NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The FDNY's union has filed FOIL requests and is demanding answers after 68 boxes of records about 9/11-related toxins have surfaced—and it remains unclear why they were unaccounted for the last 24 years.
"New York City firefighters demand to know who in New York City government hid those documents all the way back in the beginning and continued to keep all those documents held all those years," said Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York, at a press conference in the Financial District on Monday.
Ansbro, who lost his father to a 9/11-related illness 2.5 years ago, believes hiding or misplacing the documents all these years was a careless move that had real impacts on people who were in and around Ground Zero after the terrorist attack. He said it's part of a years long fight for transparency on the issue.
“Everyone was told the air was safe,” Ansbro said. “People would have made different choices. We all know at this point how many people are sick. There’s 140,000 people in the World Trade Center Health Program.”
Only 24 of the 68 boxes have been reviewed so far, and it's unclear what all they may contain. But fire union officials said they may include invaluable information that would’ve helped sickened firefighters more easily get health care or better understand their exposure to toxins.
The FOIL requests are seeking all testing documents on 9/11 toxins as well as all of City Hall's memos from the fall of 2001. The union has also reached out to both the Adams administration and the incoming Mamdani administration.
"It's ironic that after all that time they didn't find 68 pages hidden somewhere in the bellows of the DEP, they found 68 boxes," said attorney Thomas McManus. "Did they lose a room where all these records are stored? It's shocking, it's disheartening and, quite frankly, it's appalling. How could this happen, and who's behind it? Was it intentional misconduct or just incompetence?"
In a statement, City Hall said, "As one of the many first responders at Ground Zero on 9/11 and in the weeks that followed, Mayor Adams has been unwavering in his commitment to ensuring victims, their families, first responders, and survivors receive the care and services they deserve."
"While we cannot comment on the specifics of pending litigation, the city has begun turning over documents to plaintiff's counsel, and both parties are working out a schedule to continue this process," City Hall's statement continued. "We remain dedicated to getting 9/11 victims and their families the answers they need, and thank the brave men and women who risk their lives every day to keep our city safe."