New Yorkers to GOP: Don't Breathe the Air

The Republican Convention opens in New York on Monday with the theme of "building a safer world." But at the site where the World Trade Center Towers once stood, demonstrators are holding a daily vigil to inform the nation that the area is still contaminated with toxics spread when the buildings collapsed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

The event is sponsored by the Sierra Club, 9/11 Environmental Action, the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, and New York Environmental Law & Justice Project.

"While the country is focused on the city during the Republican Convention, we want to make sure that New York's real story is told," said Suzanne Mattei, Sierra Club's New York City executive.

"President Bush needs to hear the stories of those who were not protected in the aftermath of September 11th and take action now to meet their needs, and to protect those who would be put in harm's way at future national emergencies."

The 2004 Republican National Convention will be held for the first time in New York City at Madison Square Garden from August 30 to September 2. The city is alive with anti-Republican demonstrations of every type and description, but the one at Ground Zero speaks directly to the Republicans' stated theme of "Fulfilling America's Promise by Building a Safer World and a More Hopeful America."

Participants will gather daily on the corner of Liberty and Broadway one block from Ground Zero, to hand out stickers that say "I support the Ground Zero Community. Toxic Cleanup, Health Care, & Answers." Each day will honor and advocate on behalf of a different constituency of the Ground Zero community.

Today the demonstration advocates on behalf of people who worked near Ground Zero, the hole left by the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers when they were struck by two hijacked airplanes, killing nearly 3,000 people and sickening thousands more..

"Thousands of workers are sick today as a result of the respiratory hazards caused by the attack on the World Trade Center (WTC). The government agencies that had the responsibility of protecting them failed to do so. We must make certain that such a failure never occurs again," said Jonathan Bennett, spokesperson for the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health.

Many of the demonstrators say that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency failed them by not disclosing the true extent of the contamination and by not providing them with the tools to clean their homes, offices and even their firehouses.

"It's ironic that EPA refused to clean the firehouses downtown, that the firefighters were forced to clean up their own WTC-contaminated stations without even having the proper equipment to do so. These are the same fire stations that protect Wall Street and all of the government buildings in lower Manhattan," said Joel Kupferman, New York Environmental Law & Justice Project and Environmental Counsel to the Uniformed Firefighters Association (NYC).

On Saturday, the Ground Zero demonstration will honor local residents and parents, and on Sunday the difficulties of small business owners will be in the spotlight.

Ariel Goodman, president of From the Ground Up, an organization representing small businesses, said, "Shortly after the tragic events of September 11th, we were told that the air was safe. Not only did the EPA's misinformation put our health in jeopardy, it was used by insurance companies to deny coverage for damage."

"The federal government should step up to the plate and do testing and cleaning not only in residences but also in businesses – which were completely left out of its program. Also, the small business owners who were exposed should be included in the medical monitoring program. Right now, we're excluded," Goodman said.