By Emi Endo
Newsday
Copyright Newsday Inc.
NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg will request $150 million a year in federal funds to help treat emergency responders and others who say working at or living near Ground Zero made them sick.
Bloomberg this afternoon announced the findings of a panel he convened to review Sept. 11-related health impacts. The recommendations included expanding treatment services at Bellevue Hospital Center, a program that is open to local residents and others who were not first-responders, sustaining mental health services and hiring a new city World Trade Center health coordinator who would reach out to anyone potentially affected.
“New York has always been a city that takes care of its own and we’re not about to abandon the men and women who helped put our city back onto its feet during our time of greatest need,” he said at a City Hall press conference.
Bloomberg also called to reopen the Victim’s Compensation Fund.