To The Editor:
Re “First Day Should Be For Families Only” (Editorial, June 15):
When you write that Lower Manhattan residents who did not lose a loved one “during the attack” of 9/11 should not be allowed to be a part of the tenth anniversary ceremony, you are viewing 9/11 as a time of death only, and it is so much more.
While locals are excluded by the city for the ceremony, we are not excluded from illnesses that are known to cause residents a lifetime of hardship and sometimes death, as our World Trade Center Clinic reports. Many of my daughter’s friends have serious asthma and some are showing the start of neurological disorders.
Excluded from the ceremony are those infirmed and dying after the filling of our lungs for months with the alkaline dust whose corrosive qualities were likened to ammonia. I’m reminded of the heroics of our former CB1 Chair and then councilwoman Katherine Freed who on September 18th snuck an independent counseling firm to analyze Mayor Giuliani’s samples to find toxic elevations up to 100 times EPA standards. Still, our own illness and death is not the primary reason why we ask for inclusion.
As it stands, the world will once again only honor the dead on 9/11. What is missing from this ceremony is what we’ve all done during the next 10 years: we’ve come back. Our country’s recuperation is astounding, and all of this began in our neighborhood. Our voluntary dedication to the revival process has been exemplary. We have been involved in all aspects of the rebuilding of our neighborhood, city and country and all it stands for.
Inclusion may look like a losing battle, but don’t underestimate the will of this community. As much as any other group, we have shown great strength and resilience.
We now stand together, determined to get our proper place at the table.
Tom Goodkind
