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2020 Special Recognition Awards
SEPTEMBER 2020
What Ground Zero responders can teach us about giving at the holidays
OPINION | DECEMBER 3, 2019
In speaking to many of the more than 10,000 Ground Zero responders I represented in their lawsuit against the City of New York and its contractors for the injuries and ailments they suffered as a result of working on the cleanup of Ground Zero, I was struck over and over again by their selflessness and heroism.
The great majority of the responders I spoke with, such as Detective Candiace Baker, who had five surgeries and untold numbers of chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer she developed after working on the cleanup, and Gary Acker, an AT&T disaster communications team leader, who eventually died of his respiratory injuries, told us that even knowing the consequences, they would do it all over again. The responders shared a belief that aiding their City and their Nation in its time of need was more important than their personal safety and health.
Alum’s New Book Recounts His Fight to Help First Responders Sickened after 9/11
BY RICH BARLOW | DECEMBER 2, 2019
The 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks stirred the United States and its allies to respond with a “war on terror” that continues to play out today. Al-Qaeda launched another lethal, but less visible, attack that day—on the emergency responders who worked at Ground Zero in New York City for the better part of a year after the September 2001 disaster. Rooting in toxic dust and debris at the graveyard of the World Trade Center, many developed cancers, respiratory diseases, trauma, and other ailments.
Remember 9/12 too: The aftermath is nearly as important as the terrorist attacks themselves
OPINION | SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
A few short weeks ago, Congress passed a bill to ensure that the health fund supporting the first responders of the 9/11 terrorist attacks never runs out of money. Unfortunately, what should have been a no-brainer only came about after contentious debate, the intervention of entertainer and activist Jon Stewart, and participation by several first responders who were literally on death’s door.
How did we get here? On Sept. 12, 2001, the day after the fall of New York City’s Twin Towers, thousands of responders flooded into Ground Zero to help rescue people and search for survivors. Tens of thousands more heroes joined them on what came to be known as “The Pile,” working for the next nine months to sort through the debris for victims’ remains, evidence and personal belongings as part of the Ground Zero cleanup.
18 Years after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: The Health Fallout Continues
BY MARY JANE DITTMAR | SEPTEMBER 9,2019
This year marks the 18th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon. This segment focuses on health and wellness. This issue was dominating from several aspects: We lost many first responders to 9/11-related illnesses, the Victims Compensation Fund had to be refunded for an extensive period, and there is evidence that there likely will be no “expiration” date for the adverse health effects of the WTC “dust.” They will continue to stalk this generation and likely generations to come.
The dust that boiled up from the ruins of the World Trade Center was, in fact, a witches’ brew of deadly pollutants, made up of ‘the jetliners, their tanks of benzene jet fuel, and the entire contents of the buildings: the outside structure, the windows, the interior walls, the ceilings, the insulation, each painted surface, every piece of treated carpet, all the air-conditioning and heating equipment, and all of the office equipment, including monitors, computers and copy machines,’ 1 million tons of debris that was ‘fused by the extreme heat into … toxic combinations never seen before.’—Jonathan Kirsch, book editor, Jewish Journal, Book Review of 9/12: The Epic Battle of the Ground Zero Responders.
Saga of First Responders' Never Ending Battle Told in '9/12'
BY JONATHAN KIRSCH
JEWISH JOURNAL OF GREATER LOS ANGELES | AUGUST 28,2019
Only rarely does a single date on the calendar mark a tipping point in history. Dec. 7, 1941, is one example, and Nov. 22, 1963, is another. The most recent example, of course, is 9/11, a date that is fully as infamous as Pearl Harbor day or the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Heroes' Tale
BEDFORD MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019
9/12, The Epic Battle of the Ground Zero Responders, is the definitive insider’s account of how the decade-long 9/11 lawsuit, waged by 10,000 responders against the City of New York and its contractors, unfolded in the courtroom and in the press, scientific/medical laboratories, and among politicians at all levels of government. Peppered with responders’ stories, the book was written by lead attorney/principal negotiator of the $800-million settlement, Bedford resident Bill Groner, and award- winning journalist Tom Teicholz. Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible; Groner is donating his book sales’ net proceeds.
Alumnus recalls 10-year lawsuit defending 9/11 first-responders
BY GABRIELLA WEICK | NOVEMBER 7, 2014
The crowd hushed to a silence as iconic images flashed across the screen — photos and videos of the World Trade Center towers falling on Sept. 11, 2001, dust engulfing the streets of New York City and tearful New Yorkers standing in a city covered in ash.
On Thursday evening, William Groner spoke to attendees in the Casadesus Recital Hall and presented “Ground Zero Dust: Its mysterious medical consequences and the resulting epic first-responders litigation,” a talk discussing his involvement in the compensation of those who fell ill following the attacks.
