Spitzer Signs Disability Bill
Mechanics Entitled To WTC Pensions

By REUVEN BLAU

Governor Spitzer June 3 signed a bill including the city's auto mechanics in World Trade Center disability and pension laws.

GOVERNOR SPITZER: Gives mechanics their due.

The legislation allows the city's 1,000 mechanics who cleaned Fire Department, Police Department and Sanitation Department vehicles post-9/11 to apply for disability pensions if they develop a WTC-related illness.

Locations Were Key

Mechanics were left out of the original law due to an oversight in how its language was crafted - it mandated that employees must be able to prove they performed work at Ground Zero, the city morgue or the Staten Island landfill where debris was placed.

Joseph Colangelo, president of Service Employees' International Union Local 246, which represents the mechanics, said many of his members were at those sites and met the eligibility requirements to file a claim.

But other mechanics who tended to city rigs at the West 34th St. and 58th St. garages don't qualify, Mr. Colangelo noted, because those locations weren't included as part of the "zone" established by the disability bill.

"I'm still floating on air," Mr. Colangelo said after being notified about the signing by this reporter. "We want to protect the other guys who decontaminated damaged vehicles."

The union's lobbyist also praised the Governor and the heads of the State Legislature. "I feel like I've just given birth," Bob Ungar said, noting that he has been working on the bill for the past two years. "This bill is so significant in covering people who desperately need it."

The Mayor's Office opposed the bill primarily because of the cost, submitting a fiscal note estimating it at $500,000 annually.

Questioned Bill's Need

But the Bloomberg administration also questioned the need for such a bill, asserting that its supporters had failed to demonstrate that mechanics who repaired, cleaned or rehabilitated city vehicles were exposed to the same health risks as other public employees.

Governor Spitzer rejected that argument. "Auto Mechanics made a significant contribution to the rescue and clean-up operation following the attack on the WTC," the bill's approval memo stated. "If these auto workers are ill ... they deserve the same benefits afforded to other NYC employees."

The Governor noted that opponents of the bill argued that it was too broadly drafted, and should be limited to a specific class of individuals.

The approval memo, however, pointed out that the bill's sponsors intended the measure to only cover city-employed auto mechanics. The legislation, which was vetoed by former-Governor Pataki, grants Local 246 Auto Mechanics eligibility for presumptive pensions.