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QUEENS WEEKLY, AUG. 4, 2019
Flushing CB chair sees prez sign 9/11 fund extension
Kelty, a retired firefighter who served at Ground Zero, went to Washington for bill ceremony
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Retired firefighter
and Community Board 7
Chair Eugene Kelty had
the honor of witnessing the
signing of the 9/11 Victims
Compensation Fund into
law by President Donald
Trump in Washington,
D.C., on July 29.
The extension of the fund
will ensure compensation
for individuals injured
during the September 2001
terrorist attacks and their
aftermath rescuing people
and removing debris under
hazardous conditions. The
fund was slated to expire in
2020, but the newly signed
legislation ensures the
compensation for victims
through 2090.
The bill passed the
Senate by a vote of 97 to
2. Earlier this month,
the bill passed the House
of Representatives by a
vote of 402-12. President
Trump was joined by Vice
President Mike Pence and
9/11 first responders in the
Rose Garden of the White
House as he signed the
legislation and thanked
them for their services.
“It was something I
never thought I would see
in my lifetime. I never
thought I would shake the
hand of the president and
the vice president,” Kelty
said. “I was very proud
of my union and other
unions and civilians that
worked hard to get this bill
passed. I don’t think people
realized that there was a lot
of people that came in from
other states to help us out
during 9/11. The bill wasn’t
just a New York bill; the bill
was for all 50 states.”
Kelty, now a retired
Battalion Chief of FDNY
Battalion 10 in Manhattan
after serving 39 years,
is one of many 9/11 first
responders who helped
save lives on that fateful
day when two airplanes
crashed into the twin
towers, and continued
sifting through the rubble
everyday at Ground Zero.
“It was a really tough
time of hopelessness in
the beginning,” Kelty
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said. “They sent down a
lot of help — therapists
and religious people came
and talked to us. The
outpouring of people from
the city and surrounding
states that came in was
just fantastic.”
At the time of the
tragedy, Kelty was captain
of the World Trade Center
Engine 10 fire station on
Liberty Street, until he
was promoted in 2003
to Battalion Chief of
FDNY Battalion 10 in
Manhattan. In 2014, he
was diagnosed with stage
4 pancreatic cancer caused
by the fallout and dust at
Ground Zero.
“While I was going
through treatment I was
kind of weak and then as
I started to get better, my
union, when we were trying
to get the Zadroga Bill
permanently authorized,
they asked me to go down
to Washington to the
Congress and Senate to
explain my condition and
what the bill was, especially
since I was the captain of
the firehouse, it was my
firsthand knowledge,” said
Kelty, who is a recipient of
the Zadroga bill.
Following radiation in
January 2015 and another
visit to the doctor in March,
Kelty was scheduled to
undergo surgery on April
20 to remove the tumor.
“I’m now in remission.
If you’re five years of a
cleared scan, they consider
you cancer free. I got
another eight months; April
2020 will be my five-year
anniversary,” Kelty said.
While going through
treatment, Kelty’s name
was submitted for the 9/11
Victims Act Compensation
Act, since his illness was
diagnosed as one of the
cancers that was covered
under the bill.
Overall, Kelty said,
he is glad that the bill
was signed into law and
thanked elected officials
such as Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney, Senator
Kirsten Gillibrand and
Congressman Peter King,
for their persistence in
passing the legislation.
Retired Battalion Chief Eugene Kelty of FDNY Battalion 10 in
Manhattan Photo courtesy of Kelty