W000290
Friday, November 09, 2001 2:30 PM
Victim Compensation Fund
I have been a resident of lower Manhattan for nearly 12 years. I am a
homeowner in Battery Park City, and a survivor of the September 11 attack on
the World Trade Center.
I witnessed the tragedy unfold from my apartment window, and was evacuated
in the aftermath of the WTC collapse. I left with nothing more than the
clothes on my back and my beloved pets. Because of city and federal
authorities, and the damage to my apartment, I had to live in a hotel for
nearly a month. When I returned, my neighborhood was shut down with
security checkpoints, there were no grocery stores open and no services (dry
cleaners, etc.) available. Deliveries of food, etc., were not permitted.
Although I had a car, if I removed it from the garage, I could not bring it
back. Transportation (subways, buses) was almost non existent. Life was
barely sustainable.
I count my blessings that I escaped with my life, and that my home was still
standing. I feel a great deal of compassion and sympathy to other victims
who may have lost loved ones, friends, a job or a business. These victims
should certainly be entitled to benefits from the Victim Compensation Fund.
However, I do not fit into any of these categories, and I am victim, too. I
will have to live with (literally) the repercussions of the attack for
years. This has impacted my property value and quality of life. Many of
the retail establishments who supported the residents of my neighborhood
were destroyed or have gone out of business. Services are harder to obtain,
and are more expensive because it is so difficult to get around. Although
I am certain that the commercial and business core of lower Manhattan will
be rebuilt, it will take years, and the residents of lower Manhattan are the
ones who will live with it everyday.
Therefore, I urge you to consider making the residents of or homeowners in
lower Manhattan eligible to receive benefits from the Victim Compensation
Fund. Excluding us would make this tragedy even uglier and painful.
Thank you.
Individual Comment