Build Back Better Act will help fund
World Trade Center Health Program
BY DEAN MOSES
Elected offi cials, fi rst responders, and
survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks say they made a promise
to “never forget” the sacrifi ces made by
thousands of men and women that day, and
on Nov. 30 they say the Build Back Better
Agenda will help them keep that promise.
It’s been 20 years since the World Trade
Center fell at the hands of terrorists, and
yet the list of casualties incurred from illness
related to the attack still grows as fi rst
responders continue to succumb to 9/11
related illnesses.
It is with this in mind, Representatives
Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler
announced Tuesday in the shadow of
Mount Sinai Heart on 1190 Fifth Avenue
at 101 Street along with 9/11 responders,
survivors, union leaders, and community
advocates that the Build Back Better Act, if
passed in the Senate, would provide funding
for the World Trade Center Health Program
(WTCHP). This federal health initiative
currently provides medical monitoring and
treatment for those who risked their lives on
September 11, 2001 in the rescue, recovery,
debris cleanup and overall support between
the date of the attack until July 31, 2002.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney talks about the Build Back Better Act on
Nov. 30, 2021.
“This transformative piece of legislation
will be the largest effort to combat climate
change in history and the biggest expansion
of the Affordable Care Act in over a
decade. I stand here today to celebrate this
legislative achievement and to celebrate
that the Build Back Better Act provides and
includes in it $2.86 billion for the World
Trade Center Health Program,” Congress
member Maloney said, adding, “We lost
nearly 3,000 people on 9/11 and in the
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
20 years since the attack, the death toll
continues to climb. According to a recent
report from the FDNY World Trade Center
Health Program, nearly 75% of the FDNY
workers, who worked at the toxic pile and
ground zero, now have some sort of long
term health illness linked to their exposure
to the toxic air. As we mark 20 years since
that fateful day in 2001, we must remember
that 911 isn’t just in the past.”
Additionally, this year 28 more members
of the NYPD were honored in the hall of
heroes, each passed away from 9/11 related
illness, bringing the fi nest who’ve fallen to
over 290.
Earlier this month the Build Back Better
Act passed in the house, a $1.9 trillion relief
package that tackles climate and social issues
through spending packages. This ambitious
aid will provide funding for child care, immigration
reform, climate change, medication
and healthcare equity, and more.
“Our legislation will provide funding to
the World Trade Center Health Program,
which will face a shortfall in the coming
years due to medical infl ation, more people
becoming sick, and the complexity of treating
complicated health conditions over long
term such as cancers because this funding
is so important,” Maloney said.
Congress member Nadler echoed this
sentiment, adding that this program’s
future is hinged upon the passage of the
Build Back Better Act, and the Senate must
pass it as soon as possible.
“We have a moral obligation to make
sure that these people are cared for. However,
we are dangerously close to losing our
ability to do just that. This ever increasing
number of affected people has made
it apparent that the World Trade Center
Health program just can’t keep up is critical
programs established by Congress to
provide medical treatment and monitoring
for responders and survivors who live in
every state and nearly every congressional
district,” Nadler said.
Brooklyn man booked for murder in fatal
shove of woman at Chinatown train station
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
After a four-month investigation,
police picked up a Brooklyn man
last week who allegedly shoved
a woman down a fl ight of stairs, and
ultimately caused her death, during a robbery
attempt at a Chinatown station back
in July.
David Robinson, 53, of Macon Street
in Ocean Hill was collared in the 5th Precinct’s
confi nes on Nov. 26 in connection
with the July 17 incident at the Canal Street
station near the N line.
Robinson was arraigned Saturday night
and ordered held on $100,000 bail, according
to court records.
Sources familiar with the investigation
said detectives linked Robinson to
the crime after receiving an anonymous
tip through the NYPD’s CrimeStoppers
hotline.
Law enforcement sources said Robinson
allegedly pushed Than Wtwe Than, 58, of
65th Street in Brooklyn down a stairwell
The suspect, later identified as David Robinson, who allegedly knocked a
58-year-old woman and her 22-year-old son down a flight of stairs during a
robbery attempt at the Canal Street subway station in Chinatown on July 17, 2021.
while attempting to rob her and her son.
She suffered a severe brain injury in the
attack, and died four days later.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NYPD
Police said Robinson confronted the
58-year-old woman and her 22-year-old son
as they walked up the stairwell at the Canal
Street stop at about 9:40 a.m. on July 17.
He allegedly tried to yanka backpack away
from the 22-year-old son — but that caused
the son to lose his balance on the stairwell.
Published reports indicated that the son
reached for his mother in an attempt to
prevent the fall, but that sent both of them
tumbling down the stairwell. The robber,
meanwhile, fl ed back into the subway station
to parts unknown, police reported.
Officers from the5th Precinct and
NYPD Transit District 2 responded to the
incident. While her son wasn’t injured,
Than was rushed to a local hospital with
critical injuries, and succumbed to them
on July 21.
Robinson faces a single count of murder
and two counts of manslaughter, police
reported.
Tim Minton, the MTA’s communications
director, issued a statement Saturday
regarding the incident: “This was a terrible
crime over the summer and our hearts
continue to go out to the victim’s family.
Once again, it is clear that with cameras
in every subway station, anyone who preys
on transit riders can expect to be identifi ed
and face justice. We urge prosecutors to be
as aggressive in court as the NYPD was in
its investigation.”
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