First responders who die from Ground Zero-related illnesses should get the same line-of-duty benefits as those who died on 9/11, a Brooklyn state senator said yesterday.
Eric Adams, a Democrat, announced at a press conference held at city Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch’s East Side Manhattan office that he plans to introduce legislation demanding such action.
“My bill will allow the medical examiner to list those who worked at Ground Zero on 9/12 and [days] after as victims of 9/11,” Adams said.
Hirsch has repeatedly refused to link rescuers’ later deaths to 9/11. Adams wants Dr. Richard Daines, the state health commissioner, to override any 9/11-related death certificate that doesn’t attribute the cause to “the pile.”
Norman Siegel, the former ACLU director, called the current situation “arbitrary, illogical and not consistent with the values of New York City” and added, “We will not rest until the medical examiner’s reports come back to reality.”