Mayor Comes Around On Aid

Although it took a while for him to come around, Mayor Bloomberg should be congratulated for finally making a priority of securing increased Federal funding for workers and downtown residents whose health has deteriorated as a result of the toxic dust and debris around the World Trade Center following 9/11.

A mayoral panel last week reported that respiratory disorders and emotional problems are common among those who worked or lived close to "The Pile," and that there were an unusual number of cases of cancer and pulmonary fibrosis that appeared to be connected to exposure.

Mr. Bloomberg responded by pledging to go to Washington next month to lobby Congress for $150 million a year in aid to help pay for the $393 million in 9/11-related programs now being administered here.

To this point, the only help in this area offered by the Bush Administration was a pledge of a one-time $25-million grant, but the Mayor said he was banking on Congress, which figures to be more kindly disposed toward New York's needs now that both houses are controlled by Democrats, to set up ongoing funding.

One possibility, Mr. Bloomberg noted, would be to shift $1 billion, previously placed in the Captive Insurance Fund by the President to inoculate the city and private contractors against suits related to the cleanup work at Ground Zero, into the Victims' Compensation Fund.

There were times in the past when the Mayor seemed to have lost his sense of proportion when it came to assisting those who participated in the clean-up. Last August, he protested Governor Pataki's signing of a bill providing disability benefits to those who toiled at the Trade Center after 9/11 and their survivors, saying, "There's no free lunch, and Albany doesn't seem to understand that."

Detectives' Endowment Association President Mike Palladino, who had lobbied heavily for the bill to benefit the family of a member, Det. James Zadroga, responded that if the Mayor's real concern was that the Federal Government should be covering the costs, he could have championed the issue in Washington. "Instead, the city was silent," Mr. Palladino said.

We're glad the Mayor has found his voice and is ready to raise it on behalf of those who need and deserve the help.