The BroadsheetDAILY ~ 2/23/21 ~ 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Report

9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Report

More Survivors than Responders Now are Submitting Claims

September 11, 2001 Dust and debris from the collapsing tower engulfs Lower Manhattan.

photo: NYPD

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) has released its annual report for 2020, which documents some significant developments.

Over the course of its ten years of operation thus far, the VCF has awarded $7.76 billion to more than 34,400 individuals who have suffered death or personal injury as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath. The vast majority of these injuries take the form of illness caused by exposure to toxic materials that were released by the destruction of the World Trade Center.

During 2020, the VCF approved 8,273 eligibility determinations and processed 9,129 payments, along with 8,813 initial award letters. During the same 12-month period, the VCF awarded $1.6 billion in payments, meaning that more than 20 percent of all of the awards the Fund has made in its ten-year history were finalized in just the last year.

In a second indication that the VCF’s pace of awards is accelerating, a separate report (focusing on January) noted the Fund’s cumulative settlements had climbed to $7.9 billion by the end of last month. Additionally, the total number of claims submitted to the VCF (both those already designated for awards, and those still under consideration) had climbed to 59,840 by the end of January — a jump of 767 claims from the end of December.

Sept. 11, 2001. That afternoon, residents began to make their way out of Lower Manhattan.

photo: Robert Simko

Eligibility for VCF awards is limited to people who were present in Lower Manhattan (south of Canal Street) for any length of time, between September 11, 2001 and May 30, 2002. People within this group who have developed any of the dozens of illnesses now linked to the September 11 attacks may file claims with the VCF. Residents of all 50 states have submitted such claims, but the preponderance have come from residents of New York (42,939 claims) and New Jersey (6,274 claims). The VCF annual report indicates that roughly 80 percent of all applicants for eligibility have been approved.

In another telling trend, claims by survivors (those who lived, worked, or attended school, or child or adult day care within the eligibility zone during the specified time period) outnumbered claims by “first responders” (such as fire and police personnel) in 2020, for the third consecutive year. Because almost all claims were from first responders in the VCF’s early years, however, claims from survivors do not yet amount to a cumulative majority, instead totaling approximately 40 percent of all claims.

Among claimants, a total of 45 percent have some form of cancer—either in isolation or in conjunction with another condition, while 55 percent have illnesses other than cancer.

Matthew Fenton

A Flood of Options

As City Hall formulates the FiDi-Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan, it is seeking community input about which options make the most sense, within the broader context of the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency plan.

To that end, the public is invited to participate in a Virtual Open House on February 25 (from 4:00 to 8:00 pm) to learn more and collaborate on the vision for the future of Lower Manhattan.

Among the subjects slated for consideration are the area’s low-lying topography, dense infrastructure, and waterfront and maritime uses, all of which make for a complex interplay of priorities and opportunities.

For more information, or to RSVP, please browse: fidiseaportclimate.nyc

Visible in the photograph above, taken from the now-demolished Rector Street Bridge on the evening of October 29, 2012, during Hurricane Sandy, West Street is completely submerged.

Letter

To the editor:

People concerned about law enforcement parking at River Terrace (or elesewhere) might follow and post on this twitter account – @placardabuse

The person behind it has been fighting this issue for some time and seems to have made a bit of headway with the Mayor though there is a long way to go. I live on Franklin Street where we have a lot of this, even parking on the sidewalk.

A lot of the placards are fake by the way, and many are used improperly in situations where they should not be used (like when a cop just wants to park his car, as opposed to official duty). Changing the sign at River Terrace is a new twist!

Alice Kerslaw

The Downtown Calendar

Tuesday, Feb. 23

Seaport District

Fitness classes via Instagram released every Tuesday and Thursday, featuring Trooper Fitness, Pure Barre and Lyons Den Power Yoga. Free

5PM

Museum of Jewish Heritage

The Auschwitz Jewish Center, a Polish satellite location of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, is the only Jewish presence remaining in the vicinity of Auschwitz. Since 2000, the Center has preserved Jewish memory in the town of Oświęcim and educated about the contemporary dangers of antisemitism and other forms of prejudice.

This program will explore the Center’s commemoration efforts in Oświęcim and their impact on descendants of the town’s Jewish residents.

6PM

Community Board 1 Monthly Meeting

Live Remote Meeting – https://live.mcb1.nyc

6PM

Skyscraper Museum

Skyscraper Museum webinar. With three decades experience at the firm, Robert Whitlock is one of KPF’s foremost designers of high-rise towers, mixed-use developments, and large-scale master plans.

He is the design principal for three supertalls in our exhibition: Suzhou International Finance Square, a 450-meter signature tower, Chongqing International Trade and Commerce Center, a 475-meter tower and CITIC Tower, at 528 meters the tallest building in Beijing. Whitlock focuses his high-rise and mixed-use master plan designs on density, public space, programmatic integration, and the influences of these elements on the quality and sustainability of the “multi-layered city.” Free

7PM

Test your trivia IQ at home with your friends and family! Follow along on Zoom and enter your answers via Kahoot, as you compete for a variety of fun BFPL prizes with hosts The Union of Quizzers. From Brookfield Place. Free

7PM

China Institute

New U.S. laws and regulations are tightening requirements for listing on U.S. exchanges. How will they impact Chinese listings? Do they aim to protect U.S. investors? How do they affect the valuation and underwriting of Chinese listings? The new rules are hitting some of China’s biggest players—including Alibaba and Baidu—and more than 200 other Chinese firms, valued at US$2.2 trillion. Will tighter U.S. rules be a boon for Hong Kong and Shanghai? And how can companies navigate the new rules to pursue their IPO dreams? Join three top experts on the behind-the-scenes workings of IPOs for the answers to these questions and more. Free

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Wednesday February 24

2PM

Meeting of the Members of the Authority

Battery Park City Authority

The Meeting will be livestreamed at: bpca.divacommunications.com/bpca-live/and a video recording made available for post-meeting access via the Battery Park City Authority website.

An agenda will be made available in advance of scheduled Meeting, and a public comment period will be scheduled during the Meeting of the Members of the Authority at a time on the agenda determined by the Chairman.

Anyone wishing to participate in the public comment period should submit their comments via email to boardcomment@bpca.ny.gov by no later than 5:30 p.m. on the day prior to the Meeting. Comments should be no longer than two minutes in length, and may be read into the record during the livestream broadcast. BPCA reserves the right to prioritize comments that have not been previously raised.

For more information please visit: bpca.ny.gov/about/board-committees/.

Purim, Pandemic-Style

On Thursday, February 25, the Jewish Learning Experience (JLE) will host a socially distanced Purim Under The Stars at the Rooftop Garden of 128 Pearl Street, featuring music, a pre-packaged sushi buffet, and Megillah reading, along with, “hamantashen and all the Purim Shtick.”

(There will be plexiglass partitions for dining and plenty of room for distancing.) Admission is $26 per person. For more info please browse: thejle.com/purimstars.

The next day (Friday, February 6, from 4:00 to 5:30 pm), JLE will host a family-friendly Purim at The Carnival (also on the rooftop of 128 Pearl), featuring music, a pre-Packaged Carnival Dinner, and Lechaim. Attendees are asked to come in costume. For more information, or to register, please browse: thejle.com/familypurim.

Uncivil Servants

CB1 Decries Expanded Free Parking for Scofflaws with Badges

For years, cars bearing law enforcement placards have parked illegally on the west side of River Terrace each day. More recently, they have begun commandeering spaces on the east side of the street, once used to drop off and pick up school children, who must now venture into traffic.

Community Board 1 (CB1) is urging that the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio remove what appears to be an unauthorized (and possibly illegal) parking sign on River Terrace, which has been used to broaden the already rampant problem of illegal parking by government employees whose cars display official credentials.

In a resolution enacted at its January 26 meeting, CB1 noted that the River & Warren condominium (located on River Terrace, at 212 Warren Street) had for years used “for safe drop-offs and pickups” a length of curb in front of the building, which was designed “No Standing Anytime.” To read more…

Eyes to the Sky

February 22 – March 7, 2021

Sun’s return north, Lion springs tonight

It seems that we are born knowing that we can tell the time of day by the position of the Sun in the sky. The time of year is evident when we observe the changing location of the rising and setting Sun along the horizon, the trajectory of the Sun’s arc on the sky dome, and the length of day. In the illustration, February is represented by the third line. The whole image reflects our experience of the Sun’s northerly movement on the horizon from winter to summer solstice. We observe our star, the Sun, climb higher in the sky each day. On the vernal equinox, March 20, the sunrise point is due east on the skyline. To read more…

Flying on One Wing

Lower Manhattan Raptor Struggles to Survive

Financial District resident Janet Fish was walking home from her morning shift volunteering at the Bowery Mission recently when she found herself face to face with a local aristocrat. As she passed a pizzeria at the intersection of St. James Place and Madison Street, she was confronted by a stately red-tailed hawk, perched on a post.

‘Such’ Nonsense

Appeals Court Focuses on Meaning of Four-Letter Word to Block Suit Against Two Bridges Development Plan

A coalition of community groups opposed to three massive real estate developments planned for the Lower East Side were dealt a setback on Tuesday, when the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court reversed a trial-court ruling from last year that said the projects were required to undergo a more rigorous form of public review before final approval.

The Larceny of the Commons

City Planning Commission to Consider Endorsing Privatization of Public Space in Tribeca

On Tuesday, February 16, the City Planning Commission considered a request by the owner of large bank building in Tribeca, seeking to privatize in perpetuity a space it originally created as a public amenity. Community Board 1 (CB1) has strongly denounced this move.

Developer Named for Five World Trade Center

Nine-Hundred Foot Tower Will Include 300-Plus Affordable Units

The boards of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) have both approved the proposal by a development partnership that wants to erect a 900-foot-plus tower at Five World Trade Center, a now-vacant lot that occupies the three-quarter-acre square block bounded by Liberty, Greenwich, Albany, and Washington Streets. To read more…

CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS

Swaps & Trades, Respectable Employment, Lost and Found

To place a listing, contact editor@ebroadsheet.com

Quit Your New Year’s Resolutions Early

And Indulge In Restaurant Week

No judgment for those of you who will want to drop those new year’s resolutions (or whatever other health kicks you’ve got going on) after reading this PSA:

NYC Restaurant Week launched this week, as hundreds of hot spots citywide have been lining up special delivery deals through February 28.

Promotions include lunch or dinner with a side for $20.21, two-course brunches and lunches ($26) and three-course dinners ($42), mostly Monday through Friday. (Some participating restaurants are honoring those prices on weekends.)

Dozens of restaurants south of Chambers Street plan to take part in NYC Restaurant Week, including Brooklyn Chop House, The Fulton, Crown Shy, Stone Street Tavern, The Dead Rabbit and more.

The Restaurant Week website lists several more tempting options to treat yourself — even if it means playing it a little fast and loose with your commitments to fitness. (We won’t tell.)

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TODAY IN HISTORY

February 23

Jonas Salk

303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.

532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia.

1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.

1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.

1898 – Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J’Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.

1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States “in perpetuity”.

1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.

Births

1583 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French mathematician, astrologer, and astronomer (d. 1656)

1929 – Elston Howard, American baseball player and coach (d. 1980)

1931 – Tom Wesselmann, American painter and sculptor (d. 2004)

Deaths

1447 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)

1848 – John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)

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