life the residents enjoyed for a quarter century at the feet of the twin towers. (New York Times)

New Yorkers Stressed, Few Seek Help - Sep 6, 2002
A government study of 3,512 people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut found that 75 percent reported having emotional problems after Sept. 11, but only 12 percent asked for help, even from friends and family (Associated Press)

Liberty Island Hosts Family Party - Sep 5, 2002
Liberty Island was opened at night for the first time in four years yesterday, for a night of live music and fireworks to mark the end of a "summer camp" for relatives of the 9/11 victims. (New York Post)

Voices of the 9/11 Generation - Sep 5, 2002
In June, Newsday invited students to send in artwork, essays or poems about September 11. Hundreds of youngsters sent in work that conveyed their sadness, confusion, horror - and, happily, their indomitable optimism and resolve - in the aftermath of last year's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. A sampling of the students' work. (Newsday)

September 11 Birthdays: Between Remembrance and Celebration - Sep 5, 2002
For many of the countless Americans born on Sept. 11, that date assumed an ominous ring for the first time last year. Wednesday will be a balancing act. With the first anniversary shaping up as a national day of remembrance and rededication — a true Memorial Day — a lot of people will have to struggle to get through the televised ceremonies and tributes, not to mention the unearthly quiet of a weekday when many businesses will close and many Americans will elect to stay indoors. (New York Times)

Kerik Haunted by Sept. 11 Images - Sep 4, 2002
In the past year Bernard Kerik has published a tell-all memoir, left his job as New York's police commissioner and joined his former boss Rudolph Giuliani at a start-up consulting firm. But in a recent interview at the firm's Times Square office, Kerik still seemed the tough-talking street cop -- though one scarred by Sept. 11. (New York Times)

Eight Names Removed From Victim List - Sep 4, 2002
At least eight people whose names are among those presumed to have died in the WTC disaster will be dropped from the official tally later this week. Detectives assigned to the NYPD's Missing Persons Squad have determined that a number of people presumed to have perished in the Sept. 11 disaster are indeed alive. (New York Post)

Judge Says Sept. 11 Families Can Change Minds on Suing - Sep 4, 2002
A federal judge in Manhattan said yesterday that he would allow families of Sept. 11 victims who decide to sue the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to change their minds if they later decide to seek an award from the Victim Compensation Fund. (New York Times)

Labor Leaders Hail Workers for 9/11 Sacrifices - Sep 4, 2002
New York City's union movement marked Labor Day yesterday in a far different way than in past years, turning its annual rally into a commemoration of the nearly 3,000 people, including 600 union members, who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. (New York Times)

FDNY's Emissary to World - Sep 4, 2002
In the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack, firefighter Jim Carney found himself thrown into the role of arranging funerals and care for the families of the 343 firefighters killed. (New York Post)

Poll Finds Children Still Traumatized by 9/11 - Sep 4, 2002
Nearly a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, children in New York City and nationwide are still showing signs of psychological trauma related to the disaster, a poll has found. Sixty-nine percent of parents in New York - and more than 40 percent of parents nationwide - say nightmares, anxiety, headaches and depression continue to plague their children. (Associated Press)

Long Island Teens Arrested in Bias Attack - Sep 3, 2002
Two Long Island teenagers have been arrested for punching a 15-year-old Muslim boy in a bias attack after yelling that he and his mother "blew up the Twin Towers," the Suffolk County Police said. (New York Post)

Ground Zero Kids Head to Temporary Midtown High School - Sep 3, 2002
A new high school catering to students residing near Ground Zero will open on Thursday, but in a location far uptown. The New Millennium School will hold its first year of classes for 125 ninth-grade students at the High School for Arts and Design at Second Avenue and 57th Street. City school officials were unable to secure adequate space downtown in time for the new school year, officials said. (New York Post)

A Troubling Year For Muslims in America - Sep 3, 2002
This has been a deeply troubling year for Muslims in America — a time of bitter misunderstandings and often stark extremes of experience. On one level, the government’s questioning and detention of hundreds of mostly immigrant men in probes that many believe are based on religious and ethnic profiling have created a powerful sense of siege. But there also have been other, less remarked-upon changes. (Newsday)

After Sept. 11, Defiant Workers Empower NYC - Sep 2, 2002
Many New York City workers said they have become more appreciative of their jobs and respectful of their colleagues since Sept. 11. They said they are more aware that life is fleeting, and that anger and hatred take away from it. And as they deal with the consequences of Sept. 11 - lingering fears of another attack and continuing grief over the loss of life - they have become heroes themselves, the muscles that keep this city turning. (Newsday)

Struggle to Tally All 9/11 Dead by Anniversary - Sep 1, 2002
From the earliest hours after the the destruction of the World Trade Center, one of the most painful and complicated tasks has been determining precisely how many people died and who exactly they were. The city is finally on the verge of establishing the final death toll, a need that is given urgency by the approach of the first anniversary of the attack and the city's plans to read each victim's name during the main ceremony at ground zero. (New York Times)

A Year Later, City is Still On Edge - Sep 1, 2002
A year after terrorists brought down the World Trade Center, most New Yorkers are coping uneasily with the aftermath of the debacle. Most are determined to carry on normally. But a striking majority - 72% - believe another terrorist attack is very or somewhat likely. (New York Daily News)

Police Search for Man Using 9/11 Victim's Identity - Sep 1, 2002
Police are searching for a thief who stole the identity of a Newark man who died in the World Trade Center. The widow of Sean Booker, who was 35 when he perished Sept. 11, 2001, alerted authorities after a letter addressed to her husband indicated that he had received a traffic ticket on May 5 in Tarboro, N.C. (New York Post)

Scientists To Study Births After 9/11 - Aug 31, 2002
Citing an increase in birth defects following major disasters, scientists plan to study whether high levels of stress and exposure to pollutants after the World Trade Center attacks is causing the same thing to happen here. (New York Post)

Foundation Creates its Own 9/11 School Guide - Aug 30, 2002
The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, charging that schools are offering students overly politically correct lessons about Sept. 11 - has countered with its own essays by 23 educators and authors that single out "America's enemies." (New York Post)

Judge Weighs 9/11 Suit Deadline - Aug 30, 2002
A federal judge will consider whether families of Sept. 11 victims can launch legal action against the Port Authority over the next 11 days without forfeiting the chance of receiving money from the government's victims compensation fund. (New York Post)

Book Project Preserves 9/11 Victims' Life Stories - Aug 28, 2002
The first in a series of tribute books documenting the lives of individual 9/11 victims by American Tribute Center, a nonprofit organization set up to produce free keepsake books for bereaved 9/11 families, was presented yesterday. (New York Post)

Some On City's 9/11 Missing List Are Alive - Aug 28, 2002
Several people who were listed as missing and presumed dead last week by the New York City medical examiner's office are now being removed from the list because they have turned up alive. One is George Sims, a sidewalk vendor who was listed as one of the missing but was found suffering from amnesia in a Manhattan hospital. (New York Times)

A Staten Island Support Group's Powerful Bond - Aug 28, 2002
Cheri Sparacio, who lost husband Tom, has found support through fellow widows and widowers. In the months after the attack, a group grew in Staten Island. Maybe it could only have happened in a place like Staten Island, where the local politicians organized monthly meetings for the families and everyone read The Advance. (Newsday)

Fitting Tribute As U.S. Open Begins - Aug 27, 2002
In a colorful show of patriotism, the U.S. Open began with a flourish last night as celebrities and officials paid tribute to the uniformed and civilian rescuers of Sept. 11. (Newsday)

Cleaning Firm Has Difficult Task - Aug 25, 2002
A New Jersey-based firm, LVI Environmental Services of Clifton, was contracted to do the initial cleaning of Fire Department firetrucks coated with World Trade Center dust. Company president Frank Aiello said 29 trucks had been cleaned. He said priority for cleanups went to trucks that tested positive for airborne asbestos. (New York Post)

Firetrucks Still Have Toxic Debris - Aug 25, 2002
Firefighters are rushing to emergencies around the city in trucks still carrying remnants of toxic World Trade Center dust and debris nearly a year after the Sept. 11 attacks, The Post has learned. Of the 122 firetrucks involved in rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, 93 have yet to be totally cleared of asbestos, Fiberglas, lead and other contaminants, FDNY officials have confirmed and lab reports show. (New York Post)

Covering the Terror, Again - Aug 25, 2002
Media coverage of the September 11 one-year anniversary will dwarf that of previous remembrances for the Oklahoma City bombing, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. (Newsday)

Delegation Urges More 9/11 Funds - Aug 23, 2002
The New York congressional delegation intends to send a letter to President Bush today imploring him to hand over $90 million in federal funds to track the health of former Ground Zero workers. The money was part of a $5.1 billion spending plan Bush rejected last week. The President had to accept or reject the plan entirely. (New York Daily News)

City Schools Release Guide for 9/11 Anniversary - Aug 22, 2002
The Board of Education yesterday unveiled a guide for the remembrance of the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks - focusing on "hope, healing and heroism," and downplaying the evil of terrorism. (New York Post)

In Hoboken, They Knew They'd Lost More on 9/11 - Aug 22, 2002
The most comprehensive tally yet of the victims of the Sept. 11 attack showed that Hoboken NJ had lost 39 of its 39,000 residents, giving it the highest death rate of any affected city when victims were tracked by ZIP code.As the first anniversary of the terror attack approaches, the still-evolving roll of victims has only confirmed a sad expectation that many in this city have held since they watched the dust of the twin towers' collapse creep across the Hudson: that Hoboken would suffer more than its share of loss. (New York Times)

9/11 Counseling Shunned - Aug 22, 2002
Project Liberty, an unprecedented federal counseling program designed to help New Yorkers traumatized by the Sept. 11 attacks is being faulted by some mental health experts for trying to treat millions who have no direct link to the tragedy. In May, the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave the state $132 million for Project Liberty. The grant was the largest of its kind in FEMA's history and came on top of a previous $22.7 million allocation. But through last week, only 220,000 people had reached out to Project Liberty. (New York Daily News)

Mapping Sept 11 Victims By Zip Code - Aug 21, 2002
With the New York City medical examiner office's release on Monday of the most thorough list of victims, it is possible to chart September 11th's devastation by ZIP code. Plotted on a map, the toll shows dense clusters on both sides of the Hudson River and waves of destruction rippling out toward the suburbs. The ZIP code with the most victims turns out to be 10021, which covers the Upper East Side of Manhattan from 61st to 81st Street. (New York Times)

Theater Artists Commemorate 9/11 - Aug 21, 2002
One year after the terrorist attacks, nearly 150 theater artists will commemorate Sept. 11 with "Brave New World: American Theatre Responds to 9/11." The star-studded theater marathon, consisting of about 50 short plays and songs responding to the tragedy, will run Sept. 9 through Sept. 11 at the midtown performance venue Town Hall. (Newsday)

Protecting Children on 9/11:Parents Should Monitor TV - Aug 21, 2002
Most children 4 and younger don't realize that it's a taped replay from Sept. 11 when television screens show the World Trade Center collapsing in a cloud of dust. They think it's happening all over again, said Harold Koplewicz, a psychiatrist and founder of the New York University Child Study Center. The hours of coverage planned for the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks could reverberate in unexpected ways. (Associated Press)

Families Angry at WTC Hawking - Aug 21, 2002
To the disgust of the families of those killed Sept. 11, more and more street vendors are crowding sidewalks near Ground Zero, trying to make a quick buck off wide-eyed tourists. (New York Daily News)

Staten Island Victims' Families Angry at Search for Design - Aug 21, 2002
Lower Manhattan Development Corp. officials ran into criticism last night over how they intend to select a design for a World Trade Center memorial. At the first of five public hearings, nearly 60 relatives of Sept. 11 victims accused the LMDC of giving higher priority to commercial development at the site than to a fitting tribute to the fallen. (New York Daily News)

Tense Exchange at Meeting on Memorial - Aug 21, 2002
Emotions were raw last night at a public meeting for a World Trade Center memorial as relatives of victims questioned the authority of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. A tense interchange occurred at the Staten Island meeting after victims' family members asked who would make the final decision on the memorial design. (Newsday)

Program to Cover Psychiatric Help for 9/11 Families - Aug 21, 2002
The American Red Cross and the September 11th Fund said yesterday that they would underwrite the expense of extended mental health treatment for people directly affected by the terrorist attacks last year. The effort may be the most ambitious ever undertaken by charitable organizations to address the emotional needs of disaster victims. (New York Times)

For Muslims, an Uneasy Anniversary - Aug 19, 2002
On Sept. 11, many of the city's Muslims will be grieving and seeking solace; but some say that they will feel resentment. Still others will fear an echo of anti-Muslim backlash. Some will look to prove they are good Americans. Others will bristle that such a thing should even be expected of them. (New York Times)

A TV Rush, at Times Crass, Over Sept. 11 - Aug 19, 2002
With the first anniversary of the national trauma little more than three weeks away, news organizations are gearing up. Newspapers and news magazines are planning special sections or series. But it is broadcast journalists, whose medium demands immediacy, who may be feeling most competitive for access to the people they believe can help recapture the collective memory of last year's horror. (New York Times)

More Than 150 Sept. 11 Books to Hit Shelves - Aug 19, 2002
Ranging from glossy photography books to terrorism primers, more than 150 books about Sept. 11 and every issue surrounding it are flooding bookstores for the one-year anniversary. The publishers themselves admit there are too many books, and say they expect only mediocre sales. But bookstores, buoyed by strong sales from the earlier Sept. 11 books, are ordering nearly every book out there, even if only one or two copies. (Crain's New York Business)

In 9/11 Art, Children Look Back and Ahead - Aug 18, 2002
Works of art about September 11 by local children are to be prominently displayed in 25 stores across the country from Sept. 6 to 12 as part of "Visions of the Future," a project created by Bloomingdale's. In New York, Bloomingdale's invited the Fresh Air Fund to participate in creating murals of hope and remembrance to be hung in windows around its flagship store on the Upper East Side. (New York Times)

Site to Archive 9 / 11 Communications - Aug 18, 2002
Hundreds of e-mails, photographs and video images from September 11, 2001 are part of a virtual library of the attacks being compiled by scholars in Virginia and New York. The September 11th Digital Archive ``will serve as a new platform in which people can make their own history,'' said Jim Sparrow, one of the organizers of the project, which is accessible online at http://911digitalarchive.org/. (Associated Press)

Sept. 11 Makes Life Even Harder for Illegal Immigrants - Aug 18, 2002
Immigrants living illegally in this country have always faced uncertainty and hardship, but now many of them say that their lives have changed for the worse since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They have lost longtime jobs as employers increasingly check identity papers, and even those who are not Arab or Muslim say they have encountered more suspicion from bosses, co-workers and neighbors. (New York Times)

EPA Will Extend Cleanup Deadline - Aug 17, 2002
After much criticism of a federal plan to cleanup apartments in lower Manhattan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will extend the deadline for residents to request testing and cleanup , officials said Friday. The deadline to request testing or cleanup will now be Oct. 2. (Newsday)

Police Rally For Pay Raises - Aug 16, 2002
Thousands of cops and firefighters turned up the heat on City Hall yesterday, demanding a pay hike to match the sacrifices they made reducing crime and responding to the terrorist attack on 9/11. (New York Daily News)

WTC Vacuum Trucks Used Wrong Filters - Aug 15, 2002
Earth Technology Inc., a private contractor hired to clean up asbestos-tainted dust near Ground Zero in the days after Sept. 11 failed to use required filters on its vacuum trucks, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report. (New York Daily News)

Smithsonian Struggles With 9/11 - Aug 13, 2002
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's cell phone and baseball cap, a stairwell sign from the World Trade Center, a piece of limestone from the Pentagon, a uniform from a Navy officer who rescued a Pentagon victim. Those are some of the items that will be on display when the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History opens its exhibit, "September 11: Bearing Witness to History," on the anniversary of the attacks. (Associated Press)

Families Concerned About Transit Plans - Aug 12, 2002
Nearly a year after Sept. 11, victims' relatives and observers are concerned that plans for creating the Ground Zero memorial are in limbo - with transit projects beneath the site driving the process. The transit issue is one of many concerns related to the permanent memorial that 9/11 relatives detailed during meetings with Gov. Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani last week. (New York Post)

WTC Families Leery of Bloomberg, Port Authority - Aug 12, 2002
Whom do you trust more: the Port Authority or City Hall? The answer isn't easy for the families of those killed in the World Trade Center attacks. With the Bloomberg administration pursuing a deal to swap city land beneath Kennedy and LaGuardia airports for the Port Authority-owned Trade Center site, victims' kin differ on who should control the fate of Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

Some Lower Manhattan Residents Make Plans to be Elsewhere - Aug 11, 2002
While the city busies itself with ceremony schedules, some Lower Manhattan residents are making plans to be elsewhere on Sept. 11. (New York Times)

Plans for WTC Site in Disarray - Aug 11, 2002
As the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy approaches, plans for the World Trade Center site are in disarray, tainted by criticism that they're boring and small-minded. The negative feedback, especially from the loved ones of survivors, has the attention of state and city officials, who say they will pursue more creative alternatives to plans put together by the prestigious architectural firm of Beyer Blinder Belle. (Associated Press)

Residents Grill E.P.A. Over Cleanup - Aug 11, 2002
A presentation last week on the Environmental Protection Agency's ongoing cleanup efforts near ground zero left some observers unsatisfied.An agency representative fielded questions at a Community Board 1 Quality of Life Committee meeting about plans to clean the apartment of any resident who wants it below Canal St, but many at the meeting were still frustrated. (Downtown Express)

Victims' Families Avoid Aid Fund - Aug 9, 2002
The vast majority of families of 9/11 victims are still too traumatized or suspicious of the government to apply for compensation for their suffering, even though million-dollar-plus packages are already in the mail. Only about 650 out of about 3,300 victims eligible, or about 20 percent, have applied for compensation. (New York Post)

A Hard Year for 9/11 Victims' Children - Aug 9, 2002
With the coming anniversary of the day the world fell down, some in the adult world will try to have Sept. 11, 2002, signify the date on which life moves on. But for the children who lost a parent, sometimes two parents, or for those who never found the parent's body, some fear that the confusion has left some unmedicated sores that will fester. In the long term, child psychologists foresee anxieties, irrational fear of death, aggression, attachment disorders. (New York Times)

Remembering Sept. 11 in a Personal Way, or Maybe Ignoring It - Aug 8, 2002
The Times asked 20 New Yorkers how they plan to observe the anniversary of Sept. 11, and got at least 10 different answers. While some plan to stay at home and remember Sept. 11 with their familes, others said they had had more than enough remembrance of Sept. 11 already. (New York Times)

Cop Can Sue City on Ground Zero Injuries - Aug 8, 2002
A Manhattan judge refused yesterday to let the city block a notice of claim by a police officer injured at Ground Zero - a decision that could affect hundreds of other ailing cops and firefighters. (New York Daily News)

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)

U.S. to Test for Contaminants in 250 Downtown Apartments - Aug 7, 2002
The federal Environmental Protection Agency announced plans yesterday to test for dioxins and toxic metals in a sampling of Lower Manhattan apartments whose interiors were coated with ash and dust from the World Trade Center's collapse. The agency said the testing, along with the asbestos cleanup and testing program announced in May, will be the largest cleanup in its history. (New York Times)

New York City Facing Exodus of Firefighters - Aug 7, 2002
Scores of New York City's Fire Department supervisors, including some of its most senior surviving commanders, have retired since Sept. 11, and hundreds more have notified their union that they expect to leave in the next year. At the same time, the department's front-line firefighters are retiring at more than double the usual rate, according to fire officials. The expected retirements, when combined with those commanders killed at the World Trade Center 11 months ago, mean that the department will soon have lost roughly one-quarter of its entire supervisory staff. (New York Times)

Some Prefer to Mourn Privately - Aug 7, 2002
With the city's plans for the anniversary tribute finalized, hundreds of Sept. 11 victims' relatives are facing a new decision: whether to take part in the ceremony at the World Trade Center site or grieve in private. (New York Post)

Schedule for the Ceremony - Aug 7, 2002
A full schedule for the Sept. 11 commemoration, beginning with five bagpipe processions in each of the five boroughs. (Newsday)

Sept. 11 to Be Marked With Music and Tributes - Aug 7, 2002
New York City will be transformed into a state of perpetual commemoration on Sept. 11, with readings, concerts and odes to the dead, tributes that in many cases grew out of ideas from people around the world. The business of the city of New York will not cease, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said yesterday, in detailing the city's plans to mark the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Rather, it will yield to various events in all five boroughs, beginning with a march into ground zero led by bagpipers and including a visit from President Bush and a reading of the names of every person who died in the World Trade Center attack. (New York Times)

Broadway Shows To Be Closed September 11 - Aug 6, 2002
Many Broadway theaters will go dark on Wednesday, Sept. 11, the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Traditionally, theaters offer matinee and evening performances on Wednesdays. The following shows have announced there will be no performances that day: "Aida," "Beauty and the Beast," "Chicago," "42nd Street," "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," "The Graduate," "Into the Woods," "Les Miserables," "The Lion King," "Mamma Mia!," "Noises Off," "Oklahoma!," "Rent" and "Urinetown." (Newsday)

Advance Broadway Sales Have Plummeted - Aug 5, 2002
Since Sept. 11, Broadway producers say, advance sales for some of the top shows have plummeted, and the downturn could have a serious effect on the city's live theater.A recent survey by the League of American Theaters and Producers found that 37 percent of theatergoers were buying tickets at least a month in advance, down from 50 percent. (New York Post)

Schumer Bill Would Allow 9/11 Victims' Fund Lawyers To Collect Fees Up To 12 - Aug 5, 2002
Senator Schumer is drafting legislation that would let attorneys collect between 8 and 12% of a family’s payout from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, a victims’ advocate said. The Schumer plan is a compromise between Senator Nickles, who did not want lawyers to take any money from the fund, and the trial lawyers themselves, who want no limit on their contingency fees. (New York Sun)

9/11 Survivors Take on Mission of Remembrance - Aug 5, 2002
A new breed of activists have transformed the pain of losing a loved one on Sept. 11 into a shared quest to accomplish something lasting. They are homemakers, electricians, insurance executives, retirees and teachers who have joined forces to change laws guiding building construction and put their stamp on redevelopment plans for downtown. (New York Daily News)

Rebuild Plans Could Dislocate Residents - Aug 4, 2002
Residents of the area near Ground Zero are worried to see, in place of their homes, plans for a museum or other projects in the six proposals for rebuilding the 16-acre World Trade Center site. A spokesperson for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. denies that the agency favors dislocating people in the neighborhood of Ground Zero, but would not discuss specifics of the redevelopment plans. (New York Post)

Cases Seen as Guide to 9/11 Fund Payouts - Aug 4, 2002
Kenneth Feinberg, the special master of the federal victims' compensation fund, will soon release his first round of payment calculations for the families of those killed and injured on Sept. 11. Lawyers advising victims and their families on whether to apply for the fund are watching the decisions closely. (Newsday)

Bush May Refuse Health Funds for Ground Zero Workers - Aug 3, 2002
President Bush's refusal yesterday to quickly approve $90 million in funding for monitoring the health of Ground Zero workers could lead to another showdown with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. (New York Post)

9/11 Anniversary Fear - Aug 2, 2002
New Yorkers - and the rest of the country - are getting the Sept. 11 jitters. Airline bookings for Sept. 11 are down by as much as a third, and city hotels still can't fill available rooms around the anniversary. (New York Daily News)

Museums Exhibit Artifacts of WTC - Aug 1, 2002
Physical reminders of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, such as pieces of an airliner fuselage, half a phone handset and computer disks melted into a glob, now have a second life as bits of history. They go on display Thursday at the New York State Museum in Albany, one of the handful of institutions gingerly beginning to exhibit artifacts from ground zero (Associated Press)

Possible Plan for Sept. 11: Tributes in Each Borough - Aug 1, 2002
Simultaneous tributes in parks in each borough will unite New Yorkers on the evening of Sept. 11 as part of the official plans for commemorating the city's darkest day, officials said. Mayoral spokesman Ed Skyler refused to comment on official plans, saying Mayor Bloomberg would announce them publicly soon. (New York Post)

Tenants Across from Trade Center Hope to Return - Aug 1, 2002
The dust-choked apartments of three buildings on the south edge of ground zero don't look much like home. But building residents have been fighting contamination and structural damage to return for nearly 10 months. Now the tenants are worried that their homes may be razed as part of the Downtown rebuilding plans. (Downtown Express)

Senator Clinton Presses For More WTC Funds - Jul 30, 2002
Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton Monday urged President Bush to release an additional $90 million in federal funding that would allow thousands of World Trade Center rescue workers to receive free medical screenings and follow-up exams for the next 20 years. (Newsday)

9/11 Memories Cast Shadow on Primary - Jul 30, 2002
Analysts predict that the closeness of this year's primaries to Sept. 11 will influence everything from the candidates' advertising to the tenor of stump speeches. (New York Times)

Wall Street Journal Returning To Offices Near WTC - Jul 29, 2002
Scattered in offices from South Brunswick, N.J., to midtown Manhattan and Soho since the Wall Street Journal's headquarters were severely damaged in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, editors and reporters at America's financial newspaper will begin returning to their offices in the World Financial Center on Monday. (Associated Press)

Saying No to Free 9/11 Aid, Many Families Hire Lawyers - Jul 29, 2002
Many relatives of victims who were killed on Sept. 11 have turned down free legal advice offered by lawyers because of delays, confusion, and cynical perceptions. Now at least 500 families have hired paid lawyers who could collect fees of up to 25 percent of the awards paid by 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)

WTC Victim's Wife Given Green Card - Jul 26, 2002
A British woman who lost her right to live in the U.S. when her husband was killed in the World Trade Center attack was granted a green card yesterday. (New York Daily News)

Exhibits Re-examine WTC Tragedy - Jul 24, 2002
Four artists and a group of students throughout the city are using art to preserve the innocence stripped away on Sept. 11 and the emotions thereafter. The New-York Historical Society on Tuesday unveiled four new exhibits related to the World Trade Center. (Newsday)

As New Yorkers Brace for 9/11 Anniversary, Shrinks Go On Vacation - Jul 23, 2002
As Manhattan's therapists prepare to disappear to their own secure, undisclosed locations for the month of August, their patients are already bracing for that daunting September ordeal, the anniversary of the terrorist attacks. (New York Magazine)

3,000 To Attend Today's Meeting on WTC Plans - Jul 22, 2002
Another town hall meeting will be held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center today for people to express their opinions on rebuilding lower Manhattan in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. The meeting, which is expected to draw 3,000 people, comes on the heels of a similar gathering on Saturday at the Javits Center during which officials -- stung by criticism about the initial six proposals for redeveloping the World Trade Center -- said they might extend the timeline for producing a final plan. (Newsday)

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)

Many Ideas to Mark Mournful Anniversary - Jul 21, 2002
A silent parade from Ground Zero to Central Park. Fireworks. Individual air balloons representing every victim. Rivers nationwide dyed red. Those are among the hundreds of suggestions people from around the globe have made given in the month since Mayor Bloomberg created a Web site and a voice mailbox for ideas about how best to mark the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. (New York Post)

Forum on WTC Designs: Try Again - Jul 21, 2002
If there was an overarching message sent by an estimated 5,000 people attending the ambitious town hall meeting yesterday on the future of the World Trade Center site, it was this: Get back to the drawing board. (Newsday)

Officials Rethink Building Proposal for Ground Zero - Jul 21, 2002
Officials charged with rebuilding Lower Manhattan in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center said yesterday that they would consider new options for the site, including scaling back the amount of commercial space.The changes, the officials said, were in response to a broad array of criticism of the six initial designs for rebuilding the trade center site, including unfavorable appraisals at a town hall meeting in Manhattan yesterday. (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)

A Forum on Rebuilding Lower Manhattan - Jul 20, 2002
When more than 5,000 people gather today at the Javits Convention Center to talk about the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, plenty of people, Gov. George E. Pataki among them, are likely to be listening closely. Since Tuesday, when the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released six initial proposals for the redesign of the World Trade Center site, a wave of negative commentary has flowed from architects, urban designers, politicians and journalists. (New York Times)

9/11 Families Coalition Waiting to Comment - Jul 19, 2002
A coalition of 9/11 victims' relatives has decided to wait until after a major public forum tomorrow before commenting on the six Ground Zero designs. Lee Ielpi, a retired firefighter who lost his son Jonathan, said coalition members decided to listen to feedback from other people at the "Listening to the City" event at the Javits Convention Center tomorrow. (New York Post)

WTC Public Hearing Set Tomorrow - Jul 19, 2002
More than 5,000 people, including at least 300 relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, will converge on the Javits Center tomorrow to comment on lower Manhattan redevelopment proposals at a high-tech town hall meeting. "Listening to the City," an all-day event, will feature 10- to 12-person roundtable groups that will use wireless technology to vote on what they'd like to see in a memorial and rebuilding at Ground Zero. (New York Daily News)

WTC Plans Put Homes in Jeopardy - Jul 18, 2002
Tenants of two buildings on the south edge of Ground Zero said they were shocked when they examined World Trade Center site redevelopment plans and found their homes were not part of the picture. The 11-story buildings at 125 Cedar St. and 114 Liberty St., next door to the Engine 10/Ladder 10 firehouse, were depicted within a larger area marked for new apartment buildings or a museum in the site plans released Tuesday. (Newsday)

Victims' Group Calls For Inquiry Into 9/11 Communications Breakdown, - Jul 15, 2002
A group representing families and friends of World Trade Center victims called yesterday for an independent inquiry into reports that the Fire Department's failing radio system and a lack of communication among the agencies that responded to the attack hampered the rescue efforts on Sept. 11. Members of the group, the Skyscraper Safety Campaign, sent letters yesterday to Gov. George E. Pataki, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Gifford Miller, the City Council speaker, asking for meetings and for an independent investigation of the rescue effort. (New York Times)

Historic Art Also A Casualty of Sept. 11 - Jul 12, 2002
Lost in the Sept. 11 terror attacks were innumerous valuable artistic, cultural and historic items worth tens of millions of dollars. But the real significance is that the material, including Helen Keller's letters, sculpture by Auguste Rodin and artifacts from the African Burial Ground, can never be replaced. (New York Daily News)

Students Studying Near Ground Zero Score Highest - Jul 11, 2002
Students at elementary schools closest to Ground Zero earned the highest scores on English exams this year despite enduring the horrific terrorist attacks and months of disruptions. (New York Post)

Hundreds of 9/11 Families File for Right to Sue Port Authority - Jul 10, 2002
More than 450 families who lost relatives on Sept. 11 have filed legal papers preserving their right to sue the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over alleged safety lapses and poor evacuation procedures at the World Trade Center. (New York Times)

Artists' 9/11 Reflections On Display - Jul 9, 2002
An exhibition of works by American artists seeking to use art to express their feelings about Sept. 11 opens today at the National Arts Club. "True Colors: Meditations on the American Spirit" includes more than 60 paintings, drawings, photographs and even a cartoon. (New York Daily News)

FEMA to Fund WTC Health Registry - Jul 9, 2002
Federal officials on Monday said they will create a registry to track the health effects of the World Trade Center collapse on those exposed to hazardous materials at the cleanup site. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide $20 million to start the registry. (Newsday)

Career Profiles of 9/11 Dead Arouse Anxiety - Jul 9, 2002
The staff of Cantor Fitzgerald have prepared a detailed accounting of the performances and prospects of the firm and its 658 lost employees. The book is meant to arm families of Sept. 11 victims in their fight for federal compensation awards. But as both those who are assembling the Cantor document and those about to open it realize, it could well be yet one more minefield for a bruised and fragile population of survivors. The document and other similarly detailed packages being prepared by the companies with the greatest losses at the World Trade Center are a kind of emotionally loaded statistical yearbook. (New York Times)

WTC Aid Not Reaching Small Businesses, Others In Need - Jul 7, 2002
The twenty-one billion, four hundred million dollars in federal aid coming to New York City after Sept. 11 makes up nearly half the city's annual budget. But it's not enough to satisfy everyone — no matter how the pot of cash is divvied up. The clear winners, thus far, are corporate giants and real estate developers. They may be getting aid at the expense of thousands of small companies, mom-and-pop businesses, school kids and children traumatized by Sept. 11 and in need of mental health services. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Exposed Deadly Flaws in Rescue Plan - Jul 7, 2002
After months of grief, both the Fire and Police Departments are approaching the end of delicate internal reviews of their responses to the attack. Those reviews have concluded that major changes are needed in how the agencies go about their work and prepare for the next disaster, senior officials say. A six-month examination by the New York Times found that the rescuers' ability to save themselves and others was hobbled by technical difficulties, a history of tribal feuding and management lapses that have been part of the emergency response culture in New York City and other regions for years. (New York Times)

At Camp for Sept. 11 Children, Grief Is Close - Jul 6, 2002
There are dozens of summer camps running programs for families shattered by Sept. 11. Some have built-in bereavement programs. Others are simply intended to let children get away and have fun. But all the programs are grappling with a common obstacle: while many children could benefit from a getaway in the country, many are not ready to be away from their remaining parents. (New York Times)

Enjoying July 4 Holiday With 9/11 in Mind - Jul 5, 2002
Despite the usual holiday routines tied to the Fourth of July, a different date — Sept. 11 — inevitably crept into the minds of many. Mayor Bloomberg started his day with a sobering visit to Staten Island's Rescue Co. 5, which lost 11 members Sept. 11. (New York Daily News)

Sept. 11 Inspires a Rush to City's Volunteer Fire Squads - Jul 4, 2002
Dozens of men and women have joined the city's obscure brigade of volunteer firefighters since Sept. 11, driven, they say, by the desire to protect their neighborhoods, become part-time heroes and players, however minor, in the nation's fight against terrorism. (New York Times)

Families Might Sue Port Authority Over 9/11 Losses - Jul 1, 2002
Dozens of families who lost loved ones Sept. 11 are set to serve notice today they might sue the Port Authority — charging the agency failed to promptly evacuate the south tower after the north tower was attacked. The deadline for filing notices of claim against the Port Authority is July 10. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Cleanup Moves Inside - Jul 1, 2002
The Environmental Protection Agency is to begin within the next few weeks the mammoth task of cleaning and testing thousands of apartments in Lower Manhattan that were caught in harm's way last September by the ash and dust from the World Trade Center. But deciding whether or not to register for the federal cleaning is not easy. (New York Times)

Relatives Channel Grief into Activism - Jun 30, 2002
Gov. Pataki's promise yesterday that no one will build on the footprint of the Twin Towers is in part the fruits of dogged work by kin of 9/11 victims who have risen to lead family groups to become a powerful force in the city and nation. (New York Post)

Business Poor for Chinatown Jewlers - Jun 29, 2002
Nine months after the World Trade Center attack, Chinatown is bustling with tourists and shoppers scraping past each other on narrow sidewalks. But Chinatown's 250 jewelers are slowly suffocating. Fattened by the boom economy of the late 1990's, the industry has been hit by a triple blow: the World Trade Center attack slashed the number of financial workers and foreign tourists; the limp economy reduced consumer spending on luxury goods; and the closing of the Grand Street station cut off the closest subway stop. (New York Times)

Relatives of Sept. 11 Victims Gather to Remember Civillian Heroes - Jun 29, 2002
Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks paid tribute Saturday to the unheralded acts of heroism performed by unknown numbers of civilians who helped evacuate the World Trade Center. Their stories, though largely overshadowed by the more publicized deeds of firefighters and police officers, were remembered by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki and others in a memorial service in midtown Manhattan. (Newsday)

Stuyvesant HS Wins Fight for Air Cleanup - Jun 28, 2002
Parents of students at Stuyvesant High School in lower Manhattan have won the latest skirmish in their battle to force the Board of Education to clean the school's ventilators. Parents had threatened to sue the board if officials did not agree to do a cleanup by the close of business Monday. (New York Daily News)

Post-Sept. 11 Exodus Has Not Happened - Jun 27, 2002
Though a post-Sept. 11 exodus from New York was predicted, statistics do not show that New Yorkers have left the city. Most New Yorkers are learning to live with anxiety in a city that experts agree will always be high on the list of terrorist targets. The statistics show that the real estate market, buoyed in part by low interest rates, is as brisk as ever. (New York Times)

Downtown Arts Groups In Danger Of Folding - Jun 25, 2002
Small and midsize arts institutions around the World Trade Center site are struggling and in danger of folding if they don't get more disaster funding, a City Hall report charged yesterday. Most of the cultural groups have relied on aid from private charities because government funding was cut dramatically after Sept. 11. Donations have not been enough to make up for money lost, the report says. (New York Daily News)

Critics: 9/11 Housing Relief Is Limited - Jun 24, 2002
Thousands left jobless after Sept. 11 have been unfairly denied government housing assistance because of a poorly run Federal Emergency Management Agency program, elected leaders and community organizers said yesterday. (Newsday)

9/11 Memorial on Agenda when Giuliani, Families Meet - Jun 23, 2002
Some relatives of Sept. 11 victims will meet with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani tomorrow to discuss several matters, including a memorial at the World Trade Center site. While the coalition families had met with Giuliani nearly every week when he was mayor, they say they haven't met with Bloomberg for at least two months. (New York Daily News)

Cops Getting Help for 9/11 Stress - Jun 21, 2002
So far, nearly 500 police officers, primarily first responders to the World Trade Center attacks and Emergency Service Unit officers who spent months digging at Ground Zero, have used the police department's counseling program (New York Daily News)

Air Quality a Major Concern Downtown - Jun 21, 2002
Most lower Manhattanites are more fearful about their air quality after the Sept. 11 attacks than about another terror strike, a new poll shows. Most residents also report more health problems since Sept. 11 and many say they're worried about getting cancer or asthma and other respiratory problems because of the attacks and massive fires. (New York Post)

Bloomberg Liaison's Comments Upset Some 9/11 Victims' Kin - Jun 18, 2002
The quarrel between Michael R. Bloomberg and some of the families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorism has now extended to involve the mayor's liaison to those families. (New York Times)

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)

Grieving Dads Go it Alone After Sept. 11 - Jun 16, 2002
More than 80 men from the metropolitan area who lost a wife or girlfriend with whom they had been raising young children, according to a Newsday analysis of those lost in the World Trade Center attack. The stories of mothers widowed by the attack, who were far more numerous, have been widely told. Less has been said about the emotional and domestic upheaval of the men whose lives also were abruptly dislocated. (Newsday)

High Concentrations of Lead Found at Stuyvesant High - Jun 14, 2002
Stuyvesant High School's ventilation system has captured concentrations of lead, believed to be from the World Trade Center collapse, that are 30 times higher than acceptable federal limits, recent Board of Education tests found. (New York Post)

Many Criticize FEMA's Pace on Aid - Jun 14, 2002
Six weeks after the Federal Emergency Management Agency promised to re-evaluate more than 7,000 applications for disaster aid that it conceded might have been improperly rejected in the months after Sept. 11, the agency said today that it had granted 85 additional awards. This performance has infuriated members of New York's Congressional delegation, some of whom accuse FEMA of stalling the review process and simply repeating its mistakes at a time when the aid is most vital. (New York Times)

9/11 Paramedics Seek Counseling - Jun 13, 2002
After two suicides by paramedics who worked extensively at Ground Zero, the city’s paramedics union called on the Fire Department yesterday to implement mandatory counseling for those who worked at Ground Zero (Newsday)

Sept. 11 Relatives Want Commission - Jun 12, 2002
Clutching photos of loved ones lost, nearly 100 parents, siblings, children and other relatives of Sept. 11 victims gathered Tuesday outside the Capitol to urge an independent investigation into the terrorist attacks. The rally took place as the House and Senate intelligence committees were meeting behind closed doors to look into lapses in intelligence-sharing by U.S. officials before Sept. 11. Supporters of an independent commission said that inquiry is not enough. (Newsday)

Group Offering Grants for 9/11 Remembrance - Jun 12, 2002
Neighborhood organizations planning to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks are eligible for up to $500 each, a community group announced yesterday. The Citizens Committee for New York City — an umbrella group for more than 12,000 grass-roots organizations in all five boroughs — has begun accepting applications for its Sept. 11 Remember and Renew grant. (New York Daily News)

9/11 Baby Boom? Nobody Told the Stork - Jun 11, 2002
There has been a fair amount of talk about the prospect of rambunctious times at hospital delivery rooms this summer. Today is nine months since 9/11. And since nine months is roughly how long it takes for a baby to gestate, this has all translated into some surefire predictions. We have seen evidence both supporting and denying the trend, but time will tell whether or not a 9/11 baby boom is actually happening. (New York Times)

Poll Finds New York Fearful, but Upbeat Over Future, Too - Jun 11, 2002
Nine months after the destruction of the World Trade Center, New Yorkers say they are struggling with the psychological fallout from the attack, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. But New Yorkers remain, over all, extraordinarily optimistic about the immediate health of New York and its long-term future. The number of people who think that New York will be a better place to live in 10 or 15 years is higher than it was the month before the attack. (New York Times)

Kids Traumatized by 9/11 not Getting Care - Jun 11, 2002
Children who were traumatized by the World Trade Center attack are not getting adequate mental-health care, several victims and experts said yesterday. During a congressional hearing in lower Manhattan, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton heard from panels that included grief specialists, school officials and survivors. (New York Post)

Housing Subsidy Program For Residents Near World Trade Center Approved By Feds - Jun 8, 2002
People who live in lower Manhattan, torn from their homes for weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, are being offered grants of up to $12,000 to stay in the area. The grants, which are also available to those who move to lower Manhattan, require people to stay put for at least two years. The grant program was formally unveiled yesterday by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez, Gov. Pataki and John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (New York Daily News)

Windows on the World Workers Resolve Conflict - Jun 6, 2002
Resolving a conflict with the union that represented workers at the destroyed Windows on the World, its former owner David Emil agreed to hire five more displaced employees for his new Times Square restaurant.After being threatened with a protest at last night's opening of Noche, Emil offered the additional jobs and agreed to employ nine other workers for banquets at the Latin-inspired restaurant at Broadway and W.49th St. (New York Daily News)

Windows on the World Workers Say Their Boss Didn't Do Enough - Jun 4, 2002
Some people who once hailed David Emil, whose company ran Windows on the World at the top of the World Trade Center, as a hero for helping the restaurant's workers and their families are suddenly calling him a cheat and double-crosser as he prepares to open his next big restaurant in Times Square. Their passions still raw from Sept. 11, dozens of former Windows workers are furious at Mr. Emil for not giving all 90 jobs at his new restaurant, Noche, to Windows workers. They accuse him of betraying his promise to do his utmost to find jobs for the workers who helped make Windows the nation's highest-grossing restaurant, with $37 million in revenue in its last full year. (New York Times)

Relatives of Victims Pay Respect in Final Tribute At Ground Zero - Jun 3, 2002
Nearly nine months after hijacked jets knifed into the twin towers, about 900 victims' relatives gathered at a final memorial service before the recovery effort gives way completely to redevelopment. Clutching photographs of the dead, relatives of the more than 2,800 murdered on Sept. 11 lingered at the edge of Ground Zero and stared into the void where the bodies of 1,700 could not be found. (New York Daily News)

Times Square Emerges From Post-September 11 Winter - Jun 2, 2002
"While a few have moved away and others refuse to come, the city of humankind goes on nearly as before, and the lights of Times Square still burn like an electric timber fire. The greatest concentrate of humanity carries on," writes Charlie LeDuff in an article about Times Square after September 11. With the spring weather returning to the city, LeDuff applauds those who continue to visit and revel in Times Square. (New York Times)

Commencement Speeches Throughout City And Country Evoke September 11 - Jun 2, 2002
Nearly everyone who worked the commencement speech circuit this spring talked about Sept. 11, whether it was the horror of that morning and its aftermath, or the lessons learned by both the nation's government and its citizens. Included with this article are excerpts from various commencement speeches delivered at schools throughout the country in recent weeks, many of them touching on September 11. (New York Times)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Find World Trade Center Air OK In Weeks After 9/11 - May 31, 2002
The air at Ground Zero was free of hazardous levels of toxic contaminants, such as asbestos, just a week after the twin towers collapsed, U.S. health officials said yesterday. The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that none of the 1,174 air samples taken by city and federal officials between Sept. 18 and Oct. 4 showed asbestos levels exceeding federal safety levels. (New York Daily News)

More Drinking and Smoking in 9/11 Study - May 29, 2002
Manhattan residents drank more alcohol and smoked more tobacco and marijuana after the Sept. 11 attack, researchers say. The researchers, at the New York Academy of Medicine, surveyed nearly 1,000 residents in the two months after Sept. 11. A quarter of respondents said they drank more than usual in the five to eight weeks after the attack on the World Trade Center; nearly 10 percent said they had been smoking more cigarettes and more than 3 percent said they had been smoking more marijuana. (Associated Press)

Artists Aim to Energize Downtown NYC - May 29, 2002
What was once an indoor mall at the World Financial Center will become artist studios under a program designed to draw tenants and visitors back to the battered complex. This fall, the nine artists moving into the space will exhibit works ranging from a computer-rendered history of downtown development to handcrafted artificial trees. (Associated Press)

At Ground Zero, Uneasy Agreement on Final Rite - May 27, 2002
Suggestions from construction workers, firefighters, victims' relatives and anyone else with a direct link to the disaster site helped inform Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's final decision to hold a simple ceremony on Thursday, with an empty stretcher, a truck carrying the last girder, a little music and a lot of silence. But some family members have accused the mayor of increasing their pain by choosing to hold the ceremony on a weekday, rather than on a weekend. Some have even suggested that he simply did not want his weekend disrupted. (New York Times)

Elderly Get Help Coping With 9/11 Stress - May 26, 2002
North Shore University Hospital at Forest Hills plans to begin a program early next month to help the elderly cope with the stress of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. People described as most susceptible to post-9/11 stress include Holocaust survivors, veterans, emigres from the former Soviet Union, victims of crimes and those suffering otherwise from mental distress, said Robert Hettenbach, executive director of the hospital. (New York Daily News)

Fighting to Live as the Towers Died - May 26, 2002
The New York Times traces the last 102 minutes of the victims within the World Trade Center in a comprehensive investigative piece. The minute-by-minute account includes recounts some of the harrowing stories of those who were able to escape and the final moments, heard through phone calls and answering machine messages, of those who did not survive. (New York Times)

Alternative Ceremony For Victims' Families Planned - May 24, 2002
Members of several families who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 terror attack plan to hold their own ceremony on June 2, a Sunday, to mark the end of efforts to recover remains from ground zero. The city, which will hold its official ceremony next Thursday, will issue a permit to the group as long as it complies with safety regulations, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. Bloomberg has pointed out that next Thursday was chosen because it will not interfere with religious observances, while the families want a weekend observance. (New York Times)

Security Tighter in New York After Vague Terrorist Threat - May 22, 2002
Federal and local law-enforcement officials yesterday issued a warning of vague and uncorroborated threats against the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty as the city imposed security measures not seen since the first months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The police began operating checkpoints at many of the city's major bridges and tunnels on Monday night, and the Coast Guard established a 200-yard restricted zone around any United States vessel that is moored or anchored in the harbor during Fleet Week. (New York Times)

Federal Emergency Management Agency Gives City $132 Million Grant For Long-Term Therapy - May 22, 2002
Crisis-counseling programs for New Yorkers affected by 9/11 received a huge dose of cash therapy yesterday after the feds approved a record-high $132 million grant. The grant is the largest for long-term counseling that FEMA has ever approved. Project Liberty, which was set up after the Twin Towers attack and run by the state's Office of Mental Health, will administer the grant in New York City and 10 nearby counties using local mental health programs to provide services. (New York Post)

Kin Uniting on Memorial - May 21, 2002
A broad consensus is emerging for the first time among families of those killed Sept. 11 on how much of the World Trade Center site should be used for a permanent memorial. The families recently presented a proposal that calls for the memorial to consist of the footprints of the twin towers and the Marriott World Trade Center Hotel, as well as the land inside the site's retaining wall. (New York Daily News)

Rodin Sculpture That Survived September 11 Now Missing - May 20, 2002
An authentic cast of the sculpture "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin that was housed in the World Trade Center survived the Sept. 11 attacks, but now has vanished. It, and other pieces of artwork by Rodin, were being exhibited in the lobby of the firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost 658 of its 960 employees. (New York Times)

Senator Clinton Unveils Ground Zero Health Assessment Plan - May 18, 2002
Senator Hillary Clinton unveiled a $12 million federally funded program yesterday to monitor the health concerns of Ground Zero rescue workers and volunteers. The program, which will be administered by Mount Sinai Medical Center's Irving J. Selikoff Center, is expected to treat 8,000 people. (New York Daily News)

Bloomberg Defends Date For Ground Zero Closing Ceremony - May 18, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg yesterday defended his choice of May 30 - a weekday - for a ceremony honoring the end of recovery work at Ground Zero, saying he's trying to accommodate as many people as possible. Bloomberg said May 30, a Thursday, will avoid interfering with religious observances. But several terror victims' relatives pressed to have the ceremony honoring both those lost in the attack and the workers who stayed around the clock at the site moved to a Sunday. (New York Post)

Victims' Families Criticize Choice of Weekday For Ground Zero Ceremony - May 17, 2002
Mayor Bloomberg announced plans yesterday for a May 30 ceremony to mark the "symbolic end" of cleanup work at Ground Zero and immediately faced stiff criticism from victims' families for not scheduling it on a weekend. Some family members complained that although City Hall told them of the May 30 date this week, they were given no chance to suggest alternatives. And they -- as well as some Port Authority cops -- were angry at having to choose between going to work and honoring their loved ones. (New York Daily News)

Air Quality Testing Downtown Proving To Be Complicated And Inconclusive - May 15, 2002
The many scientific and medical investigations into the effects of Sept. 11 are revealing an unforeseen complexity -- in the nature and consequences of the disaster, as well as in the underlying environment in a part of New York that they say has never really been examined. Many scientists and physicians say the accumulated evidence so far suggests that there is likely no permanent damage despite the rise in respiratory problems for those near or around the site. Others say it is too soon to tell. (New York Times)

Housing Subsidies To Extend To Chinatown - May 15, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is expected to announce today that families who commit to living in Chinatown for at least a year can get a one-shot $750 bonus from a federal pot of cash earmarked to help lower Manhattan. (New York Post)

A Third Of Public School Children Surveyed Will Need Mental Health Assistance After September 11 - May 14, 2002
N.R. Kleinfield profiles individual children to illustrate the conclusions of a recent study by the Board of Education. The study found that "roughly 200,000 of the 712,000 public school children in grades 4 through 12 were candidates for some sort of mental health intervention - at least a visit with a mental health professional - because of the lingering trauma of September 11." (New York Times)

Hundreds Of Cars Around World Trade Center To Be Demolished - May 14, 2002
890 vehicles towed from the streets around the World Trade Center and pulled from the collapsed complex's garages will be destroyed because of asbestos contamination, federal officials said yesterday. The city and the EPA have determined that these cars - the vast majority of which are stored at Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island - are contaminated with asbestos, based on dust samples. (New York Daily News)

Arts Festival Planned To Revitalize Downtown - May 13, 2002
A new $7.6 million arts festival, created to help spark the renaissance of Lower Manhattan, will seek to attract more than a million visitors to nearly 500 events at 20 locations over the next five months, and will feature performances by 300 artists including Sheryl Crow and Wynton Marsalis. The mostly free festival, billed as the city's largest in terms of the number of events and projected eventgoers, will be called Downtown N.Y.C. River-to-River Festival 2002, and it will begin later this month. (New York Times)

Report on Mental Health of City Children After September 11 Prompts Consideration of Treatment - May 13, 2002
A recently published study by the city's Board of Education found that about 75,000 of the more than 710,000 public school students in grades 4 through 12 are suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, and as many as 190,000 have mental health problems, both related and unrelated to 9/11. The study and the underlying reality have spurred an intense debate about how to proceed. Psychologists who specialize in trauma want the Board of Education to screen students and find those with emotional problems -- especially those suffering in silence, crying themselves to sleep or having nightmares or getting psychosomatic aches and pains. (New York Times)

City Awaits A September 11 Baby Boom - May 12, 2002
Hundreds of women around the city became pregnant in the days and weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks and are now due to give birth in the next three months.Some obstetricians say they will perform twice as many deliveries in each of the summer months than in the past. Demographic experts say it will take years to validate the boomlet, but widespread anecdotal evidence suggests it is real. (New York Daily News)

Business Still In A Slump Due To September 11 - May 12, 2002
Businesses in Queens are struggling to survive in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and an economic recession — both with impacts that have rippled through the borough. Queens lost nearly 21,000 jobs from October through December, and analysts predict it will take a year for businesses to recover. Not just the larger businesses are affected. Many local mom-and-pop shops have had to lay off workers, scale back production and revamp operations to stay afloat. (New York Daily News)

Federal Agency Reports Of Respiratory Ailments At High School Near Ground Zero - May 11, 2002
More than half the employees at Stuyvesant High School suffered respiratory problems after returning to their school on the edge of Ground Zero in October, according to an upcoming federal report. The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, found that between 50% and 60% of the school's staff reported a range of respiratory symptoms connected to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The full report is expected to be completed by May 31. (New York Daily News)

Spring Returns To Battery Park City After A Couple of Dour Seasons - May 9, 2002
Rebirth and memory intertwine these days in Battery Park City, the community hat was laid to waste when the World Trade Center fell. While reminders of September 11 linger everywhere, there are signs of a comeback. The residential buildings are now nearly 90 percent full. The Embassy Suites Hotel and the neighborhood movie theater reopened last week. Pizza delivery has been restored. West Street is open, making it possible once again to catch a cab uptown. (New York Times)

Environmental Protection Agency to Lead Cleanup Effort of Homes Close to Ground Zero - May 8, 2002
The federal Environmental Protection Agency will announce today an effort to clean up and test apartments south of Canal Street in Lower Manhattan that were fouled by the dust and ash from the destruction of the World Trade Center. This is a sharp reversal in policy from an agency which, to this point, had said that assessing air quality indoors was not under its responsibilities. (New York Times)

City Council Hearing Reveals Role of Technology In Recovering From September 11 - May 7, 2002
A City Council hearing about technology and the lessons learned from September 11 revealed how computer systems and satellite mapping were integral to the recovery after September 11. Among the notable mentions: a database system to catalog a library's worth of information about possible victims; a satellite mapping system used to catalog where human remains and other debris were scattered at Ground Zero; a computer system for families to report missing family members; and a late night raid that salvaged computers critical to restoring trading on the New York Stock Exchange. (New York Times)

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)

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)

Cultural Institutions Downtown Coming Back To Life - May 3, 2002
For all the raw emotion and the painful reminders, the small inconveniences and the continuing repair, there is unmistakable evidence that Lower Manhattan is coming back to life. New restaurants are opening, old clubs are hosting concerts again, art galleries continue to exhibit, and a new film festival promises to bring revitalize residents there even more. (New York Times)

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)

Thousands Of Children Throughout Five Boroughs Showing Signs of Mental Stress After September 11 - May 2, 2002
Tens of thousands of public-school children throughout New York City, not just near Ground Zero, are experiencing chronic nightmares, fear of public places, severe anxiety and other mental health problems months after the World Trade Center attack, a study conducted for the Board of Education has found. The study estimates that 10.5 percent of the children in the 4th through the 12th grades suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after Sept. 11. Even more (15 percent) suffered agoraphobia, or fear of public places. (New York Times)

Relatives of Victims Criticize Government Investigation of September 11 - May 1, 2002
Victims' relatives and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn) will be at a news conference today to criticize a report detailing the federal government's investigation of September 11. "Many families don't have confidence in the ... report because of how sloppy the investigation was at the outset," Weiner said. (New York Daily News)

Street Fairs Delayed By September 11 Back On Track - Apr 28, 2002
After an autumn in which all but 4 of the nearly 100 street fairs scheduled after Sept. 11 were canceled, New Yorkers are seeing the earliest of about 400 such events, ranging from a single block to more than 20, that are to be held through November. (New York Times)

Ground Zero Minority Workers' Ailments Persist Months After September 11 - Apr 28, 2002
More than 400 immigrant workers hired to clean buildings near the World Trade Center site continued to suffer respiratory and other symptoms months after their first exposure to the dust, a Queens College physician reported yesterday. Dr. Steven Markowitz, who supervised a medical monitoring van near Ground Zero for two months, gave preliminary results of examinations of 415 building cleanup workers. In late February, nearly all the workers still had health symptoms, which either first appeared or had worsened after Sept. 11, Markowitz said. (Newsday)

New Yorkers More Fearful of Terrorism Than Residents of Other Cities - Apr 26, 2002
New Yorkers are more worried about future terrorism than other Americans, a new poll shows. 22% of New Yorkers worry a great deal about another attack, according to a survey by the Center for Public Policy at the University of Houston. By contrast, 14% in Chicago and 13% in Los Angeles and Houston worry a lot about the possibility of attacks on their cities, the center said. (New York Daily News)

Cancer Risk From World Trade Center Asbestos "Relatively Low," Says One Expert - Apr 26, 2002
For the thousands of people who were exposed to World Trade Center dust and debris on Sept. 11, the risk of developing asbestos-related cancer is relatively low, a leading physician said yesterday. Dr. Stephen Levin, medical director of the Mount Sinai-Irving J. Selikoff Occupational Health Center, said that although more than 20,000 people are at risk of developing the rare, insidious cancer known as malignant mesothelioma as a result of inhaling asbestos and other substances after the collapse, few are likely to come down with the disease. (Newsday)

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)

Barges Near Stuyvesant High School To Stop Transportation of Ground Zero Debris Next Month - Apr 25, 2002
The first of the barges which have towed away Ground Zero debris and have been the source of many complaints over the last seven months is about to be moved, possibly as soon as April 29. By all accounts, all three barges should be tugged out of the Hudson for good before the end of May. (Downtown Express)

Gay Partner Seeks World Trade Center Benefits - Apr 23, 2002
A gay man who lost his partner in the World Trade Center is asking the state workers’ compensation board to consider him as the man’s spouse. It is the first case brought by a gay partner seeking workers’ compensation coverage in New York. (Newsday)

DNA Research Pushed To Limits By Identification of World Trade Center Victims - Apr 22, 2002
The identification of the remains of the World Trade Center victims has now become the largest forensic investigation in United States history. It is an investigation that is pressing the limits of biomedical research even as it brings a painful mixture of relief and fresh grieving to families. A third of the 2,824 victims of the World Trade Center attack have now been identified, a number far beyond what many had thought would be possible. The goal now, experts involved in the effort say, is to use new scientific techniques to identify half or even two-thirds of the victims, despite the miserably deteriorated state of many of the remains being pulled from ground zero. To date, 18,937 body parts have been recovered, along with 287 whole bodies. (New York Times)

A Census of the September 11 Victims Released By Department Of Health - Apr 19, 2002
The New York City Department of Health has released a census of the September 11 victims. It is the first detailed look at the age, gender, and national origins of the 2,617 who are officially counted as having died on that day. (Several hundred more are still classified as missing). Forty-three percent of the dead were from New York City, with Manhattan accounting for the greatest number, followed by Brooklyn and then Queens. One out of five was a foreign-born resident living in the city, with the toll from Latin America exceeding that of more populous countries like Russia and Italy. (New York Times)

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)

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)

Stuyvesant High School Parents May Sue Board of Ed Over Ventilation System - Apr 18, 2002
The Stuyvesant HS Parents Association said yesterday it's prepared to sue the Board of Ed for allegedly failing to properly clean the school's ventilation system. (New York Post)

Dispatchers Still Haunted by the Voices of Sept. 11 - Apr 17, 2002
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly recognized 192 police communications workers yesterday for the vital service they provided on Sept. 11. Many recounted their troubling stories. In many cases, their voices were the last voices the victims heard. There were more than 3,000 calls within the first 18 minutes; more than 57,000 calls in the 24 hours after the first plane hit at 8:46 a.m. It was the single busiest day ever for the dispatchers, with nearly twice the average number of calls logged. (New York Times)

Leading Congressmember Sees Problems With Idea Of Joint Congress Session in New York City - Apr 17, 2002
A key House Republican yesterday poured cold water on the idea of bringing Congress to New York one day this year -- likely marking the end of a crusade that began after 9/11. Rep. Dick Armey told The New York Post that the obstacles to holding a one-day congressional session in the Big Apple on or around Sept. 6 are "insurmountable" and outweigh any symbolic benefits -- especially given the estimated $1 million price tag. Support for the idea is even weaker in the Senate, where the idea has languished since Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced a resolution last Nov. 15. Only nine senators have co-sponsored the measure. (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)

Girder From World Trade Center Will Help Provide Insight Into Collapse - Apr 16, 2002
Recovery workers this week found a mauled, 4-ton column of steel that stretched from the 100th to 103rd floors of the north tower of the World Trade Center. Thick bolts fastened to the column more than 30 years ago -- securing it to a much thinner structural plate -- were still in place. But the plate ripped apart. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, which investigates building collapses after disasters, will get the column -- along with about 60 other steel beams from important areas in the towers. (New York Daily News)

New York City Still Puts A Premium On Tolerance, Bucking A National Trend Post-September 11 - Apr 15, 2002
While some surveys find as many as two-thirds of Americans in favor of limiting immigration and sixty percent favoring an expansion of police wiretapping capabilities, New York City residents are going against the national grain. According to a recent Hunter College poll, "residents of the nation's largest city [are] far more reluctant to see any erosion of basic civil liberties" than people in other localities in the country. They are also firm in their belief that immigration should not be curtailed. (New York Daily News)

Queens Public School Receives Solidary Quilt From California Elementary School Students - Apr 14, 2002
Students at Public School 206 in Rego Park received a "solidarity quilt" made by children at an elementary school in California as a show of support for city school kids in the aftermath of Sept. 11. (New York Daily News)

Businesses Dependent on Foreign Tourism Still Suffering After September 11 - Apr 14, 2002
Although many New York businesses report improvements since Sept. 11, local businesses that depend on foreign tourism say that they are still in pain. Foreigners make up about 18 percent of the annual tourists to New York, but generate 42 percent of the revenue in the industry, according to NYC & Company, the city's convention and visitors bureau. The organization also reports that the average foreign visitor spends about $1,040 per trip to New York, compared with $319 per visit from domestic tourists. Explanations range from cultural differences to media focus on Ground Zero as representative of New York after September 11 to economic problems in other countries. (New York Times)

September 11 Aftermath Leads To More Greeting Cards - Apr 14, 2002
After the September 11 attacks, greeting-card company Hallmark rushed cards with patriotic themes to 20,000 of its 47,000 outlets, including seven new cards with stronger references to Sept. 11. Though the majority of the seven billion greeting cards sold annually in the United States celebrate Christmas or birthdays, Hallmark expects the demand for patriotic cards to rise for this year's Memorial and Veterans Day holidays. (New York Times)

$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)

Questions Remain Over Lack Of Safety Authorities In Sky Lobbies of Twin Towers - Apr 11, 2002
On June 2, 1997, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey removed certified deputy fire safety directors from the 44th- and 78th-floor sky lobbies in each tower, records show. The fire safety specialists had been placed there as one in a series of reforms after the 1993 bombing. Survivors' accounts suggest that confusion on the sky lobby floors may have resulted from the absence of these safety workers. (Newsday)

New York Times Wins 6 Pulitzer Prizes For September 11 Reporting - Apr 9, 2002
The New York Times won a record seven Pulitzer Prizes yesterday, including six for its news coverage of the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, its victims, its causes and its aftermath, all transformative events in the modern history of the United States. The attacks and the war on terrorism were the focus of 8 of the 14 Pulitzer Prizes awarded for journalism. (New York Times)

Rebuilding Authority Set To Expand Incentive Program For Downtown Residents - Apr 9, 2002
A cash-incentive program designed to entice people to live near Ground Zero is expected to get sweeter today, as a state-city agency is set to increase the total payouts and widen eligibility. There will be new one-time payments, including funds for those living as far north as Delancey St., and bonus grants to families with children under 18. And the maximum grant will be available to more people, as the boundaries in the immediate impact zone have been expanded. (New York Daily News)

Towers' Collapse Raises New Doubts About Fire Tests - Apr 8, 2002
The fiery collapse of three World Trade Center skyscrapers has led scientists, engineers and building officials to question the century-old practice of relying on fire tests conducted in low-tech furnaces to determine if building materials will survive out-of-control blazes. (New York Times)

Cycling Championship Coming To Lower Manhattan This Year - Apr 8, 2002
The New York Cycling Championship, which last year failed to find a sponsor in time to come together, will be held on Sunday, Aug. 4, in Lower Manhattan. The course will consist of a circle around Lower Manhattan, and the race will feature roughly 65 professional teams, including Mr. Armstrong's United States Postal Service racers. (New York Times)

State Legislature Proposes Extending Workers Comp for Ground Zero Workers - Apr 8, 2002
A new bill in the State Legislature would extend workers' compensation benefits to rescue and recovery personnel at the World Trade Center in an effort to deal with any long-term health effects from debris. The bill would classify any ailment linked to the trade center as an occupational disease, providing the same benefits as if a worker had suffered an injury on the job. A preliminary list of possible health problems includes pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, bronchitis, cancer and gastrointestinal disorders. (Associated Press)

People Still Experiencing Trauma Throughout New York Metro Region - Apr 7, 2002
A new report released today from the Red Cross finds residents across the New York region are continuing to experience increased symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The survey, conducted by Strategic Surveys International, is the first report to document the widespread prevalence of trauma beyond Manhattan. Researchers found 30 percent of those interviewed were at increased risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, 43 percent expressed feelings of hopelessness and fear about the future. Thirty-one percent said they worried about the ongoing threat of terrorism or that more people could die, and 22 percent feared for the safety and security of their families. (Newsday)

Movie Theater To Reopen Near Ground Zero - Apr 7, 2002
In another sign that life is bouncing back around Ground Zero, a shuttered movie megaplex across the street will reopen soon. The United Artists Battery Park City Stadium 16, which closed after sustaining severe exterior damage from the attacks on the World Trade Center towers Sept. 11, will reopen in time for the first TriBeCa Film Festival, scheduled for May 8-12. (New York Post)

Towering TV Transmission Antenna Planned To Replace One Lost On September 11 - Apr 6, 2002
A skyscraping 2,000-foot-tall TV and radio transmission tower is being planned to replace the one lost in the World Trade Center attacks. The new tower would be 250 feet taller than the one that stood atop the trade center's north tower. He goes on to mention several waterfront locations within 3.2 miles of the trade center site, including downtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, Jersey City and Governors Island. (New York Post)

Report Says 10 Percent of Jobs Lost Post-Sept. 11 Were in Chinatown - Apr 5, 2002
The effects of the World Trade Center attack on Chinatown included layoffs of about one-fourth of the area's 34,000 workers, and economic ripples in Queens and Brooklyn, according to a report by the Asian American Federation released yesterday. Furthermore, Chinatown accounts for 10 percent of the jobs lost in the city in the three months after Sept. 11, the report said. That amounts to about 7,500 of the 75,000 jobs lost in that period, the authors of the report said. This report is arguably the most comprehensive economic analysis in the history of the more than 150-year-old neighborhood. (New York Times)

Schools Trying To Attract September 11 Heroes To Speak - Apr 4, 2002
Institutions of higher learning are dangling honorary degrees, medals and other awards before Giuliani and Ground Zero heroes so they'll give commencement addresses in June. Instead of celebrities, campuses are choosing to seek New York firefighters, police officers, and former mayor Rudy Giuliani to speak to their graduating classes. (New York Daily News)

Downtown Rent Subsidy Plan To Expand Coverage Area - Apr 4, 2002
Downtown planners have revised a proposal for rent rebates for lower Manhattan residents in a way that would expand coverage to hundreds of apartment dwellers affected by the Sept. 11 terror attack. The new plan enlarges the boundaries of the so-called immediate-impact zone of residents near the demolished trade center by pushing the eastern line from Broadway to Nassau Street, said sources familiar with the proposal. (New York Post)

First Federal Assessment Of Twin Tower Collapse Cites "Spray-Applied Fireproofing" And Other Flaws Common To Modern Skyscrapers - Apr 2, 2002
The first federal assessment of the trade center disaste has made clear that there may have been no reasonable precautions that could have stopped the towers from collapsing once they were struck and huge fires broke out. "Spray-applied fireproofing may be vulnerable to damage from blasts and impacts," says a draft of the FEMA report, adding that failure of support structures protected with this fireproofing "is likely critical to the ultimate building failure." (New York Times)

Websites Cover Rebuilding - Apr 2, 2002
Whether you use www.renewnyc.org or www.renewnyc.com, both addresses will take you to the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.'s new Web site. Other nonprofit groups have already launched downtown oriented Web sites, including the Alliance for Downtown New York, the area's business improvement district. Their site can be found at www.downtownny.com. The Citizens Union Foundation's Gotham Gazette provides information about various redevelopment plans and coalitions. (Newsday)

Americans Slept Less After September 11 - Apr 2, 2002
Almost seven out of 10 Americans experienced some sleep disturbance after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, says a survey that also shows almost half the people say their sleep is only fair or poor. (Associated Press)

Museum of Television & Radio To Focus On September 11 - Apr 2, 2002
The Museum of Television & Radio will spotlight September 11 and its aftermath for its third annual Television Documentary Festival, unspooling May 1-19 in New York, Variety reports. The festival will open May 1 with a panel discussion, to be headed by "60 Minutes" producer Don Hewitt, that will debate moral responsibility in capturing 9/11-related images. Other participants for the session, titled "To Testify or to Sanitize: Portraying 9-11," include filmmaker Jon Alpert and HBO original programming executive Lisa Heller. (Reuters)

Those Left Unemployed After September 11 Relying On Credit Cards - Mar 31, 2002
Thousands of New Yorkers who lost their jobs after Sept. 11 have exhausted their savings and are using high-interest credit cards to pay for everything from medical bills to their rent. Many have no health insurance and little hope of getting it. Interviews with jobless men and women, union leaders, advocates and industry analysts paint a disturbing picture of families struggling to get by on meager unemployment checks and soon-to-end handouts from charity. (New York Daily News)

Good Friday March Leads To Ground Zero - Mar 30, 2002
More than 1,500 people walked from St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn across the Brooklyn Bridge to a church near Ground Zero. In a spiritual trek known to the faithful as "The Way of the Cross," the throng paused four times to reflect on the various stages of Jesus' suffering and death described in the Bible. (New York Daily News)

Judge Rules That Man's Public Praise of World Trade Center Attack Not Protected By Free Speech - Mar 30, 2002
The First Amendment right to free speech does not protect a group of men who, on Sept. 15, allegedly stood shouting in Times Square that "more cops and firemen should have died" in the World Trade Center collapse. The remarks, which cops said were yelled directly in the faces of pedestrians, "were plainly intended to incite the crowd to violence, and not simply to express a point of view," Manhattan Criminal Court Judge William Harrington wrote in a decision made public yesterday. (New York Post)

Survey Reveals New Yorkers Support Keeping Tribute In Light Past End Date - Mar 29, 2002
Quinnipiac University released a poll yesterday showing that 39 percent of 1,038 registered voters in the city feel the Tribute in Light should stay on until a permanent memorial is built and that 36 percent feel the lights themselves should be permanent. Twenty percent feel the lights should be turned off April 13, as planned. And that is what will happen, said Kent L. Barwick, president of the Municipal Art Society, the chief sponsor of the project, in part because it was approved by various community groups, government agencies and victims' family members as a brief, finite gesture. (New York Times)

Towers Withstood Impact, but Fell to Fire, Report Says - Mar 29, 2002
A draft of a study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Society of Civil Engineers shows that the towers survived the initial impacts of the planes, but eventually collapsed due to the effect of the fire and heat on the steel support structures. Under normal circumstances, fire suppression systems are designed to allow a high-rise blaze to burn itself out before the building collapses. But the report concludes that there were across-the-board failures in the towers' fire suppression systems. (New York Times)

Undocumented Immigrant Mexican Families Grieve Relatives Lost on September 11 - Mar 29, 2002
They still can't definitively prove their loved ones worked at the World Trade Center or even lived in New York City, but at least two dozen families -- mostly from Mexico -- say they're grieving over the loss of a relative on Sept. 11. All of these victims were in the U.S. illegally and had been working off the books in or around the Trade Center, their families said. (New York Daily News)

Environmental Protection Agency Accused of Neglect in 9/11 Cleanup - Mar 29, 2002
A watchdog for the Environmental Protection Agency has accused the agency of neglecting its responsibility and urged a cleanup of buildings contaminated by World Trade Center debris. "EPA has abandoned its responsibility for cleaning up buildings [both inside and out] that are contaminated, or that are being recontaminated, as a result of the uncontrolled chemical releases from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks," Ombudsman Robert Martin wrote in a March 27 letter to Jane Kenny, head of the agency's New York region. (New York Daily News)

Engineering Organization Suggests Building Skyscrapers Shorter - Mar 28, 2002
Whatever is rebuilt on the World Trade Center site should be no more than 50 or 60 stories tall, according to a new study by the nation's leading engineering organization. The study, by the Construction Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, also recommends that all buildings at the site be designed to accommodate mass evacuations. In addition,biological and chemical attacks top the list of threats that the new buildings must protect against. (New York Times)

New Study Finds Thousands in Manhattan in Need Of Psychiatric Treatment After September 11 - Mar 28, 2002
In the aftermath of the World Trade Center collapse, tens of thousands of Manhattan residents suffered emotional difficulties severe enough to warrant psychiatric treatment, according to a report in the new issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, out today. The study, a random telephone survey of 1,008 adults living below 110th Street, is the first to appear in a peer-reviewed journal. The overall rates of post-traumatic stress and depression found in the study were two to three times as high as those normally found in any given year, the researchers said. (New York Times)

Manhattan Hotels Coming Back On A Slow Rebound - Mar 28, 2002
The number of hotel rooms occupied in Manhattan was at its lowest level in seven years this January. But, despite dire predictions after the World Trade Center attack, some numbers are giving hope to those in the industry. The average occupancy rate in February 2002, at 74 percent, was only 1 percentage point lower than it was in February 2001, according to HotelRevMax, a research firm. Other analysts have slightly less rosy numbers, but none suggest the doom-and-gloom scenarios of late last year predicting that occupancy would be down 10 to 15 percentage points. (New York Times)

September 11 Victims' Families Sought To Aid Prosecutors In Getting Death Penalty - Mar 28, 2002
Justice Department officials want the relatives of those killed and to those injured in the World Trade Center disaster last Sept. 11 to put their emotions to practical use and to help win the death penalty for a suspect charged in the attacks. Officials are interviewing hundreds of people to find 30 individual stories that illustrate the impact of the losses and help prosecutors get a death sentence against Zacarias Moussaoui, who has been charged with conspiracy in the attacks and is scheduled for trial this fall in Alexandria, Virginia. (New York Times)

A Wave Of New Yorkers Make Downtown Their New Home - Mar 28, 2002
Just six months ago, residents of the area surrounding the World Trade Center evacuated apartments that were without water, electricity or telephone service. The occupancy rate in the Battery Park City complex, which has 6,400 apartments, fell to 60 percent, from near capacity. But now a new cohort of New Yorkers is starting to move in. Some are drawn by the promise of bargain apartments, others by the gaping wound left by the attacks. (New York Times)

40,000 Kennedy Photo Negatives Missing After Attack - Mar 27, 2002
Tucked inside several manila envelopes in a safety-deposit box at 5 World Trade Center were some 40,000 negatives of John F. Kennedy taken by Jacques Lowe, one of his personal photographers. Chase all but confirmed that they were destroyed in a series of letters to Lowe's daughter, Thomasina Lowe, dating to Sept. 19. However, after investigating the remains of the safe where the pictures were stored, it is still unclear whether the pictures were destroyed or are instead missing. (New York Times)

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)

Destruction of World Trade Center Leads To Decrease in Summer Electricity Burden - Mar 27, 2002
The destruction of the World Trade Center, among other factors, eased New York City’s demand for electrical power enough so that no power crisis is expected this summer, a state power official said today. (Associated Press)

Liberty Zone Bonds Could Build New Apartment Buildings in Battery Park City - Mar 27, 2002
Officials at Battery Park City say Liberty Zone bonds created after Sept. 11 could help spur the development of seven new residential buildings with up to 3,000 apartments at the riverside complex. There are seven empty lots at Battery Park City zoned for residential use -- with the capacity to add a total of some 3,000 apartments to the complex's existing inventory of 6,400 units. (New York Post)

Chapel Near World Trade Center Site To Remain Open - Mar 26, 2002
The leaders of St. Paul's Chapel in Lower Manhattan, which has served as a haven for rescue workers at ground zero since September, said yesterday that they had decided to keep it open until the excavation of the World Trade Center site was completed. The Episcopal chapel was going to be closed for a cleaning after Easter Sunday services, but chapel officials announced last night that it would continue to provide food, rest and counseling to the workers until the end of May. (New York Times)

Broadway Officials Donate $1 Million To City - Mar 26, 2002
In a surprise announcement, Broadway officials said they were donating to the city a $1 million profit from the $2.5 million in tickets that the city bought to prop up several Broadway shows after the World Trade Center attacks. Mayor Bloomberg quickly re-allocated the windfall to several nonprofit organizations that help fund small arts and education programs. (New York Post)

As Chapel Closes For Cleaning, Workers Miss A Sanctuary From Ground Zero - Mar 24, 2002
When St. Paul's Chapel closes its doors after the Easter sunrise service for an interior and exterior cleaning, the recovery workers who have relied on it for warm meals, quiet reflection and a place to sleep are not sure where they will go. The cleaning, which is expected to last a month and cost several hundred thousand dollars, is necessary to reopen the church to its congegration and visitors. (New York Times)

Tourism Promoters For New York Cite September 11 To Attract Visitors - Mar 24, 2002
The destruction of the World Trade Center has emerged as a powerful selling point for New York City, invoked again and again over the last six months to make the case that big events like the Super Bowl, the Grammy Awards ceremony and a proposed joint meeting of Congress all belong in New York. The case being made is striking in its appeal, in part, to sympathy for the purpose of drumming up tourist business. It appears to link notions of patriotism and civic duty to things like hotel bookings. (New York Times)

120 Ground Zero Firefighters Suffering Breathing Problems - Mar 23, 2002
As many as 120 city firefighters are suffering from moderate to severe breathing problems likely caused by working at Ground Zero, according to a top FDNY medical expert, the Daily News reported. Of the 10,000 pulmonary tests administered after Sept. 11, about 1 percent had moderate to severe changes in their lung capacity and can no longer perform the rigorous job of firefighting. (New York Daily News)

New York City Colleges Cite September 11 For Drop in Number of Applications - Mar 22, 2002
While applications at many selective colleges around the country grew this year, New York University, Columbia and Barnard College all experienced declines, with some admissions officials blaming Sept. 11 jitters by families uneasy about sending their children to New York City. (New York Times)

Standards for Measuring Asbestos Used By Federal Officials Not Meant To Determine Health Risks, Says Scientist - Mar 21, 2002
In the days after Sept. 11, EPA officials used standards to determine dangerous asbestos contamination that were never intended to measure health risks, according to a new 43-page memo by a dissident Environmental Protection Agency scientist. The memo raises new allegations that the standards the EPA publicized as benchmarks for judging asbestos contamination in both dust and air were intended only to measure the presence of asbestos in building materials. (New York Daily News)

Identification of World Trade Center Victims By DNA Tests To Be Completed By Next February - Mar 21, 2002
The identification through DNA testing of the thousands of pieces of human remains collected from the World Trade Center will be largely finished by next February, the medical examiner’s office said yesterday. The medical examiner, Dr. Charles Hirsch, told victims’ relatives at a meeting Monday he expects DNA testing to be completed eight months after all remains have been recovered from the trade center rubble. The recovery work is due to finish in May. Technicians have already made 161 identifications solely on the basis of a DNA match. (New York Post)

DNA Evidence Identifies September 11 Victim - Mar 19, 2002
The remains of a passenger aboard one of the hijacked jets that crashed into the World Trade Center has been identified through DNA, officials revealed yesterday. It was the first time DNA has been able to determine the identity of any of the victims aboard the two doomed planes. The city medical examiner's office said it had determined that a hand found in the rubble at Ground Zero belongs to James Trentini -- a retired Massachusetts school teacher aboard American Flight 11, family members said. (New York Daily News)

Museum Looking For Home For World Trade Center Photo Exhibit - Mar 17, 2002
A gripping photo exhibit of the devastated World Trade Center by a renowned New York photographer could skip the city because of a dispute involving the Museum of the City of New York. The exhibit, originally slated to be held at the Tweed Courthouse, is now uncertain because Mayor Bloomberg cast doubt recently on the move to the courthouse as a result of the city's financial crisis. (New York Daily News)

Renewed Feelings Of Loss And Urgency At Ground Zero As Cleanup Nears Completion - Mar 17, 2002
With more bodies being found in a newly uncovered area of Ground Zero, the feeling of urgency to recover the bodies has returned to the site, something not felt since the early days of the cleanup. At the same time, a feeling of loss hangs over the workers, and not just for their fallen brothers found in the site. With the amount of dirt and rubble rapidly diminishing, workers who have developed a kinship with their recovery team, many having worked seven days a week since September, are having a hard time letting go. (New York Times)

More Ferry Service Announced For Downtown - Mar 15, 2002
Ferry service between Manhattan and New Jersey will be expanded later this month, state and local officials announced yesterday, citing increased demand stemming from the loss of PATH service downtown since Sept. 11. Extra ferries will run until PATH service is restored to Lower Manhattan, scheduled for late next year, and could serve about 63,000 passengers a day. (New York Times)

As Jets Get Bigger, No Towers Will Be Able To Withstand Future Attacks - Mar 14, 2002
Speaking at a talk at the New-York Historical Society, the chief structural engineer for the trade center project said last night that as commercial jets grow larger, faster and carry ever-greater amounts of fuel, no skyscraper can be built to withstand a terrorist attack of the kind that destroyed the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, "We have to conclude, we cannot fail to conclude, that it's not practical to design buildings as we know them -- buildings that we'd want to live and work in -- to resist the impact of these jet aircraft," said the engineer, Leslie E. Robertson. (New York Times)

Police Cracking Down On Illegal Parking Near Ground Zero - Mar 14, 2002
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday that police have begun a new parking enforcement campaign in the streets around Ground Zero to ease traffic congestion. But the crackdown has irritated some Ground Zero workers, who are suddenly receiving tickets after parking wherever they could ever since Sept. 11. (Newsday)

Another Ted Rall Cartoon Draws Anger, This Time From Firefighters - Mar 13, 2002
The cartoonist who sparked outrage with a swipe at World Trade Center "terror widows" has a new target — the city's Bravest. Ted Rall's latest offering offends too. A new strip by Ted Rall depicts firefighters surrounded by cash, wearing fur coats and riding to fires in limousines. (New York Daily News)

Federal Agency on Workplace Safety To Study Evacuation of World Trade Center - Mar 13, 2002
Federal workplace safety officials will study the Sept. 11 evacuation of the World Trade Center, officials said Tuesday. Over the past six months, investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have received about 100 formal complaints from survivors and relatives of the lost regarding the evacuation. In the six months since Sept. 11, it has emerged that most of the people in offices below the impact zones escaped. But some survivors described confusion in navigating escape routes, conflicting announcements, and locked or jammed doors. (Newsday)

Ferry Service To Expand, Says State Top Economic Official - Mar 13, 2002
City and state officials will announce a plan this week to stimulate redevelopment in downtown Manhattan by increasing ferry service, said Charles Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, on Tuesday. Eventually, Gargano said, the rebirth of Lower Manhattan could be boosted by a tenfold increase in ferry service. (Newsday)

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)

State Legislature Split on September 11 Remembrance - Mar 12, 2002
The State Assembly voted yesterday to make Sept. 11 a state holiday -- yet the State Senate passed a bill establishing a "Day of Remembrance" that would not give state workers a day off. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) said making Sept. 11 a holiday in New York could cost the state between $20 million and $25 million. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said a full holiday is appropriate to honor the victims and heroes of Sept. 11, and would cost substantially less than Bruno estimated. (New York Daily News)

Vacancy Rates Decreasing After Announcement of Grants Plan For Downtown Residents - Mar 12, 2002
A proposed $200 million grant program to attract new residents to Lower Manhattan and retain those who are already there has already begun to bear fruit, weeks before the program receives final approval and the final qualifications for the grants are clear. Vacancy rates have fallen noticeably and applications to rent apartments have jumped by several hundred, according to area landlords. The program, announced February 20 by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, would offer up to $12,000 over two years to people who sign leases or buy apartments below Canal Street and remain there for two years. (New York Times)

Mental Health Experts Say Problems Still Abound Six Months Later - Mar 11, 2002
Mental health professionals across the country say the psychological fallout from Sept. 11 — affecting people with chronic psychiatric and addiction problems and people who had never experienced anything like the wrenching angst they are battling now — is strikingly pervasive. They say that they are seeing more serious problems now — and more evidence of a widespread anxiety — than they did in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, attributing it to a delayed reaction after the shock of the attacks wore off. (New York Times)

Clergy-Based Group To Help Black World Trade Center Victims - Mar 11, 2002
A group of black clergymen and churches will sponsor a program tonight to remember Sept. 11 and publicize a new organization, known as CUSH -- Churches United to Save and Heal -- to help African-Americans affected by the World Trade Center attack. The organization comprises about 600 pastors and congregations from all boroughs and New Jersey. They plan on providing counseling and other services. (New York Daily News)

Poll Shows New Yorkers Find City Safe As Anywhere, Show Distrust Of Government Over Air Quality - Mar 10, 2002
A poll conducted by the Daily News and cable station NY1 revealed that 68% of New Yorkers feel the city is as safe or safer than any other place in America. 70% of those polled said they do not believe the Environmental Protection Agency or other government agencies' reports that the air quality around Ground Zero is safe. 59% of all New Yorkers — including 67% of those living or working downtown — say they suffered financial setbacks after the terror attacks. And 56% also admit that at some point after Sept. 11 they were racked by depression, sleeplessness, anxiety or nightmares. (New York Daily News)

Support Group Helping 9/11 Families With Coney Island Outing - Mar 10, 2002
Rich Fontaine and Mike McGovern, two longtime friends from Mill Basin, founded an organization called Helping the Heroes and a Web site — www.herowtc.org — to provide guidance and support for the families of the World Trade Center victims. Among their plans is a Coney Island outing at Astroland Park for the families to take place on March 24. Other outings are planned for the summer. (New York Daily News)

Lower Manhattan Residents Doesn't Want Terrorism Trials Downtown - Mar 10, 2002
In a letter to the U.S. Office of Homeland Security, Manhattan Community Board 1, which consists of residents near the World Trade Center site, asked the feds to move likely upcoming terrorism trials to other locations. Two federal courthouses downtown have been the site of six major terrorism trials since the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. (New York Daily News)

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)

True Toll On Firefighters Still Untold - Mar 10, 2002
The toll on the New York Fire Department is staggering: 343 members; 91 vehicles; the chief of the department; a beloved chaplain; and 4,400 years of collective experience lost in the space of 100 minutes. The toll on the department has included medical leave for ground zero workers, hours of psychological counseling, and survivors guilt. Meanwhile, the department looks to rebuild itself. (New York Times)

Solemn Service To Unveil Sculpture Memorial on March 11 - Mar 9, 2002
Monday's somber ceremony in Battery Park marking the six-month anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks will begin with a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. — the moment the first plane struck the World Trade Center. Surrounded by victims' relatives, Gov. Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani will make brief remarks. Then the Fire Department will conduct a ceremonial ringing of bells to commemorate the 2,820 innocent lives lost there that day, among them 343 members of the FDNY and 60 cops from the NYPD and the Port Authority. The 25-minute ceremony will end with a second moment of silence to mark the attack of the second hijacked plane. (New York Daily News)

Laura Bush Visits School Near Ground Zero - Mar 9, 2002
Keeping a promise she made in September, First Lady Laura Bush paid a visit to Public School 234 on Chambers St., two blocks from Ground Zero. She came to listen to the personal accounts of fifth-grade students who fled their school after the attack on the twin towers. (New York Daily News)

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)

Congressional Hearing Shows Problems With Disaster Investigation - Mar 7, 2002
A lack of clear authority and poor cooperation among government agencies has hampered engineering studies of the World Trade Center collapses, a congressional committee was told yesterday. Investigators complained of lack of access to the site and difficulties acquiring blueprints of the buildings that collapsed. Furthermore, no single agency stepped forward to perform a comprehensive collapse investigation until just last month. (Newsday)

Editorial Cartoon Angers Widows - Mar 6, 2002
An editorial cartoon that ridicules widows of World Trade Center victims as greedy and shallow publicity hounds drew instant outrage last night from the grieving survivors. Ted Rall's drawing, "Terror Widows," abruptly yanked from The New York Times Web site yesterday, skewers the women as getting rich from charity aid and preening for TV cameras. The cartoon can be found at Ted Rall's web site. (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)

Congress To Hold Hearings on World Trade Center Collapse - Mar 5, 2002
Questions about the engineering probe of the collapses will be the subject of a hearing tomorrow in Washington before the House Science Committee, chaired by Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, an upstate Republican. The probe's leader, engineer Gene Corley, is to testify, as are officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute for Standards and Technology. John Jay College professor Glenn Corbett said he will ask for backing of research into the evacuation and emergency response and argue for a formalized federal disaster probe process. (Newsday)

Second Wave of Emotional Trauma Beginning To Hit New Yorkers - Mar 5, 2002
Nearly six months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, psychologists say a second wave of emotional trauma is hitting New Yorkers, and it may be tougher to treat than the first. After a lull in November and December, calls to employee-assistance programs and private counselors in the city have started up again. And while it was acceptable -- even desirable, in a way -- to confess to feelings of stress a few months ago, now revealing anxiety may be riskier and more difficult than immediately after the attacks. (Wall Street Journal)

Widows Seek To Ask Congress for Broader Investigation Into Collapse - Mar 4, 2002
Several dozen widows and parents of World Trade Center victims, as well as New York City firefighters, intend to travel to Washington on Wednesday to urge Congress to expand the federal investigation into the structural failure of the twin towers. The group plans to attend a hearing before the House Science Committee, where several fire and engineering experts will review the progress of the inquiry. The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. (New York Times)

Diesel Fuel Fire Led To Collapse of 7 WTC - Mar 2, 2002
Investigators believe a fire fed by diesel fuel stored in 7 World Trade Center may have led to the building's collapse, according to a published report. The fire, which was ignited by falling debris from the burning twin towers, raged for about seven hours before the 47-story building collapsed on Sept. 11. According to a preliminary report, the fire may have caused a group of steel beams that supported the skyscraper _ called "transfer trusses" _ to fail. (Associated Press)

Families Approve of Two Interim Memorial Ideas - Mar 1, 2002
At a meeting of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's advisory council last night, families of those who perished in the World Trade Center attacks approved tentative plans yesterday for two temporary memorials near the site. (New York Daily News)

200 Ground Zero Firefighters On Sick Leave With Breathing Problems - Mar 1, 2002
Nearly 200 firefighters who worked at the World Trade Center disaster site are on medical leave — most of them stricken by breathing troubles.More than 100 others have been placed on desk duty because of Ground Zero-related respiratory problems, officials said. Fire Department officials are hopeful that the firefighters' respiratory woes will lessen with time and treatment, though they acknowledge some may be forced off the job. (New York Daily News)

Families Group Asks CBS To Postpone September 11 Video - Mar 1, 2002
Bergen County Prosecutor William H. Schmidt, writing on behalf of families of September 11 victims, has asked CBS to postpone a March 10 documentary featuring exclusive videotape shot inside the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Schmidt suggested that CBS wait at least six more months before showing "9/11," because it could be upsetting to family and friends of those lost in the terrorist attacks. He did not threaten to take any legal action in a bid to stop the broadcast. (Newsday)

Mayoral Report Describes Decline In City Services After 9/11 - Mar 1, 2002
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's final collection of facts about the performance of city services, exhaustive yet carefully edited, was released yesterday by the Bloomberg administration, illuminating in many ways how those services suffered after the attack on the World Trade Center. Most notable, all sorts of arrests, as well as enforcement actions within the Police Department, declined, largely because the department was busy at ground zero or maintaining the high security alert, according to the report. (New York Times)

Tribute of Light Approved for 6-Month Anniversary - Feb 28, 2002
Beams of light evoking the bases of the twin towers will soon soar near Ground Zero in a temporary memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, officials said yesterday. "It would appear that it will be built," Mayor Bloomberg said, hours after meeting with members of victims' family groups. The "Tribute of Light," will consist of two 50-foot squares of light, Bloomberg and others said. It will be illuminated from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. beginning March 11 — the six-month anniversary of the attacks — through April 13. The squares will rise above an empty lot at Vesey and West Sts. in Battery Park City. (New York Daily News)

Verizon and Con Ed May Raise Rates Due To September 11 - Feb 28, 2002
With their hopes of federal aid fading, Verizon and Consolidated Edison are warning that they may make consumers pay for hundreds of millions of dollars in losses they suffered as a result of the World Trade Center attack. For the average ratepayer, the move could mean as much as an extra $40 per year on the combined utility bills. Any rate increase would require approval from the state's Public Service Commission. (New York Times)

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)

Service Held for 1993 World Trade Center Victims - Feb 26, 2002
Six victims who were killed nine years ago when terrorists bombed the World Trade Center were remembered today with a Mass near ground zero, where terrorists slaughtered about 3,000 on Sept. 11. About 200 people attended the service at St. Peter’s Church, just a few steps from the Trade Center site. (Newsday)

Relatives of Victims to Request an Indoor Viewing Area - Feb 26, 2002
World Trade Center family groups will meet with Mayor Bloomberg tomorrow to demand an indoor viewing area inside a building overlooking Ground Zero so they can get a better view of how the cleanup is progressing. Farrell said the five family groups that make up the World Trade Center Family Committee want the viewing area moved to an upper floor of a building on Liberty St. Other demands include increasing the number of workers charged with searching the rubble by hand for human remains, more frequent meetings with the mayor and access to Ground Zero once the recovery is finished. (New York Daily News)

1993 Victims Families Included in Advisory Council - Feb 25, 2002
Families of the six victims killed in the 1993 attack at the World Trade Center will have a voice in the group formed after Sept. 11 to coordinate redevelopment of the trade center site and creation of a memorial to the victims. Relatives of the 1993 attack worried their loved ones were being forgotten, especially because the granite fountain memorial dedicated to the victims of the first attack was destroyed when the twin towers crumbled on Sept. 11. (Newsday)

Lead and Fiberglass Levels Still High in Downtown Public School - Feb 25, 2002
Dust samples taken this month at a Battery Park City school show elevated levels of lead and fiberglass, raising parents' concerns about the building's safety days before children are to return to class there. Levels of lead and fiberglass were up to four times higher than federal limits. The samples were taken from a windowsill in an unoccupied section of the third floor, prompting an immediate cleaning, Board of Ed spokesman Kevin Ortiz said. More dust samples taken after the cleaning were free of contaminants, as were tests of air samples taken before and after the cleaning, he said. (New York Daily News)

FBI May Double New York City's Anti-Terrorism Force - Feb 25, 2002
The FBI is studying a plan to double the number of agents assigned to New York's Joint Terrorism Task Force by making it a special division of the bureau, sources said yesterday. The plan, which was submitted last week by the bureau's New York office to FBI Director Robert Mueller, would reinforce the nearly 150 agents assigned to the task force by adding eight new investigation groups. (New York Post)

Families of 1993 Bombing Victims Feeling Left Out - Feb 25, 2002
More than a dozen friends and relatives of the victims of the 1993 bombing held a news conference outside City Hall yesterday, asking why they had not been eligible for government aid, why charities had not raised money for them in their time of need, why they had been left out of the recent tax relief law, and why they had not been consulted about plans for a new memorial to World Trade Center victims. Senator Charles E. Schumer, who joined the relatives at the news conference, said that he would call John C. Whitehead, the chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and ask him to consult the families of the 1993 victims before planning a memorial. (New York Times)

9/11, Ground Zero Etc. Will Be In The Language For Good, Lexicographers Say - Feb 24, 2002
9/11, Ground Zero, weaponize, theoterrorism, daisy cutter are among the words most likely to enter the English language permanently, making their way into dictionaries. Also burka and Taliban. Said one dictionary editor: "No one asks about chad anymore." (New York Times)

Hearing Brings Out Anger, Confusion Over Air Quality - Feb 24, 2002
The confusion over the air quality inside and outside buildings near ground zero was clearly evident again yesterday at an investigative hearing before the national ombudsman for the federal Enironmental Protection Agency. City and federal officials "have completely left the tenants and the residents and property owners in Lower Manhattan to their own devices to deal with the contamination and asbestos and other hazardous materials as a result of the World Trade Center," said United States Representative Jerrold Nadler, whose district includes ground zero and who presided over yesterday's hearing. "It's very clear that the city and federal government are not upholding the law." (New York Times)

First Tower To Fall Was Hit At Higher Speed, Study Finds - Feb 23, 2002
Researchers trying to explain why the World Trade Center's south tower fell first, though struck second, are focusing on new calculations showing that the passenger jet that hit the south tower had been flying as fast as 586 miles an hour, about 100 miles an hour faster than the other hijacked plane. (New York Times)

9/11 Changed NYC Museums - Feb 23, 2002
Many museums throughout the city hae rethought their exhibitions, and even their missions, since September 11. (New York Times)

City Calls on eBay To End World Trade Center Auctions - Feb 22, 2002
The Bloomberg administration demanded yesterday that eBay, the Internet auction company, remove World Trade Center memorabilia from its Web site, calling some of the items for sale "blatant attempts to profit from mass murder" and "nauseating." In recent days, sellers have used eBay to try to auction a flight-simulator computer program that allows users to fly between the towers, graphic photographs of people preparing to jump to their deaths, recordings billed as "911 uncut rescue tapes" and a brass World Trade Center ashtray that is described as "a real conversation piece." (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)

Police Hire Firm To Study September 11 Response - Feb 22, 2002
The Police Department has hired a high-powered business consulting firm to analyze its response to the World Trade Center attack and is seeking $700 million in federal funds to pay for anti-terrorism equipment. McKinsey & Co., which says it helps two-thirds of the companies on the Fortune 1,000 improve operations, will analyze the police response to the Sept. 11 attack, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday after a City Council hearing on anti-terrorism tactics. Kelly said the consulting firm will interview officers and supervisors who were at the scene, looking at "a whole myriad of things." (Newsday)

Feds Offer $220 M For Residents Near Ground Zero - Feb 21, 2002
Anyone living near the World Trade Center site, or about to move there, will be eligible to share $220 million in federal aid to be used for rent, maintenance or mortgage payments. (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)

Health Care Coverage Running Out for Victims' Relatives - Feb 20, 2002
For the first time in their lives, middle- and upper-class families of Sept. 11 victims are scrambling to find affordable health care coverage as their benefits come to an end. Most companies devastated by the World Trade Center collapse provided health benefits to families of the dead for at least six months. Some were more generous, offering discounted or fully paid coverage to families for years. Spouses of city cops and firefighters killed in attacks get health insurance for life, with extended coverage of their children. The American Red Cross also is temporarily paying some insurance bills. (New York Daily News)

Seven 9/11 Families Sue Osama bin Laden - Feb 20, 2002
The families of seven victims of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center filed a class-action lawsuit today against Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as Iran and Iraq. "Our goal is simple," said Fiona Havlish, whose husband, Donald G. Havlish Jr., was killed when a hijacked airliner crashed into the south tower of the trade center. "We want to prevent all those responsible for our losses from ever inflicting such pain on others." (New York Times)

Public Still Buying Gas Masks Etc. - Feb 20, 2002
Sales at stores around the city that sell antiterrorism devices have been strong since 9/11. Sales, primarily of gas masks, surged at Army surplus shops and survival stores immediately after the attacks and continue to ride a swell. (New York Times)

Online Auctions of World Trade Center Items Draws Complaints - Feb 19, 2002
In the first week after the attacks, the auction site eBay banned the sale of Trade Center memorabilia, except for charity, through Dec. 31 after an initial outcry. Now hundreds of World Trade Center-related items are available, sparking criticisms from some quarters. eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove said the company made clear from the beginning that the moratorium would end Dec. 31. The company raised $10 million for charity during a special auction during that period. (Newsday)

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)

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)

MTA Awards Contract For Reconstruction Of 1 And 9 Subway Lines - Feb 15, 2002
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Thursday it has awarded a contract for the reconstruction of the 1 and 9 subway lines into lower Manhattan, which were badly damaged in the World Trade Center attacks. The $92 million contract was awarded to a partnership of Tully Construction and Pegno Construction. The MTA says it is saving millions of dollars because those construction companies are already working on rebuilding a PATH station in the same area. (NY1)

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)

Con Edison Racing To Build New Substation - Feb 13, 2002
Consolidated Edison executives say that they are in a race against time to build a new electrical substation in New York City before the summer, when air-conditioning use is expected to increase to levels that could overload the electrical grid in Lower Manhattan. Officials say that they have to complete the project by the summer, which means finishing it in about half the time it normally takes. If a new substation is not built by June, the handful of substations that have been distributing electricity to customers who lost power on Sept. 11 could overload, resulting in blackouts. (New York Times)

Hard Times for Small Businesses Downtown - Feb 12, 2002
According to a survey by the Downtown Alliance, one in five retail businesses in the disaster area could not pay its rent last month. A slightly larger number - 22% - have been making partial rent payments since Sept. 11. Two recovery centers in lower Manhattan are accepting applications for federal aid. Of the $700 million approved to rebuild the area, $396 million is set aside for small business loans and grants, and $250 million is available to get business to stay in the area or move there. Another $558 million will be available soon. (New York Daily News)

City Facing $7 Billion in Lawsuits - Feb 8, 2002
From recovery workers who say they suffer lung problems to business people who say their shops were damaged, 1,300 people have filed notices of intent to sue the city for a total of $7.18 billion in damages related to the World Trade Center aftermath. The vast majority are firefighters who say the city gave them inadequate respiratory protection for recovery and cleanup work at the smoldering trade-center site, according to notices filed with the city. The city is self-insured and awards from successful lawsuits would come from the city's general fund, Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo said. (New York Post)

New Wall To Keep Out Hudson Must Be Built, Says Head Engineer - Feb 6, 2002
According to George Tamaro, the engineer who directed the original construction of the World Trade Center, the "bathtub” which keeps out the Hudson River suffered so much damage on Sept. 11 that a new wall will have to be added before permanent rebuilding can occur. Tamaro, a partner at Mueser-Rutledge Consulting Engineers, believes that a second interior wall -- or "liner wall” -- must be constructed to augment the original "bathtub.” The project would cost $15 million to $20 million, he estimated. Such a project will add an unspecified amount of time to the overall reconstruction of the site. (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)

World Financial Center Reopens Some Shops - Feb 5, 2002
Several shops and restaurants reopened in the World Financial Center today. Pedestrian access to the area will also be eased with the opening of a makeshift plywood and iron walkway between the lobby of 2 World Financial Center and to a courtyard between 3 and 4 World Financial Center. (New York Times)

More Schools Reopen Near Ground Zero - Feb 5, 2002
Students of P.S. 234 and P.S. 150, both only blocks away from the World Trade Center, returned to school on Monday. Since Sept. 11, the 170 students of P.S. 150 have been temporarily housed at P.S. 3 in Greenwich Village, and the 600 students of P.S. 234 were at St. Bernard's, a former Catholic school, also in the Village. (New York Times)

Many Obstacles To Recovery for Businesses Downtown - Feb 3, 2002
Small businesses downtown are finding that location and luck are integral to determining their own success after the collapse of the World Trade Center. These businesses are facing huge hurdles on the road to recovery: decreased foot traffic, damaged transportation lines, unhelpful insurance companies, physical or structural damage, and simply location near ground zero. (New York Times)

Health Department Campaign Aims At Psychological Healing - Feb 3, 2002
Hand-scrawled posters that read like pages torn from a diary are promoting New York Needs Us Strong, a city Health Department campaign offering free crisis counseling for anyone feeling the strain of the World Trade Center attacks. The city program is part of Project Liberty, a state initiative funded by a $23 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The campaign refers people to LifeNet, a 24-hour hotline operated by the Mental Health Association of New York City. Although almost five months have elapsed since Sept. 11, the demand for psychological counseling services has continued to rise, experts say. LifeNet saw its calls double after Sept. 11. In December, the state started promoting the hotline in television and radio ads, and the number rose further: The hotline received 11,650 calls in December and January, compared with 5,300 a year earlier, said director John Draper. (Newsday)

Experts Still Probing Why Towers Fell - Feb 2, 2002
Engineers and other experts have been struggling to answer the monumental questions of exactly why and how the Twin Towers, designed to sustain a jet impact, completely collapsed. Much of the effort is focused on trying to find steel that was at or above the floors rammed by the hijacked jets. The towers collapsed from the top down and the fires were concentrated in these areas, so the presumption is that the answer to why they fell down should be found by examining the steel from these spots. Perhaps the deepest mystery uncovered in the investigation involves extremely thin bits of steel collected from the trade towers and from 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story high rise that also collapsed for unknown reasons. The steel apparently melted away, but no fire in any of the buildings was believed to be hot enough to melt steel outright. (New York Times)

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)

PATH Rebuild Plan On The Fast Track - Jan 30, 2002
Port Authority officials will meet tomorrow to award a $300 million contract for the reconstruction of the ruined World Trade Center PATH station. Work will begin within a week on the tunnels, while engineers and architects finalize plans for the station - which is envisioned as a temporary facility that will be used until officials agree upon overall plans for the makeover of the downtown transit map. Gargano said PA officials hope to have trains running again in 18-24 months. (New York Post)

Before the Towers Fell, Fire Dept. Fought Chaos - Jan 30, 2002
The Fire Department's most senior commanders have provided new and, in some cases, alarming revelations about the events of Sept. 11 in an internal inquiry. They said they had little reliable radio communication that morning, could not keep track of all the firefighters who entered the towers, and were unable to reach them as the threat of a collapse became unmistakable. Although they feared that the buildings were doomed, they could not bring their troops back in time. One chief estimated that at the moment the north tower fell, nearly every civilian below the floors directly hit by the airplane had already evacuated, and that only firefighters remained inside. (New York Times)

Near Ground Zero, a Vote to Return to School - Jan 30, 2002
Parents and teachers at Public School 89, which was evacuated after the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, have voted by a wide margin to return to their school on Feb. 28, after five months in temporary quarters. The vote was 191 to 114, or 63 percent to 37 percent, in favor of returning. About 30 teachers cast votes; the others were cast by parents. The vote, tallied yesterday, apparently ends weeks of bitter conflict over the date of the return: parents questioned whether their children would be harmed, physically or mentally, by returning to the school, which is within a few blocks of ground zero. It will make P.S. 89 the sixth of the seven public schools near the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan to return to their regular buildings, bringing the schools a step closer to normality. (New York Times)

Thousands Turn Out For Fourth Twin Towers Job Fair - Jan 29, 2002
Hundreds of prospective employers met Tuesday with thousands of New Yorkers who lost their jobs in the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Twin Towers Job Expo is the city's fourth job fair since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and the line to get in began forming before dawn. The last three job fairs were held at Madison Square Garden, but so many people showed up, applicants had to be turned away. The Javits Center provides more space for the thousands of people who turned out today. For more information, go to www.twintowersjobs.org. (NY1)

City’s Medical Examiner Releases Names Of WTC Attack Victims - Jan 28, 2002
For the first time since Sept. 11, a city agency has released a list of people who remain missing after the attack on the World Trade Center. In an effort to solicit additional DNA samples, the New York medical examiner today published its list of those who have been reported missing but whose remains have not been identified. That list contains the names of 2,189 people at the towers, on the airplanes and the rescue workers at the scene. The medical examiner has identified the remains of 693 people, including 117 people who have been identified through DNA alone, according to Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the department. That brings the total of dead or missing compiled by the medical examiner to 2,882 victims. (Newsday)

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)

World Trade Center Stop On E Line Reopens - Jan 28, 2002
The E subway line resumed service to the World Trade Center stop Monday morning. The station is on the edge of the World Trade Center complex but was not damaged in the September 11 attack. It has remained closed - with E trains terminating at Canal Street - to avoid interference with the recovery and cleanup efforts at the site. Two exits at the station are still closed: the stairwell at Vesey Street and the old entrance to the World Trade Center mall. For now, the name of the station remains "Chambers/World Trade Center," but the MTA expects there will be a push to change it. (NY1)

E Train to Stop at WTC Soon - Jan 24, 2002
The E train stop at the World Trade Center will be reopened as soon as Monday. It is possible that the stop will ultimately be renamed in the future. To keep straphangers away from Ground Zero, access to the station will be via underground passageways between the E station and nearby Chambers St. and Park Place subway stops. (New York Daily News)

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)

Sept. 11 Fed Fund Tops $6B - Jan 23, 2002
Payouts from the federal Sept.11 victims fund will reach a whopping $6 billion, Kenneth Feinberg, the fund's special master, said yesterday. Unpopular rules that say families have to deduct life insurance and pension benefits from the federal compensation will be modified somewhat, he said. "People who do net out to zero [after these deductions] will get something," he said. Issues concerning undocumented immigrants who died at the World Trade Center and domestic partners are also being reviewed. Final regulations will be announced at the end of February. (New York Daily News)

Push for 2nd Crisis Center - Jan 23, 2002
City officials are working feverishly to create a new emergency command center to replace the 23rd-floor bunker destroyed when 7 World Trade Center collapsed. After the attacks, the command center was relocated - temporarily - to a pier on the West Side of Manhattan. A permanent backup facility is being readied in Brooklyn. (New York Daily News)

Downtown School Closed Since Sept. 11 Reopens - Jan 22, 2002
Above the objections of parents, a school in Lower Manhattan opened Tuesday morning for the first time since the September 11 terrorist attacks. I.S. 89 opened this morning with P.S. 89 scheduled to open in February. (New York Daily News)

September 11 Kin To Meet Bush - Jan 21, 2002
A group of families of World Trade Center victims will be traveling to the White House tomorrow to witness President George Bush's signing of the Victims of Terrorism Tax Relief Act. In an effort to get the federal government on their side, they reportedly will urge the president to set aside the entire World Trade Center site for a memorial. (New York Post)

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)

Fund Package Nearly Set to Aid Survivors of 9/11 - Jan 20, 2002
With the commenting period ending this week for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, Kenneth Feinberg, appointed special master of the fund, will now spend the next few weeks finalizing a plan for compensation and distribution of the fund. Feinberg said the plan will be "based on equity, justice and need." (New York Daily News)

Terror Attacks Take Hidden Toll - Jan 20, 2002
Posttraumatic stress disorder is afflicting much of the NYPD and FDNY since September 11. According to their own departments, 1,150 police officers and 1,800 firefighters have sought counseling since September 11. At any given time since September 11, there are 75 firefighters "off-line" for stress-related reasons - an exponential jump from the pre-September 11 average of 5 to 10. Both departments are urging their members to seek counseling, despite cultures that discourage seeking help. Experts warn that those who are not manifesting posttraumatic stress symptoms now may still do so a year or more later. (New York Daily News)

Firefighters Block a Plan for Statue in Brooklyn - Jan 18, 2002
After a series of complaints from firefighters, plans to honor firefighters with a statue memorial have been abandoned. The bronze statue would have depicted a now-famous Bergen Record photograph of three firefighters raising the American flag after the collapse of the World Trade Center. However the statue would have represented a black, a white, and a Hispanic firefighter instead of the three white firefighters in the original photograph. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said that the
Fire Department will now be reevaluating what kind of memorial will be erected for the firefighters. Opponents of the statue had collected the signatures of more than 1,000 firefighters who objected to the design. (New York Times)

Victims Kin Slam Aid Fund - Jan 18, 2002
Over 600 people rallied yesterday at the Park Avenue Armory to protest the proposed distribution of the federal compensation to World Trade Center victims' relatives. The main point of the contention is the deduction of money received from 401(k) and life insurance benefits from the compensation. Furthermore, any relatives that accept compensation from the fund waive their right to sue the airlines and other possible defendants. Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg were present at the rally and pledged to fight for a more equitable compensation program. (New York Daily News)

U.S. Agency Not Protecting Public Health, Officials Say - Jan 18, 2002
Representative Jerrold Nadler blasted the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to ease concerns about health concerns near the World Trade Center site. In particular, he cited the agency's failure to conduct widespread indoor tests to allay people's concerns about working or living near the site. The EPA has insisted that it has been the role of the city to conduct testing on nearby buildings while they focused on outdoor air issues. The city's Department of Health, which has done some indoor air testing, said that some residential downtown buildings were tested after the attacks but that the results would not be published for months. (New York Times)

Facts Find Sept. 11 Myths Misleading - Jan 16, 2002
The common myth of a nicer, more unified America since the September 11 attacks apparently does not match up statistical reality. While Laura Bush has touted a drop in divorces and an increase in marriages since September 11, the available numbers tell the opposite story, with marriages down in Reno, Nevada (the marriage capital of the country) and divorces up. Also, while Americans cite the increased role of religion in their lives, church attendance has not increased since the attacks. And military enlistment has not, contrary to Colin Powell's belief, increased in the last few months. Analysts cite the pre-existing economic downturn as the most likely cause for these numbers rather than the attacks themselves. (Associated Press)

Idled Workers to Protest At Marriott - Jan 16, 2002
Marriot workers from the Marriott World Trade Center who were laid off a month after the attacks are expected to protest in front of the midtown Marriot Marquis today. They are angry about not given priority to work at other Marriott locations as well as a lack of financial compensation from the company after September 11. (New York Daily News)

Families Meet Privately With Overseer Of Sept. 11 Compensation - Jan 16, 2002
Relatives of the September 11 victims held a private meeting yesterday with Ken Feinberg, the federal Victim Compensation Fund Special Master. One person who attended the meeting said that Feinberg would not budge from the $250,000 cap on pain and suffering compensation, though he said he would do everything he could to maximize awards. Feinberg is accepting recommendations on how to change the rules until January 22. (NY1)

$1M-a-Day Fix for WTC Subway - Jan 16, 2002
The fastest-paced project in the history of the subway system will begin on March 1, as the MTA, with the blessing of Governor Pataki, approved a plan to begin reconstruction of the 1/9 subway line below Chambers Street (graphic available). With a one million dollar a day price tag, the Transit Authority will be able to complete a job that would normally take three to four years and finish it by November. Plans currently do not call for the hard-hit Cortlandt Street station, which will have its platforms and entrances sealed off. (graphic available) (New York Daily News)

Part of City Hall Park to Reopen - Jan 15, 2002
Historic City Hall Park, closed since September 11, will reopen today after police officials and Mayor Bloomberg have deemed it safe. The south end will reopen, while some of the lawns and other areas will remain closed. Access to the plaza directly in front of City Hall will still be restricted for security reasons. (New York Daily News)

Winter Garden at the Attack Site Looks to Spring - Jan 15, 2002
The 45,000-square-foot Winter Garden near the World Trade Center, one of the city's great public spaces, must now go through an extensive rebuilding effort. The public space, which featured a performance stage and a pedestrian bridge used by 80,000 people a day to get to 1 World Trade Center, is structurally sound but was significantly damaged by what engineers say was the "top ten floors of the north tower" falling on the complex. (New York Times)

Clinton: WTC Fund Unfair - Jan 14, 2002
After meeting with loved ones of those killed September 11 in the World Trade Center, Senator Hillary Clinton called for changes to the proposed federal compensation plan. Clinton proposed a minimum compensation amount for families, rather than the current proposal which deducts money based on pre-existing life insurance, IRA, or 401(k) accounts. (Newsday)

Representatives Seek Changes to Fund - Jan 14, 2002
A dozen members of Congress from New York on Monday urged changes in the proposed rules determining federal compensation for victims of the World Trade Center attacks. Carolyn Maloney, a Manhattan Democrat, and her colleagues urged the fund's overseer, Kenneth Feinberg, not to use outdated labor statistics which discriminate against women. (Newsday)

Forum Helps Those Near WTC Vent - Jan 13, 2002
A forum organized by Manhattan Civil Court and the Manhattan borough president's office attracted Lower Manhattan residents attempting to resolve landlord-tenant disputes. Tenants asked questions about relief from rent obligations on their lease in the wake of September 11. (New York Daily News)

Downtowners Worried Sick - Jan 12, 2002
A federal report concluded in December but just released last week confirms what many Lower Manhattan residents already know: many people are displaying symptoms of post-traumatic stress and physical distress due to the World Trade Center attacks. The report describes a "high proportion of the population" experiencing symptoms related to respiratory irritation. (New York Post)

Migrants Did Dirty & Dangerous Work - Jan 11, 2002
Contractors have plucked up to 600 illegal immigrants off street corners to scrub potentially toxic dust out of buildings near the World Trade Center - without giving the workers safety training or protective equipment, the Daily News reported today. State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office is investigating labor law violations allegedly committed by several cleaning companies near the disaster site. (New York Daily News)

Expert: WTC Probe Underfunded - Jan 11, 2002
The engineering investigation into the Twin Towers' collapse is woefully underfunded, a former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said yesterday. James Lee Witt, who led FEMA in the Clinton administration, said in an interview that the $100,000 the federal government allocated so far for the probe is far from enough. "It wouldn't even make a dent," Witt said. "We [the United States] have some of the best engineers and architects. If they have the funding, they can show how the collapses happened and why." (Newsday)

Pataki: 'Serious Concerns' on WTC Fund - Jan 11, 2002
Governor Pataki voiced concern yesterday about the distribution of federal funds for the compensation of victims' families. Referring to estimates that the average family could receive $1.6 million, Pataki said the numbers are misleading. "The numbers sound very high," he said, "but they can be reduced by collateral sources," such as life insurance and pension payments. About 1,000 relatives of victims will be holding a rally next Thursday to urge changes in the compensation. (Newsday)

Studies Will Take Sept. 11's Measure in Health Effects - Jan 11, 2002
Public health researchers from New York hospitals and universities are are beginning an ambitious series of long-term studies to identify and then track a wide range of people who lived through the World Trade Center attack. These studies range from investigating cases of pregnant women near ground zero to building a registry of every single person that has worked, even if only for one day, at the World Trade Center site. (New York Times)

Insurers: WTC Collapse Was One Event - Jan 10, 2002
A lawyer for Travelers Indemnity Co. told a federal court Wednesday that one hijacked airliner could have felled both the World Trade Center towers because they shared a six-story basement. After a plane hit the first tower on Sept. 11, it "may well have rendered the second building unusable even in the absence of a second airplane," attorney Harvey Kurzweil argued at the hearing. (Associated Press)

Big Transit Ideas Downtown - Jan 8, 2002
The Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation is looking into plans to create a downtown transit hub around the World Trade Center site. Proposals include an underground mega-hub with retail space and connections to the PATH and 14 subway lines. While short-term needs of resuming PATH and subway service will be addressed quickly, long-term plans could include the construction of a major transportation center and renovation of the nearby Broadway-Nassau/Fulton St. stations. (New York Daily News)

Expert: Impact Would Have Brought WTC Down - Jan 8, 2002
Richard Gewain, a member of the federally designated panel of engineers investigating the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, said yesterday that the impact of the two hijacked planes was so great that the buildings could have collapsed even without the ensuing fire. Gewain's view is in opposition to that of other fire experts, who have questioned whether the towers were adequately fireproofed. The panel, formed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Society of Civil Engineers, is investigating a wide range of theories. (Newsday)

Fund Formula an Insult to Their Injuries - Jan 7, 2002
Four members of Congress and forty relatives of victims appeared at a news conference in midtown to denounce the compensation formula created by Kenneth Feinberg, the special master administering the federal Victim Compensation Fund. The families complained the formula sets arbitrary limits on estimated lost earnings and caps compensation for pain and suffering. Victims' families also met yesterday for the first time with Mayor Bloomberg since he took office. (New York Daily News)

Until 9/11, the City's Museum Magnet - Jan 6, 2002
Attendance and donations are way down at Lower Manhattan museums. While lines for the World Trade Center viewing platform stretch for blocks, visitors to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the George Gustav Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian find they have these museums mostly to themselves. (New York Times)

Mercury Concern at WTC - Jan 5, 2002
Workers at Ground Zero called for more comprehensive health tests yesterday after four Port Authority police officers assigned to the site showed elevated levels of mercury in their blood. According to Port Authority spokesman Allen Morrison, it is unclear how they were exposed to the mercury. Air and water samples taken near Ground Zero since September by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have not turned up any detectable levels of mercury, officials said. (New York Daily News)

Subway Line in Attack May Reopen Much Earlier - Jan 4, 2002
Transit officials said yesterday that two of the three stations for the 1 and 9 subway lines that were damaged in the World Trade Center attacks may reopen as early as November, more than a year earlier than originally planned. However, rather than rerouting the line to increase convenience for Battery Park City residents, the subway will be rebuilt mostly to its state before September 11. (New York Times)

Back to Square 1 for Tribeca - Jan 2, 2002
Residents and business owners of Tribeca struggle with the aftermath of September 11. At one restaurant, menu prices have been slashed an average 15% across the board, while at a local clothing store, business has been down 40%. Long-time residents feel that they have been set back a generation and must now start at square one again. (New York Daily News)

At Ground Zero, Uneasy Agreement on Final Rite - Jan 1, 2002
Suggestions from construction workers, firefighters, victims' relatives and anyone else with a direct link to the disaster site helped inform Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's final decision to hold a simple ceremony on Thursday, with an empty stretcher, a truck carrying the last girder, a little music and a lot of silence. But some family members have accused the mayor of increasing their pain by choosing to hold the ceremony on a weekday, rather than on a weekend. Some have even suggested that he simply did not want his weekend disrupted. (New York Times)

9/11 Counseling Sought for Fire Dept. - Jan 1, 2002
After two suicides by paramedics who worked extensively at Ground Zero, the city’s paramedics union called on the Fire Department yesterday to implement mandatory counseling for those who worked at Ground Zero. (Newsday)

Hundreds of 9/11 Families File for Right to Sue Port Authority - Jan 1, 2002
More than 450 families who lost relatives on Sept. 11 have filed legal papers preserving their right to sue the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over alleged safety lapses and poor evacuation procedures at the World Trade Center. (Select one or type in another)

Kids Responses to 9/11 In Book - Jan 1, 2002
The terror, sadness and hope of dozens of New York City's school children are among the emotions revealed in letters and drawings compiled the book, "Messages to Ground Zero: Children Respond to September 11, 2001." (New York Daily News)

Architects Visit Ground Zero On Emotional Visit - Jan 1, 2002
On Friday six teams of architects hoping to shape the future of Lower Manhattan took a close look at Ground Zero. After a daylong briefing on what their work would be over the next eight weeks, the architects and other designers visited the "family room," an area overlooking the site that is reserved for the families of people who died on Sept. 11, 2001. (Select one or type in another)

No Serious Health Risks for Public Near Ground Zero, E.P.A. Reports - Jan 1, 2002
Most people living or working in the area around ground zero are unlikely to suffer serious short- or long-term health effects from the terror attack, according to a draft report released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency. But the report said anyone exposed in the early hours was at risk of chronic sickness, as many firefighters have already reported. (Select one or type in another)

Downtown Is Slower to Embrace Optimism - Dec 22, 2001
Three months after it was blanketed with smoke and choking ash, Lower Manhattan has largely returned to its former harried self. Gone are the National Guardsmen who stood sentinel at the avenues below Canal Street, checking ID's. Most businesses in the area formerly known as the frozen zone have reopened. Some of SoHo's most stylish restaurants, once eerily empty, are happily turning away diners on Saturday nights. "The pessimism has lifted and there's a joyousness in the air," said Ashley Massie, 32, a Stuyvesant High School teacher and Battery Park City resident who almost moved away. "For the first time in months, we feel like we can live again." But for every optimist, there are a dozen pessimists still fitful and sad, uncertain whether their beloved neighborhoods will fully recover (New York Times)

Head of Fund Says Families Should State Their Cases - Dec 21, 2001
Faced with widespread protests that he has been stingy, Kenneth R. Feinberg, the special master of the federal fund for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, urged disappointed families yesterday to seek a hearing to argue for larger compensation awards. (New York Times)

Statue Will Salute Bravest Flag Raisers - Dec 21, 2001
A statue inspired by three firefighters who raised the American flag amid the rubble of the World Trade Center was unveiled yesterday, with officials saying it will serve as a permanent symbol of their bravery and strength. The statue, "Flag-Raising at Ground Zero," will be cast in bronze and is expected to be installed at the MetroTech complex in April. (New York Daily News)

Many Visions for WTC Site - Dec 17, 2001
A number of groups with different interests and visions are fighting to control what will be built on the World Trade Center site. Among those vying for a say are Larry Silverstein and shopping mall giant Westfield, who hold a 99-year lease on the land; the Port Authority, which owns the land and wants to rebuild its damaged PATH lines below it; Mayor Giuliani and Mayor-elect Michael Bloomberg; Governor Pataki; the Empire State Development Corp. and its new subsidiary, the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp., and people who lost family members on Sept. 11. The job of trying to forge a consensus among these groups could fall to John Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corp., the new agency charged with rebuilding downtown. Whitehead says he will appoint advisory boards, each representing one of the constituencies that want a say in determining what will become of what is now ground zero. (New York Daily News)

Painful Issue: Putting A Value On 9/11 Victims - Dec 16, 2001
The government and the courts will soon be putting a value on the lives of those who perished in September 11, and the disparities are sure to be upsetting to some families. The life of a Wall Street trader will be worth more than that of a security guard. The federal fund handling compensation is expected to announce its rules for payments on Friday. (New York Post)

Lawsuits Pile Up - Dec 15, 2001
More than 135 potential lawsuits have been filed against the city stemming from the World Trade Center disaster with hundreds more expected. Most involve service personnel who were at ground zero when the Twin Towers collapsed or who helped with the cleanup or rescue efforts. (New York Post)

Port Authority Approves New PATH Station for Lower Manhattan - Dec 14, 2001
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey yesterday authorized spending $544 million to build a temporary PATH station in Lower Manhattan beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center. The temporary terminal could be completed within two years, said officials of the agency. It would help directly reconnect downtown to the rest of the PATH system for the more than 65,000 commuters who used the Lower Manhattan station before the Sept. 11 attack, which destroyed the trade center and the underground network of train tunnels and shopping concourses there. In addition, the agency's board of commissioners allotted $10 million yesterday to plan an ambitious, permanent PATH terminal in the area - one that would establish better and more connections to city subways, buses and ferry terminals. (New York Times)

Exchange Says It Has Trading Floor in Waiting - Dec 12, 2001
The New York Stock Exchange said yesterday that it had a fully equipped alternative trading floor ready to go somewhere in New York City should a disaster like the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center render its current building unusable. (New York Times)

Rebuilding WTC Area From the Ground Down - Dec 11, 2001
As a result of the terrorist attacks, more than 300,000 telephone lines were severed. About 13,000 customers lost power. Nearly 6 miles of water mains broke. The final repair tab will come to at least $2.3 billion, based on estimates by Con Edison, Verizon and the city Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the city's water supply.Insurance will not cover all the costs, and customer rates could rise to pay for the repairs and technology improvements, officials said. (New York Daily News)

Back to work - Dec 11, 2001
Many of the banks and stockbrokers that lost their offices at the World
Trade Center moved to other locations in the city, notably the Midtown area. Whether they return to Lower Manhattan is an open question. There were already signs of a recession before September 11.According to one estimate, the district has lost 100,000 jobs, half of them from the World Trade Center. Warren Wechsler, of the Real Estate Board of New York, believes that the state of the economy will determine how quickly Lower Manhattan recovers. (BBC News)

Downtown small business struggling - Dec 10, 2001
Downtown small businesses struggling in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks will have to jump through fewer hoops to get financial relief from New York City. Small companies doing business in a larger swath of lower Manhattan will now be eligible for financial grants - a change from prior rules. Originally, grants were only doled out to proprietors near Ground Zero. At the same time, businesses that operated in the World Trade Center itself can bypass the eligibility requirement that they first apply for a government-backed emergency loan. (Dow Jones)

The Battery Recharges - Dec 10, 2001
The psychological and financial damage caused by the World Trade Center attacks forced about half of Battery Park City's residents to move out -while the other half have found their homecomings grueling and painstaking. (New York Post)

The Battery Is Up, for Once, With a Remade Park - Dec 9, 2001
The plan was to make Battery Park an elegant period just below the exclamation point of the nascent Hudson River park, with a new upper promenade lined with granite benches in shades of soft pink. Then came Sept. 11, and the park, just south of the World Trade Center, became a military site. Battery Park was the first harbor site to reopen after the soldiers left. For the last several weeks the public has been able to enter it. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are scheduled to reopen around Christmas, said Warrie Price, the president of the Conservancy for Historic Battery Park, a nonprofit group. Security for the tourist areas will be much tighter, with visitors required to go through scanners like those at airports before boarding ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In the midst of the recovery work, construction on the upper promenade continued. The renovations, which cost $6.6 million and were financed by the city, were completed only a few weeks behind schedule. (New York Times)

FDNY Redeploys Safety Battalion - Dec 7, 2001
The Fire Department has temporarily disbanded its safety battalion - whose normal job is to assess a major fire for its potential danger to
firefighters -- so it can deploy the unit's chiefs to interview firefighters
about the events of Sept. 11. "This is unacceptable," said Chief Nick
Visconti, an official of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association. "We had a
fire that injured 40 firefighters last week, and a plane crash earlier this
month. We need these safety chiefs in the field." (New York Daily News)

De Niro Plans a Film Festival in TriBeCa - Dec 6, 2001
In an effort to bring economic and emotional relief to downtown Manhattan, actor Robert De Niro and film producer Jane Rosenthal have accelerated their plans for a TriBeCa Film Festival. The four-day festival is now set to begin on May 1 with about 40 world premieres of independent and studio films, which will be eligible for jury awards, said Rosenthal. About 20 original short films, as well documentaries and student movies will also be shown. The films have not yet been selected. De Niro lives in the neighborhood and has based his film company there. (New York Times)

- Nov 27, 2001
Nearly three months after the World Trade Center attacks left it a virtual island, Battery Park City may be reconnected to the rest of Manhattan by a proposed pedestrian bridge over West St. Meanwhile, the cost of insuring Battery Park City could jump as much as 300 percent next year - with no coverage for future terrorist attacks, the development's insurance broker warned yesterday. (New York Daily News)

As Sept. 11 Widows Unite, Grief Finds Political Voice - Nov 25, 2001
Relatives of the victims of September 11 have formed a potent political force that no city official wishes to offend. The group, known as the widows because many had husbands who were firefighters who were killed, reversed a cutback in the number of firefighters at the Trade Center site, got criminal charges dropped against all but one of the 18 off-duty firefighters who recently scuffled with police officers at Ground Zero and pressured the Giuliani administration to order that rescuers searching for bodies take no Thanksgiving Day break. (New York Times)

History Is Impatient to Embrace Sept. 11 - Nov 18, 2001
Museums and other institutions are considering how to collect and preserve the countless artifacts and images that documented the events of September 11. Some museums and galleries are already presenting exhibitions about the tragedy. For example, "New York September 11 by Magnum Photographers," which will open Tuesday at the New-York Historical Society, is the first of at least six exhibitions on the events of that day planned by the society. But not everyone believes that an immediate response is necessarily best. The Museum of the City of New York, for example, is not planning an exhibition directly connected to September 11 until it moves from its current Fifth Avenue location to the Tweed Courthouse near City Hall in 2004.


(New York Times)