W000550
Sunday, November 25, 2001 10:37 PM
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001
I write to advocate that the definition of ?victim? be
expanded. It is my understanding that the Victim
Compensation Fund defines ?victim? as family members of
those who died, and those who suffered physical injury
as a result of the September 11th attacks on the World
Trade Center (?WTC?) towers and the Pentagon. There is a
group of people that does not qualify under this
statutory definition of ?victim,? but these people were
and are victims of the WTC attacks nonetheless. These
were people who were present during the attacks, but
suffered no obvious physical injuries, and those whose
homes or businesses were damaged, or otherwise adversely
affected because of their proximity to the WTC.
My apartment complex is located across the street from
where the WTC towers stood. I was home at the time of
the attacks; outside in the courtyard at the time the
first tower collapsed, and was engulfed by the wave of
ash and debris. I was fortunate enough to have survived
and was among the lucky ones who were evacuated across
the Hudson River to New Jersey.
In the days and weeks following the attacks, my building
complex, because of its proximity to ?Ground Zero,? was
designated part of the ?crime scene? in the aftermath of
the terrorist attacks, and was among the last of the
Battery Park City residential buildings to be able to be
prepared for re-occupation.
My apartment, like those of many other tenants in
Battery Park City, was contaminated with dust, ash and
debris. (I was fortunate here, too, as many of my
neighbors? apartments were damaged by falling rubble or
caught on fire when flaming debris flew across the
street.) I have not been able to return to my apartment
or retrieve any of my personal possessions (including
clothing), however, since September 11th, because of the
contamination. It is costing thousands of dollars to
clean all of my clothing, linens, blankets, etc.;
thousands more for the certified hazardous material
abatement company to decontaminate my apartment and its
contents, or safely dispose of those items that cannot
be salvaged. (I don?t know yet which of my personal
possessions are salvageable or which will have to be
replaced.) I must also purchase air purifiers with HEPA
filters in order to keep the air inside my
apartment "safe." Like many of my neighbors in Battery
Park City, I did not have renter?s insurance, and
neither FEMA nor the Red Cross will cover these costs.
There are thousands of people in similar circumstances:
some, like me, are still displaced, some have returned
to their apartments (and are enduring respiratory
problems, nosebleeds, headaches, rashes), others will
not be able to return to their homes for several more
months. All have been traumatized by their experiences.
Fires at Ground Zero still burn and, while the EPA has
stated that the particulate matter and other substances
in the air pose no long-term health risks, the air
quality has certainly been compromised (for example, we
have been advised that children should not exert
themselves when playing outdoors).
I urge that the definition of ?victim? who qualifies for
compensation from the Fund be expanded to include
residents who were displaced and whose homes were
contaminated by the attacks, businesses that were
adversely affected, and those people who were at the
site during the attacks but who did not suffer apparent
physical injury. (The psychological impact should not be
ignored.)
Thank you for this opportunity.
Individual Comment
New York, NY