The Freedom Tower

Preschoolers who saw the collapse of the World Trade Center or other high-intensity events on Sept. 11, 2001 were at increased risk of behavioral problems long afterwards, especially if they’d experienced other traumatic events, researchers found.
The study was done by Claude Chemtob, Ph.D., of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and his colleagues.

The language of this report is dense but worth reading.
Those who directly witnessed the collapse of the towers, injured people, dead bodies, or people jumping out of the buildings and had a history of other trauma were 21 times more likely to be emotionally reactive (adjusted odds ratio 21.8, P=0.003), than area preschoolers with neither exposure, said Claude Chemtob, Ph.D., of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine here, and colleagues.

They were also 26 times more likely to be anxious or depressed (AOR 26.8, P=0.006), and 18 times more likely to have attention problems (AOR 18.6, P=0.01), the researchers reported in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

The results are consistent with the McEwen allostatic load hypothesis, which states that the effects of trauma exposure are amplified by the presence of other traumatic events, the researchers said.

“These data suggest that preschool children are a vulnerable group and argue for more vigorous post-disaster outreach to very young children, especially those with exposure to other trauma,” they wrote.

Little is known about the effects of terrorism on young children, the researchers said, so they retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 116 children who lived or attended preschool or day care in lower Manhattan and were five or younger on Sept. 11, 2001.

Almost half (49.1%) were female and the mean age was 3.9.

The study was conducted from March 1, 2003 through Dec. 31, 2005, a mean of 35 months (range 18 to 54) from the attacks.

Parents or caregivers filled out questionnaires detailing their child’s exposure to the attacks or other traumatic events and emotional and behavioral information.

All participants were exposed to the attacks and were divided into two groups — high- or low-intensity — depending on level of exposure. Nearly a quarter of the children (24.1%) were classified as having experienced high-intensity exposure.

More than half the participants (53.4%) had exposure to at least one other traumatic event, as assessed by the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory. Those included natural disasters, interpersonal losses, serious accidents, severe illnesses or injuries, animal attacks, and exposure to war or terrorism, suicide, or attempted suicide.

Items on the inventory asking about physical and sexual abuse and domestic violence were excluded because they were deemed to be highly intrusive and distressing to the families.

Behavioral symptoms were categorized in seven clusters: emotionally reactive, anxious/depressed, somatic complaints, withdrawn behavior, sleep problems, attention problems, and aggressive behavior.

When compared with children who were exposed only to low-intensity attack-related events, those exposed to high-intensity events were nearly three times more likely to be depressed/anxious (odds ratio 2.5, 95% confidence interval 1.7 to 20.5, P=0.002) and nearly five times more likely to have sleep problems (OR 4.9, 95% CI 1.6 to 15.3, P=0.003).

When compared with children who experienced only high-intensity attack-related events, those with such an exposure and a history of other trauma were at increased risk for emotional reactivity (OR 3.8), withdrawn behavior (OR 6.3), sleep problems (OR 5.9), and being anxious/depressed (OR 8.3).

In children with a history of other trauma, the risk of clinically significant behavioral problems for the emotionally reactive (adjusted OR 4.7, P=0.06), anxious/depressed (adjusted OR 7.5, P=0.02), withdrawn behavior (adjusted OR 7.0, P=0.05), and sleep problem (adjusted OR 10.2, P<0.001) clusters was higher for those who experienced a high-intensity attack-related event compared with those who did not, after adjusting for age and time between the attacks and assessment.

The study was limited by the fact that the cohort cannot be assumed to be representative of lower Manhattan preschool children and that the researchers did not extensively survey the use of services to help the children cope with the attacks.

Additionally, the researchers said, leaving out information on domestic violence likely made the estimates of exposure to other trauma conservative.

Finally, they said, causality cannot be established because of the cross-sectional and retrospective nature of the analysis.

Dr. Chemtob and colleagues suggested that pediatricians could be used to assess a child’s behavior following a disaster. “The likelihood that pediatricians may be key resources in early identification of very young children at greater developmental risk by virtue of terrorism and trauma exposure adds support to calls for additional investment to increase the capacity of pediatric practices to participate in national terrorism and disaster preparedness,” they concluded.

The study was partially supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, New York Times Foundation’s September 11th Children’s Fund, United Philanthropic Trust/Sept. 11th Children’s Fund, United Jewish Communities, UJA Federation of New York, UBS September 11 Fund, Robin Hood Foundation, Picower Foundation, an anonymous donor, the American Red Cross, Andor Capital Management, and Strook, Strook, and Lavan LLP.

The authors reported no financial disclosures.

Resdents of lower Manhattan call them by various names and some people in New York have decided to clean up the streets around Ground Zero of these activists.

A story in the New York newspapers by Steve Cuozzo prompted heated debate over the removal of the vendors around the site. Cuozzo’s story said their presence was “Pure Obscenity.
“As a lower Manhattan resident living near Ground Zero for over 16 years,” writes Elizabeth Williams, “I completely agree with the removal of illegal and non-permitted vendors around Ground Zero and other areas
But Williams said the bigger issue is the $50 fine and community-service penalty imposed for illegal vending. She said the illegal vendors consider the fine to be the price of doing business. So, the laws have little deterrent effect. If the city commits to enforcing illegal-vendor laws that have minimal penalties and minimal effect, will it have enough resources elsewhere?”

An increase in the penalty might be the way to go. Now, if that’s really what residents want, I know a former mayor who is currently unemployed (a presidential dropout)
Michael Burke calls the vendors the 9/11 “truth lunatics but says there are bigger issues at stake at the downtown site. He says the memorial planned by Mayor Bloomberg, dedicated solely to our “healing,” will remake the site so that it does not acknowledge the attacks. “As per the handful of oblivious intellectuals and government appointees who dictated the concept, all history of 9/11 must be banished from the site “in order to preserve the integrity of the memorial. None of the authentic artifacts of 9/11 may be returned to the site. Who is the real lunatic?”

Very  good question Michael

Blogger Steve Cuozzo says we might be in for a miserable future when it comes to finishing the construction at Ground Zero.
Cuozzo, writing on 911Blogger.com, is suggesting that there are so many things going wrong on the streets surrounding the pit at Ground Zero and in the pit itself that the future is looking quite grim.
‘ll look at what’s gone wrong inside the pit in the coming weeks,” the blogger says, “but for now, consider the sickening conditions the PA and City Hall let fester all around the perimeter of the 16-acre “sacred ground.”
“Ground Zero’s borders deserve a patina of dignity for anyone wishing to recall the World Trade Center that was, to mourn the victims of 9/11 or to contemplate the site’s future.

It’s bad enough the view remains bracketed by the blackened hulks of 130 Liberty St. and Fiterman Hall. But at least there’s a theoretical, contamination-related excuse for the eyesores’ continued presence.

But not the flimsiest justification exists for the rowdy, open-air bazaar of illegal junk-peddlers and in-your-face conspiracy-mongers along Church, Vesey and Liberty streets - an indefensible rupture of civic order in a city that’s managed to shut down squeegee men and three-card-monte games.

No one can object to the First Amendment right to display or sell 9/11-con- spiracy nonsense (or plain junk). But that doesn’t absolve the city and the PA of enforcing their own rules - and making sure visitors can watch what’s going on without being hassled as if they’re in a Third World flea market.

The conditions have long dismayed Downtown residents, businesses and commuters - yet neither the city nor the PA has responded to their complaints except sporadically.”

A Star is born. Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.

A new deal that would bring a world class shopping expert back to develop Ground Zero properties may be approved as early as tomorrow.
The New York Times says the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, owners of the 16-acre Ground Zero property in lower Manhattan, is still talking to Westfield Group. The deal on the table is for the group to buy a 50 percent stake in developing nearly 500,000 square feet of retail space at Ground Zero. The Times says the PA wants Westfield to invest more than $600 million in creating the shopping areas.
“Stores would be located at street level and above in three planned office towers along Church Street, as well as in the two-story concourses linking the site with subway lines and the PATH commuter rail station,” the Times said.
“The original shopping space at the World Trade Center was a highly successful underground mall, in no small way because of the 150,000 commuters and tourists streaming past the storefronts and restaurants every day on their way to the towers.
But critics and many downtown residents complained that the old configuration robbed the neighborhood of street life, leaving it a ghost town after sundown and on the weekends. After the complex was destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, planners, neighborhood groups and eventually the Port Authority insisted that the new stores would be built at street level and extend up as high as the fourth floor, as well as underground.”

“As Lower Manhattan continues to recover from 9/11,” New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says, “our diverse 24-hour community still has many needs that must be addressed. That is why Silver says he worked closely with the governor and Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) to advocate for a wide range of programs and services in need of these important grants throughout the downtown community in the wake of the terrorist attacks six years ago which turned the area into a ghost town for years.
Now, however, Silver says Aid for education, healthcare and a variety of community services and amenities will go a long way toward achieving our goal of rebuilding Lower Manhattan bigger and better than ever before.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced recently that it is awarding more than $37 million in Community Enhancement Fund grants to support a variety of community improvements. The grants will fund crucial programs, services and facilities in neighborhoods throughout Lower Manhattan.

The 33 grants will go to not-for-profit organizations for a range of projects including healthcare, education, community services, recreation and cultural projects. The grants address needs in each of Lower Manhattan’s distinct and diverse neighborhoods and communities.

The LMDC is providing $8.5 million towards improving healthcare services, $7.6 million for recreational facilities and programming, $4.5 million for the area’s public schools, and $8.8 million for services to assist low-income families, disadvantaged workers and businesses, children, and the elderly. Another $7.7 million will go to a group of diverse museums and cultural institutions to aid them in attracting visitors Downtown by expanding their programming and enhancing their facilities.

“As Lower Manhattan blossoms into a residential destination, these funds will ensure that critical public amenities receive necessary support,” said Gov. Spitzer. “This is part of our vision to transform Lower Manhattan into a 21st century community - one that is supported by a growing list of corporate tenants, but also responsive to community needs and alive with recreational and cultural activities.”

The on again, off again demolition of the former Deutsche Bank at the World Trade Center seems to be off again.
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) was expected to resume the demolition earlier this month. It didn’t happen.
A fire that broke out in the building last August and two firefighters were killed in this building which was severely damaged during the September 11 attacks. LMDC chairman Avi Schick was quoted by Crain’s New York Business today as saying he expects the demolition to resume in a few weeks. He had hoped it would have begun earlier this month but would not detail the reasons by an earlier start date was missed.
Dismantling was halted in August after the firefighters died. “Numerous safety violations at the building, including a broken standpipe that was supposed to bring water to firefighters, allowed the blaze to rage uncontrollably,” Crains reported.

“Various factors stand in the way of restarting the demolition, sources say, including the failure to fully implement new fire safety strategies, the lack of a contractor to tear down the tower and a criminal investigation into the firefighters’ deaths.

For now, leaving the scarred structure standing is more psychologically damaging than an impediment to rebuilding the area, sources say. It remains an eyesore that’s a reminder of the attacks and the long, convoluted process to finally begin building on the World Trade Center site.”

“It is a symbol of the past and that is what makes it so frustrating,”  Liz Berger, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York was quoted in Crains as saying. “It is not a symbol of the current state of Lower Manhattan.”

More than half of the children enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry to track 9/11 related illnesses developed respiratory symptoms after exposure to toxic dust after the Twin Towers collapsed in 2001.
The World Trade Center Health Registry, the largest public health registry in U.S. history, was launched in 2003 to track the health of people exposed to the collapse of the World Trade Center and those who worked at the WTC site. The registry reported that 1,700 of the 3,100 enrolled or 53% have suffered from coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath days and weeks after the 9/11 attacks.
Findings released by the Health Department today provide the first broad snapshot of physical and mental health effects among children exposed to the World Trade Center disaster. The survey found that children under five had an increased likelihood of being diagnosed with asthma in the two to three years following the event, though not as sharp an increase as rescue workers. The survey did not find evidence of elevated levels of post-traumatic stress in children.

Health Department researchers will meet with WTC Health Registry enrollees and other community members tonight at the Second Annual Meeting and Resource Fair at Pace University to present these and other recent findings from the World Trade Center Health Registry initial survey, conducted in 2003 and 2004.

According to the survey, half of the 3,100 children enrolled in the registry developed at least one new or worsened respiratory symptom, such as a cough, between 9/11 and the time of the interview. A follow-up survey now underway will assess whether these symptoms persisted beyond the initial days and months after the event. Prior to 9/11, asthma rates among child enrollees were on par with national and regional rates, but at the time of the interview, about 6% of enrolled children had received a new asthma diagnosis. Children exposed to the dust cloud following the collapse of the towers were twice as likely to be diagnosed with asthma as those not caught in the dust cloud, the survey found.

The post-9/11 asthma rate among children under five years old may be as much as twice the regional (northeastern) rate for the same age group. Further research is needed to learn whether some of this increase is due to better detection of asthma in kids with WTC exposure or because parents of children with asthma symptoms were more likely to enroll their children in the registry.

The mental health portion of the survey showed that only 3% of the children surveyed had symptoms suggestive of post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the interview, a level that is not above that in children elsewhere. As with asthma, however, children who were caught in the dust cloud experienced higher levels. The survey did not assess other mental health problems.

“We now know that some children, too, were affected by exposure to the dust cloud,” said Lorna Thorpe, Deputy Commissioner at the Health Department. “The Registry is helping us learn more about the health effects of 9/11 and share these findings with the public.”

This survey included children under 18 years of age on 9/11/01, who lived or went to school south of Canal Street (preschool and K-12) or were south of Chambers Street on 9/11.

The Health Department is now working on its second survey of the more than 71,000 enrollees. There are only four weeks left for adult enrollees to submit their responses. About 65% of all enrollees have completed the survey so far. Surveys for child enrollees (which are completed by parents for young children) must be submitted before March 2008. These responses will help determine if enrollees are still experiencing 9/11-related health problems and whether new symptoms or conditions have emerged in any group since 9/11.

“It is critical that enrollees help us continue this important work,” said Dr. Polly Thomas, Associate Professor for the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at New Jersey Medical School and lead author of the pediatric study. “We urgently need more people to send in their surveys over the next four weeks.”

Other recent findings can be found at the new World Trade Center health website at www.nyc.gov/9-11HealthInfo. Its creation was one key recommendation of the Mayor’s Addressing the Health Impacts of 9/11 report. The comprehensive website offers one-stop shopping for 9/11 health-related issues, including latest information about scientific research and free or low-cost medical services. The website also includes information on treatment options for the different groups of affected people: rescue and recovery workers, residents, children, city employees and others.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver say a global technology solutions provider, will lease the 35th floor at 7 World Trade Center where it will locate executive offices, an executive briefing center and will serve as a base of operations for 200 employees.

The space will be leased by the NCR Corporation.

NCR’s commitment follows JP Morgan Chase’s decision this past summer to build a new tower at Site 5 of the new World Trade Center complex, which will serve as a base of operations for 7,500 employees.

“NCR’s decision to move its executive offices to the World Trade Center site is further evidence of the continued revitalization of lower Manhattan,” said Governor Spitzer. “Together with JP Morgan Chase’s recent commitment to build and relocate its investment banking headquarters Downtown, we are seeing positive signals that Lower Manhattan remains a global center of commerce.”

New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said: “I had the privilege of meeting Bill Nuti through a mutual friend about three years ago, and I took advantage of that opportunity to outline some of the reasons why he should consider moving NCR’s executive offices to Downtown Manhattan. The decision to move the executive offices of NCR to the Ground Zero area is a demonstration of American pride and an affirmation that Downtown Manhattan is the place where our nation’s top companies belong, and where they come to compete on a global level. I thank and applaud NCR for being a part of the rebirth of Lower Manhattan.”

Bill Nuti, NCR Chairman, CEO and President said: “NCR is very proud of our move into the World Trade Center complex for many reasons. For one, it will allow NCR to expand our presence in New York, where we conduct a great deal of business today and where we see a larger market opportunity as we expand our self-service technologies in our core retail and financial markets, as well as new markets, such as travel and hospitality, gaming and entertainment, healthcare and the public sector. The new offices will provide office space for management, operations and customer sales and support, as well as a new customer briefing center where we can showcase our solutions to prospective customers. It is also a strong statement of support for the downtown area of New York City, which is rebuilding itself after the tragedy of 9-11.”

New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding Daniel L. Doctoroff said: “Lower Manhattan’s growth is marked not only by the increasing number of companies that want to locate their headquarters here, but also by the array of industries they represent, diversifying and strengthening the local economy. NCR’s move is the latest example of that, and the company’s presence will add to Lower Manhattan’s ongoing transformation into a thriving community that is attractive to businesses, residents and visitors alike.”

Much of Lower Manhattan has been rebuilt with little concern for input from the city’s residents, according to a posting at citiesandmoney.com. This includes the World Trade Center.
“ Although the 9/11 families have had input into the World Trade Center (WTC) site, citizens have been shut out of the rest of Lower Manhattan.

Only a few weeks after 9/11, a group of highly organized business men called for the creation of a public authority that would be responsible for the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan. Who were these business and real estate leaders? - The Partnership for the City of New York and Chamber of Commerce, the Real Estate Board, and the Alliance for Downtown New York.
The Governor and State Legislature created the state Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC). LMDC’s territory runs from Houston Street to the tip of Manhattan, from the East River to the Hudson, and oversees the revitalization and rebuilding of all businesses and housing except for those areas that are governed by other authorities; namely, WTC site governed by the Port Authority, and Battery Park City governed by the Battery Park City Authority.

The people appointed by Governor Pataki were from the financial and real estate industry with few appointees from local residents. Other than the chair of Community Board 1 and a representative from the construction trades, the list reads like the who’s who from a night at Lincoln Center.

With the establishment of LMDC, developers no longer had to worry about the City’s urban planning process, (ULURP), nor did developers have to worry about the City’s building codes. After all, the City no longer has jurisdiction. Most importantly, what the City Council thinks is no longer relevant including the City Council’s call for more affordable housing in Lower Manhattan.

The creation of state authorities has always been used to cut elected officials and city residents out of the decision making process. The City has lost a huge chunk of real estate to the State and developers. Lower Manhattan is becoming a playground for the rich as one luxury building after another is built.”