Week of 22 October 2001:
Toxic Site
Toxic chemicals and metals are being released into the air, soil, and water
around lower Manhattan, according to Environmental Protection Agency reports
obtained by the New York Environmental Law and Justice Project and published
in the Daily News.
Dioxins, PCBs, benzene, lead and chromium are among the toxic substances
detected around the World Trade Center, sometimes exceeding federal safety
levels. Tests also found contaminants are being released into the Hudson
River, especially after it rains. Until now, public attention has focused
largely on the potential hazards of asbestos in the air. The EPA is urging
rescue and cleanup workers to wear respirators.
Looking For Jobs
An estimated 10,000 people showed up at the second job fair aimed to help
those who lost their jobs as a result of the World Trade Center attacks.
Yesterday, the New York State Department of Labor released statistics saying
that the number of people in the city and state applying for unemployment
insurance last week doubled from a year ago. Approximately 2,000 applicants
were turned away from the job fair. A third event is scheduled for November
15.
Scaffolding Collapse
Five construction workers died yesterday when a steel
and wood
scaffolding
on a building at 215 Park Avenue South collapsed,
killing five
construction
workers and temporarily trapping others. Rescue
workers and equipment
were
rushed from the World Trade Center to the building
near Union Square.
At the time of the accident, some 19 workers were
thought to be on or
below
the scaffolding repairing the facade of the 20-story
building. The
cause of
the accident is under investigation.
The building is leased and managed by companies owned
by real estate
executive Stephen Green, whose brother, Mark, is the
Democratic
candidate
for mayor. In August a city building inspector cited
the owner, Dever
Properties, and Green's company for failing to
"maintain an exterior
building wall."
Eyeing the Aid
While the state is making a bid for $54 billion in federal money to rebuild
New York City and repair its economy, the city has more modest goals. The
Times reports that
the Giuliani administration is focusing on somewhat limited plans, including
federal tax breaks, to encourage businesses to remain in or move to Lower
Manhattan and to entice developers to construct new buildings there.
Math Morass
The state yesterday released the scores of tests taken by fourth and eight
graders last spring, again prompting concern about student achievement,
particularly in middle school math. Slightly more than 77 percent of city
eighth graders failed to meet state standards in math. In reading, the city
failure rate was 66.9 percent. Both scores were virtually identical to those
on the 2000 tests and far worse than the statewide results.
City fourth graders, meanwhile, showed a more significant improvement in
math, though nearly half still do not meet standards.
The eighth grade results demonstrated why middle schools have become a major
focus for educational reform. Meanwhile, Schools Chancellor Harold Levy said
he is overhauling the math program. Observers, though, wonder how many
reforms can be undertaken with the city, and the school system, facing a
budget crunch.
New Recruits
Yesterday Mayor Rudolph Giuliani swore in 307 new Fire Department recruits
who now begin 10 weeks of training. Firefighters are moving into training at
an expedited rate and the group will probably begin working by the end of
the year, Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said. Both the Fire and Police
Departments have seen applications increase since September 11. Police
Commissioner Bernard Kerik said that applications to the Police Department
had risen 10 percent over last year. The mayor told the new Fire Department
recruits that they were an important part of rebuilding the city. "The
reality is that we're mournful, we're sorrowful, we're crying and we always
will, but we are stronger than we were before," Giuliani said.
Routine Victory
While a plan to move the Super Bowl to the Meadowlands failed several weeks
ago, the Bronx will once again host the Major League Baseball World Series.
The New York Yankees advanced to the championship for the fifth time in the
last six years and will face the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 1999, the mayor's
office estimated that the Yankees World Series victory (last year featured
both New York teams) brought in an estimated $37 million in business to the
city and additional $4 million in tax revenue.
Concert For NYC
At the Concert for New York City, which is expected to raise more money than
any other single charity event in history, the parade of rock stars, movie
stars, sports stars, comics, and public officials who appeared on the stage
of Madison Square Garden Saturday evening had much the same messages. I am a
New Yorker; I am not afraid.
It began with David Bowie singing Paul Simon's "America" and his own
"Heroes." It ended with Paul McCartney singing "Yesterday" and "Let It Be"
and a new song, called "Freedom," written after 9/11. In-between were nearly
six hours of music and solicitation and tribute -- Elton John and Billy Joel
played on end to end grand pianos and sang a duet of "New York State Of
Mind"; Bon Jovi sang "Dead Or Alive"; the Backstreet Boys dedicated their
songs to a friend who was on the plane that crashed into Tower 1. There were
also some 6,000 rescue workers and their families, many of whom held up
pictures of police officers or firefighters who died -- and some of whom were
held up as heroes in brief and moving appearances on the stage. Ticket sales
alone raised $14 million, and there will be many times that amount from
viewers of the broadcast on music channel VH-1. The money will go to relief
for relatives of the victims, especially lower-income survivors.
"I hope they saw this tonight," former President Clinton said, having heard,
he said, that Osama bin Laden and his group watch American television.
"Because they thought America was about money and power, and that if they
took down the World Trade Center we would collapse. But we are not about
mountains of money and towers of steel. We are about mountains of courage and
hearts of gold."
Still Reeling
Most of the 1,100 retail business in lower Manhattan are in danger of
shutting down, according to Crain's New York Business. Many are closed now
because they are in the "militarized zone" near the World Trade Center, or in
the process of cleaning up or making repairs. But of those that have
reopened, according to a study of some 500 by the Alliance for Downtown New
York, 84 percent say sales have slid anywhere from 20 to 80 percent.
But a business need not be located downtown in order to be in trouble.
Though New York is popular now throughout the country, this is more as a
symbol than a destination, and businesses dependent on tourists and suburban
visitors are struggling. Since September 11, some 6,000 hotel workers have
been laid off, as have some 15,000 restaurant workers; 70 restaurants have
been shut down, at least 30 of them permanently. Sales are down sharply at
department stores. Attendance at cultural institutions has declined as well
-- some 30 percent, the Post reports, at the American Museum of Natural
History. According to the Times, a bill to encourage
tourism in the city was introduced into the House of Representatives Carolyn
B. Maloney and Thomas M. Reynolds, both of New York. It would provide up to
$2,000 in tax deductions for certain trips and an additional $1,000 for those
who come to New York State. Meanwhile, New York's two senators, Charles
Schumer and Hillary Clinton, are pushing for $5 billion in incentives to keep
both businesses and residents from leaving lower Manhattan, according to
Crain's, which says the major proposal would give businesses that sign or
extend a lease in Manhattan south of Chambers Street a $3,000 per employee
tax credit.
In Two Weeks
It is now official: Mark Green is the Democratic candidate for mayor,
endorsed by his run-off rival Fernando Ferrer. He faces Republican Michael
Bloomberg, who is expected to spend $40 million of his own money on
television commercials. Election Day is two weeks from tomorrow.
Because Democrats outnumber Republicans in New York about five to one, the
many other local races were largely in effect decided in the Democratic
primary. This was going to be the most historic campaign in New York City in
a century, with term limits kicking out most incumbents and campaign finance
reform encouraging a whole new batch of citizen-candidates. Indeed, an
amazing 420 New Yorkers, many enticed by the promise of a "level playing
field," became candidates for public office this year, by far the largest
number ever. But has the promise of a transformation in local government been
fulfilled? Mark Berkey-Gerard looks at the most interesting, disappointing
and surprising results in "How The Promise Of Campaign 2001 Played Out" on
Gotham Gazette's Searchlight on Campaign 2001.
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