New Yorker for a Day

I am a New Yorker. True, I've lived in California for the last 30 years. But, I am still a New Yorker. It's like being Jewish. It's my roots. I'm a New York Jew. New York Made me what I am. Everyone who Immigrated to NY from anywhere in the world, which most of our great-grandparents did, who grew up there, lived there, worked and died there has this intensity, loyalty, indisputable character, attitude, humor, and definitely without a doubt, an opinion. We're tough, built to last. My 82 year old uncle Ted still lives in Manhattan and will never leave. Maybe it's something in the water. The water that makes the absolute best tasting pizza and bagels in the world. Then there's the architecture from its brownstones to It's gleaming skyscrapers, It's undying devotion to art, music, dance and the theater. There's the international ethnic smorgasbord on every block. Each culture recreated in small enclaves, leaving it's definitive flavor, aromatic distinctions wafting up the avenues and the alleyways. Just walk down the street and you will here 50 different languages. And deeper than that of course are the subways (ha) and the people of New York. Characters, everyone of um. The sidewalks brimming over with them, loud, chaotic, and constant.

I never witnessed violence living in NY. My apartment was robbed once, but I wasn't there, so it made me mad more than scared. I was never afraid to ride the subway, walk the streets at 2 Am, yes, there's crime ( mostly from police corruption) like any big city, but it never interfered with the thrill of it all. Rockefeller Center, The Empire State Building, St. Patricks Cathedral, Carnegie Hall, The Carnegie Deli, Central Park, China Town, Radio City Music Hall, Village, Harlem, The UN, Madison Square Garden, Grand Central Station, Broadway and yes, of course, the former Twin Towers, now known as ground zero. I had dinner at Windows on the world on the 107th floor, with my family when I was 16 years old. I remember the potatoes were odd, shaved and crunchy like hay. I got up from the table to look out over Manhattan. It was magnificent, I looked down and felt dizzy.

Saturday, President Obama said that "every year on September 11th we are all New Yorkers". That's odd because he stood at the Pentagon to tell us that, which tells me that he is a Pentagonian. If he felt so New Yorky he should have been at Battery Park, the twin ghost lasers beaming up behind his podium and him gazing into the harbor at the Statue of Liberty, but he's not really into her these days. No, He is one that stands with the Pentagon, not the people, on this terrible anniversary and that is reflected in his foreign and domestic policies.

Mr. Obama went on to say. "We pause to remember the victims, to grieve with the families and friends of those who died, and to honor the heroes of that day and each day since who have sacrificed to save lives and serve their country. Lovely, poetic words, but what about the reality of those "heroes?" because at this moment there is a bill stalled in the house of representatives. The James Zadroga bill HR 847 that amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and improve protections and services to individuals directly impacted by the terrorist attack in New York City on September 11, 2001. James Zadroga was a NYC police detective who participated in rescue and clean-up at the WTC. He was the first to die at 34 years old of a respiratory disease related to the toxicity at ground zero. (though that was disputed by the city's medical examiner who said his death had nothing to do with WTC fallout)

Just before this August recess Republicans in the house blocked HR847. Yes, that's sad and seems truly unpatriotic, but what's idiotic is that it's nine years later and these American heroes are suffering and dying from the WTC cough and other respiratory illnesses and there has been no legislation to address this. At the point that H.R. 847 was formulated in February of 2009 it was reported that more than 13,000 WTC responders had died or are sick and receiving treatment. It has also been reported that over 40,000 responders are currently being medically monitored. HR 847 provides less than 10 billion dollars for the ongoing care of these brave individuals. And yet the President with all his flowery, patriotic, memorial rhetoric, opposes funding for this legislation. He's certainly managed to fill the Pentagons pockets but those New Yorkers, the ones risked their lives that very day and the weeks following will have to rely on each other, for now, just like they did nine years ago. Mr. President if you want to be a New Yorker for a day you should actually go there and sit on a stoop for the afternoon. Have a cup a coffee and a long talk.