PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Marianne Pizzitola, President of New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, on 9/11 Health Impacts and Document Release
2:25:55
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Marianne Pizzitola, representing 250,000 municipal retirees, testified about the health impacts on 9/11 survivors and first responders, criticizing the EPA's false claims about air safety and calling for the release of documents from past mayoral administrations. She highlighted the ongoing struggles of civilian 9/11 survivors and criticized attempts to change retirees' healthcare plans.
- Emphasized the need for transparency regarding what past mayors knew about 9/11 environmental hazards
- Discussed the challenges faced by civilian 9/11 survivors in accessing health screenings and care
- Criticized recent attempts to move retirees to a Medicare Advantage Plan, viewing it as compounding the initial betrayal
Marianne Pizzitola
2:25:55
Good afternoon.
2:25:56
This is Mary Anne Pizzotola.
2:25:57
I am president of the New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees representing 250,000 municipal retirees.
2:26:04
Tens of thousands of retirees we have are both first responders and civilian 911 survivors with 911 World Trade Center health health conditions who must rely on their health insurance for care and may or may not be participants, within the 911 World Trade Center program.
2:26:19
Like first responders, these forgotten heroes of 911 who kept the city running were also betrayed by the US EPA and then administrator Christy Todd Whitman, who said the air in lower Manhattan was safe to breathe.
2:26:30
Of course, the Giuliani administration was completely complicit in constructing this false narrative.
2:26:34
A subsequent EPA inspector general report confirmed the agency had absolutely no scientific basis upon which to base that assertion and that the agency actually suppressed data that showed toxic asbestos levels were off the charts.
2:26:47
Thousands of civil servants were ordered back to their desks at places like the Dinkins Municipal Building, 1 Center Street, or 250 Broadway.
2:26:54
There was no Zoom in 2001.
2:26:57
Yet these workers, some of whom have since died, were not able to establish that they were first responders and were not eligible for the annual health screening granted to first responders through the 911 World Trade Center program.
2:27:08
They had to first display symptoms, which first had no doubt had life altering consequences that the city of New York would like to avoid taking responsibility for.
2:27:16
Mayor Giuliani and then mayor Bloomberg prematurely ordered New York City employees back to work whose work locations were in the zone.
2:27:23
All the documents that have been kept secret since Giuliani was in office on 911 must be released.
2:27:28
Every mayor has since hidden these facts from the light of day, most likely because they knew darn well that they made a calculated decision to put our lives at risk, to keep the city running, and get Wall Street to reopen at the expense of our lives and health.
2:27:40
The current administration has said that they are worried about the potential liability of releasing these files.
2:27:44
Meanwhile, starting with the de Blasio administration, right up until the current administration, they have compounded the EPA betrayal by attempting to force us off our traditional Medicare and on a predatory Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan.
2:27:55
If the city council does not act on intro 1096