1 2 CITY COUNCIL 3 CITY OF NEW YORK 4 -------------------------------x 5 THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE MINUTES 6 of the 7 COMMITTEE ON CIVIL SERVICE 8 And LABOR 9 -------------------------------x 10 February 13, 2008 11 Start: 10:48 a.m. Recess: 11:24 a.m. 12 City Hall 13 Council Chambers New York, New York 14 15 B E F O R E: 16 JOSEPH ADDABBO Chairperson, 17 18 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Michael Nelson James Gennaro 19 Larry Seabrook Melissa Mark-Viverito 20 Alan Gerson 21 22 23 24 LEGAL-EASE COURT REPORTING SERVICES, INC. 17 Battery Place - Suite 1308 25 New York, New York 10004 (800) 756-3410 2 1 CIVIL SERVICE AND LABOR 2 CHAIRPERSON ADDABBO: Good morning, 3 and welcome to the Civil Service and Labor Committee 4 hearing. My name is Joe Addabbo. I have the 5 privilege of chairing this Committee. 6 I'd like to thank our guests up in 7 the balcony today from, I'm sure a school in the 8 area. 9 Today the Civil Service and Labor 10 Committee is voting out Resolution 1058, which 11 basically supports federal legislation, the 9/11 12 Zadroga Bill, which will give federal funding to 13 those who are ill or feeling ill affects of the 9/11 14 tragedy. 15 It is an important bill because it 16 would finally recognize 9/11 as a national tragedy, 17 as well as a City tragedy. So, we affirmatively 18 support this bill and the federal legislation. 19 I'd like to introduce my colleagues. 20 To my far right we have Council Member Melissa 21 Mark-Viverito, we have Council Member Alan Gerson, 22 we have Council Member Mike Nelson to my left here, 23 and Council Member Jim Gennaro. 24 I'd like to thank the Policy Analyst 25 of this Committee, Shauneequa Owusu, and again, 3 1 CIVIL SERVICE AND LABOR 2 Sergeant-of-Arms for getting this room in order, and 3 Jeff Gottlieb, my Legislative Aid. 4 And, once again, we are voting, 5 hopefully, in the affirmative for Resolution 1058. 6 Again, what is thoroughly needed and deserved 7 federal funding to help those individuals and their 8 families who are having ill-effects, both physically 9 and mentally, due to the 9/11 tragedy. 10 I would like to thank our Congress 11 representatives, Jerry Nadler, Carolyn Maloney and 12 Vito Fossella, for supporting this bill down in 13 Washington, and we wish them luck and we offer them 14 any assistance that we can be. 15 At this point I'd like to call the 16 roll. Again, the Chair -- sorry. We have a statement 17 from Council Member Alan Gerson, who represents the 18 area, in the area of the World Trade Center. 19 So, Council Member Alan Gerson. 20 COUNCIL MEMBER GERSON: Thank you very 21 much, Mr. Chair. And most of all, thank you very 22 much for your ongoing leadership to make sure that 23 we do everything from the Council that we possibly 24 can so that all of our civil servants, all of our 25 first responders, all of our laborers, now all of 4 1 CIVIL SERVICE AND LABOR 2 our volunteers and now all of our residents, 3 everyone impacted by the environmental catastrophe 4 following 9/11, and as part of 9/11 receives all the 5 medical care and treatment they require and deserve. 6 So, thank you very much, Chair 7 Addabbo. 8 This resolution was heard in a joint 9 hearing of the Civil Service and Labor Committee, 10 Chaired by Chair Addabbo and the Council's Lower 11 Manhattan Redevelopment Committee, and I want to 12 thank the attorney, Lyle Frank, and the Policy 13 Analyst, Patrick Mulvihill, who work with the Lower 14 Manhattan Redevelopment Committee, for their work 15 joining their colleagues on Civil Service and Labor. 16 I, of course, speak in strong and 17 urgent support of the Council resolution. This is 18 long overdue. I join with Chair Addabbo in 19 applauding the efforts of Congress members of 20 Nadler, Maloney and Fossella. 21 As I said at the hearing, it's 22 amazing that we have to have this resolution that we 23 have to take this vote. This is an urgent need, it's 24 a moral right. Anyone who served their country, 25 their community by risking their lives during and 5 1 CIVIL SERVICE AND LABOR 2 after the moments of 9/11 while the fires were still 3 blazing and the air was still putrid, anyone who 4 lived in the area and remained to rebuild, to 5 sustain and rebuild their communities, any child, 6 any senior, anyone in between impacted by an attack 7 on this country should have full recourse to all the 8 medical care that they need and require and that's 9 what this bill will assure. 10 I just want to underscore one aspect 11 of the bill which doesn't always receive the 12 attention it deserves, and that is the aspect that 13 sets in place a process for developing ongoing 14 scientific and medical research. Way too little is 15 done. We're doing the bare minimum, and that's not 16 adequate, given that this is an unprecedented 17 mixture of toxins, we should be deploying our best 18 scientific minds to understand the impact of the 19 exposures and develop therapies and hopefully cures. 20 Again, this is needed by those exposed, and, of 21 course, will advance medical science generally for 22 future catastr -- hopefully we won't have, but help 23 us understand the disease processes and cure a wider 24 range of diseases, as well as any as a result of 25 this incident. 6 1 CIVIL SERVICE AND LABOR 2 So, I strongly support the bill. I do 3 want to finally, Mr. Chair, note that during 4 testimony we did hear some concern by personnel of 5 the Fire Department, including especially EMS 6 personnel, over certain restrictions on their 7 freedom of choice that might be imposed as a result 8 of the bill. 9 That is an issue which can be 10 resolved as the bill goes forward through its 11 congressional process, and I call upon and trust 12 that the sponsors make the necessary technical 13 adjustments to deal with that issue. 14 In sum, I urge all of my colleagues 15 to support this highly important resolution, calling 16 for Congress to pass the James Zadroga 9/11 Health 17 and Compensation Act. 18 Thank you, Mr. Chair. 19 CHAIRPERSON ADDABBO: Thank you, 20 Council member, for your support of the bill, which 21 is introduced by Speaker Quinn and supported by 26 22 of our members. Every Committee member for the Civil 23 Service and Labor is a sponsor; namely, myself, 24 Council Member Gennaro, Council Member 25 Mark-Viverito, Council Member Nelson and Council 7 1 CIVIL SERVICE AND LABOR 2 Member Seabrook, so we appreciate the support of our 3 colleagues as well. 4 At this point I'd ask a roll call for 5 Resolution 1058. 6 COUNCIL CLERK MARTIN: Council Member 7 Addabbo. 8 CHAIRPERSON ADDABBO: Yes. 9 COUNCIL CLERK MARTIN: Nelson. 10 COUNCIL MEMBER NELSON: Mr. Chair, may 11 I be excused to explain my vote? 12 CHAIRPERSON ADDABBO: Sure. 13 COUNCIL MEMBER NELSON: I feel that we 14 owe legitimate paid workers and volunteers a great 15 deal of gratitude. Plus, I don't want volunteers and 16 professionals ever to think twice before rushing in 17 to save lives, or to take part in any follow-up 18 operations. So, of course, I vote yes. 19 COUNCIL CLERK MARTIN: Council Member 20 Gennaro. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER GENNARO: Yes. Yes. 22 COUNCIL CLERK MARTIN: Mark-Viverito. 23 COUNCIL MEMBER MARK-VIVERITO: Yes. 24 COUNCIL CLERK MARTIN: By a vote of 25 four in the affirmative, zero in the negative, and 8 1 CIVIL SERVICE AND LABOR 2 no abstentions, the item is adopted. 3 Members, please sign the Committee 4 report. Thank you. 5 CHAIRPERSON ADDABBO: I would like to 6 thank my colleagues. I would like to leave the vote 7 open. Council Member Seabrook is on his way. 8 Again, over 100,000 people helped out 9 on and after 9/11. It takes roughly $200 million a 10 year to help treat just those that we already know 11 are ill. That number is going to grow. We surely 12 need, and most definitely need federal dollars to 13 help us. 14 The time is now that we get federal 15 help for this endeavor. Thank you all for being 16 here. Meeting adjourned. 17 COUNCIL CLERK MARTIN: Committee on 18 Civil Service and Labor. 19 Resolution 1058. Council Member 20 Seabrook. 21 COUNCIL MEMBER SEABROOK: Aye on all. 22 COUNCIL CLERK MARTIN: The final vote 23 on the Committee on Civil Service and Labor, 24 Resolution 1058, now stands at five in the 25 affirmative, zero in the negative and no 9 1 CIVIL SERVICE AND LABOR 2 abstentions. 3 COUNCIL MEMBER SEABROOK: This meeting 4 is officially adjourned. 5 (Hearing concluded at 11:24 a.m.) 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 10 1 2 CERTIFICATION 3 4 5 STATE OF NEW YORK ) 6 COUNTY OF NEW YORK ) 7 8 9 I, CINDY MILLELOT, a Certified 10 Shorthand Reporter, do hereby certify that the 11 foregoing is a true and accurate transcript of the 12 within proceeding. 13 I further certify that I am not 14 related to any of the parties to this action by 15 blood or marriage, and that I am in no way 16 interested in the outcome of this matter. 17 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto 18 set my hand this 13th day of February 2008. 19 20 21 22 23 --------------------- 24 CINDY MILLELOT, CSR. 25 11 1 2 C E R T I F I C A T I O N 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I, CINDY MILLELOT, a Certified Shorthand 10 Reporter and a Notary Public in and for the State of 11 New York, do hereby certify the aforesaid to be a 12 true and accurate copy of the transcription of the 13 audio tapes of this hearing. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ----------------------- CINDY MILLELOT, CSR. 25