00:00I want to thank all those who have joined us this morning at City Hall, the survivors of the horrific
00:07September 11th terror attack, the first responders who gave so much to so many for so long, the advocates and
00:15activists who have fought passionately on their behalf, the elected officials who carried their voices into the halls of power,
00:23and the families of those who fell ill from 9-11-related health complications.
00:28Each of you have showed a rare courage, a deep selflessness, and an unwavering love for New York and for
00:40New Yorkers.
00:41We are together today only because of you.
00:44And I want to take a moment to recognize Corporation Counsel Steve Banks and countless others in the Law Department
00:50for working so tirelessly on behalf of survivors.
00:59We are joined today by leaders both inside and outside of city government.
01:04Within our administration, our DCAS Commissioner Yume Kitase, our Doris Commissioner Shanta Smith-Cruz, FDNY First Deputy Commissioner Daniel Flynn,
01:15DOB Commissioner Ahmed Tegani, DDC Commissioner Paul Ochoa.
01:19We have alongside us elected officials who have been at the forefront of this fight.
01:24Congressman Jerry Nadler, former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Council Member Gail Brewer.
01:35And we also have those who have been advocating for years on end to ensure that finally we could live
01:43up to what it meant to never forget.
01:44John Stewart, Ben Shavatt, the Executive Director of 9-11 Health Watch.
01:50Tom Hart, First Responder Activist and President of IUOE Local 94.
01:56Phil Alvarez, Brother of Detective Luis Alvarez.
01:59James Brosey, President of Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
02:03John Feal, Founder of the Feel Good Foundation.
02:06Bobby Eustace, Incoming President, Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
02:10And all first responders and families of 9-11 victims who are here with us.
02:14We thank you.
02:15And once again, a round of applause for everyone who has made this day possible.
02:27On Friday, we will mark 25 years since the worst tragedy to ever befall our city.
02:34The darkest day New York City has ever known.
02:36And yet the devastating truth is that the suffering did not end once the smoke cleared and the dust settled.
02:44For so many New Yorkers who lived or worked or studied near Ground Zero.
02:49And for the thousands of others who worked on the pile.
02:52Recovering those we lost and clearing the rubble.
02:55That was only the beginning of years of hardship and illness that would follow.
03:00Thousands of iron workers and firefighters and office workers and so many more.
03:04Remember, September 11th, not just each time we mark the passage of another year.
03:10But as Congressman Nadler once said,
03:12Each time they take a struggling breath.
03:15Each time they have to swallow a pill.
03:17Each time another chemo dose is administered.
03:21And as the years pass and the human toll grows.
03:25We reckon with the cost of September 11th.
03:28Whenever another New Yorker is stolen from us.
03:30Too soon.
03:32Now, close to 25 years later.
03:36More people have died from 9-11 related illnesses than were killed on the day itself.
03:41It would be one thing if government had stood alongside survivors.
03:46And provided them with everything they needed at every step of the way.
03:49And yet we know that could not be further from what actually happened.
03:53People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air.
04:01And then when they began to contend with the symptoms of the illnesses that followed.
04:05The government that had not hesitated to send them into harm's way was nowhere to be found.
04:11The September 11th victim compensation fund, which provides survivors with the compensation they so deeply deserve, exists today because of
04:20those on this stage and beyond who returned to Washington again and again for nearly a decade.
04:27Often while struggling deeply with the illnesses they could not afford to have treated, to beg their government to come
04:34to their aid as they had come to ours.
04:36We are together this morning to stand steadfast alongside survivors and their families and to deliver the kind of accountability
04:44around city government's response to September 11th that New Yorkers have been denied for years.
04:50I am proud to announce that our administration has settled two lawsuits between the city and 9-11 Health Watch,
04:57ending what has been a multi-year legal battle and restrictions on New Yorkers' ability to access information that can
05:04shed valuable insight on air quality and health concerns.
05:09Administration after administration has ignored those calling for answers and clarity, instead choosing to bury them in legal arguments and
05:18in red tape.
05:19We will do no such thing.
05:21As we mark 25 years, it is time for this painful chapter to end.
05:27As part of our commitment to a governmental transparency that has too long been absent, City Hall has made a
05:33more than $34 million commitment to create a new public portal providing information about our city's response to the horrific
05:41attack.
05:42This will be a vast resource with hundreds of thousands of pages of documents from numerous city agencies, including sought
05:50-after records like the Harding Memo, the 68 DEP boxes discovered a few years ago, and information about Seven World
05:58Trade Center.
05:58These are documents that show what the city knew about the toxic air around Ground Zero, when they knew it,
06:05and how they acted to limit liability.
06:08They contain details about DEP's response.
06:11They show how asbestos was found nearly everywhere that inspectors tested.
06:16And they will help New Yorkers access the health care they need.
06:20The 170,000 pages posted today are only the first release.
06:25More will be shared over the next 12 months.
06:27Every document on this portal will be accessible to every New Yorker, free of charge.
06:32The only information omitted will be personally identifiable information and security evaluations of lower Manhattan buildings that, if published today,
06:41could still pose security risks.
06:43Nothing else will be redacted.
06:46We worked carefully to make sure that this first tranche of documents included those that advocates and activists have been
06:53calling for decades.
06:54Using the search terms they have requested, such as asbestos and cancer.
06:59This is only the beginning.
07:01Over the coming months, we will continue to release updates to the portal.
07:04And as part of our commitments described in this settlement, we will appoint dedicated personnel at both DCAS and New
07:11York City public schools to assist New Yorkers for whom these documents can serve as the proof of presence in
07:17the New York City exposure zone needed to obtain VCF assistance.
07:21I will close with this.
07:24Seven years ago, a New Yorker named Luis Alvarez traveled down to our nation's capital to testify before the House
07:32Judiciary Committee.
07:34Alvarez was a retired NYPD bomb squad detective who had served in the military.
07:39In his photos from when he was younger, he was a picture of health, strong and muscular.
07:46And yet when he sat before the committee that June day, he was frail, his cheeks sunken.
07:53As he told the panel, his 69th round of chemotherapy was scheduled for the next day.
08:00I think today about the words he directed in his testimony to the members of Congress sitting before him.
08:05You all said you would never forget.
08:09Well, I am here to make sure that you don't.
08:11I am here because others cannot get here.
08:14I would rather be back at ground zero again than be here working together.
08:20Less than three weeks later, Detective Alvarez was dead.
08:24One of thousands of New Yorkers whom we have lost over the past 25 years to 9-11 related illnesses.
08:31It is an honor to have his brother Phil here with us this morning.
08:49We hold an obligation to each of those New Yorkers to ensure that Never Forget is not just a platitude,
08:57but that it is something material to lead with the honesty and responsibility that have too long been lacking
09:04and to fight for those who were there, devoted to the city that they loved.
