Mayor: Zadroga A Hero, Sorry I Disputed That

By ARI PAUL

Mayor Bloomberg Nov. 5 used a bill-signing ceremony where he increased the powers of the Chief Medical Examiner to publicly apologize to the family of a Detective whose heroism he had questioned based on the conclusions of Chief ME Charles S. Hirsch about the manner in which he died.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'A TRUE HERO': Det. James Zadroga's father, Joseph, told reporters Nov. 5 that Mayor Bloomberg apologized for declaring his son was 'not a hero' because Chief Medical Examiner Charles S. Hirsch concluded he died as a result of injecting prescription drugs rather than due to illnesses caused by his time spent at Ground Zero. 'I wasn't surprised,' Mr. Zadroga said after the meeting, with the family's lawyer, Michael Barasch looking on. 'I knew we were right from the beginning.'

"I believe that James Zadroga was a hero for the way he lived, regardless of the way he died," Mr. Bloomberg said of the decorated Detective who died at age 34 in January 2006.

ME Findings Clashed

An Ocean County, N.J. Medical Examiner concluded that Mr. Zadroga's death resulted from the toxins he inhaled during 450 hours of recovery work at Ground Zero following 9/11. Dr. Hirsch disagreed with that finding, however, saying he believed that injecting ground-up prescription drugs into his system was the cause of the Detective's death.

After Mr. Zadroga's father reacted angrily to that determination, Mr. Bloomberg defended the ME - who has held that post for 19 years - by telling an audience at the Harvard School of Public Health Oct. 29 that science showed that James Zadroga was "not a hero."

An uproar resulted that led to the Mayor meeting with the father, Joseph Zadroga, and his attorney, Michael Barasch, at City Hall last Monday, where he apologized and assured them he would publicly amend his statements.

'Will Honor Sacrifice'

During the bill-signing, the Mayor made good on that pledge and then added, "I committed to the family [that] we will find a dignified way to honor his son's sacrifice."

Addressing the regularly scheduled business of the hearing, Mr. Bloomberg said in a signing statement, "Introductory Number 604 codifies in the City Charter an expansion of duties and powers of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). The OCME has primarily been responsible for determining the cause and the manner of all sudden, violent, or unexpected deaths."

He added, "However, with advances in forensic science, OCME's responsibilities have expanded much further to include DNA analysis of homicides, assaults, property crimes, and other offenses - which have been enhanced by OCME's new DNA laboratory that we opened earlier this year. This bill ensures that OCME will continue its important work as technologies change and we employ new, innovative approaches to solving crime, and reflects the new, true scope of OCME's duties and responsibilities."

He also signed a bill that would expand the FDNY Pension Fund Medical Board in order to expedite the processing of retiring Firefighters and fire officers applying for disability pensions. The department saw an increase in applications since 9/11.

End Disability Delays

"In many cases, a retirement application takes more than a year to process, a delay that burdens both the retiring employee and the FDNY," the Mayor said. "This will enable the FDNY to quickly resolve the employment status of retiring members and more quickly fill the vacancies left by their retirement. Shorter processing time will also decrease the amount of overtime used by active firefighters while their injured colleagues await the decision of the Board and will enable the department to more expeditiously allocate the supplemental portion of retirees' pensions that are withheld until the disability application has been processed."

Both the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association supported the bill. UFA spokesman Thomas Butler said that in addition to the legislation, the union hoped the Bloomberg administration would support Corpus Funding for the Pension Fund in order "bring it in line with the other four systems in NYC."

Pesticide Reporting

The Mayor also signed a bill requiring city agencies to inform the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene of pesticide use.

"Comprehensive pesticide reporting will result in a cleaner, safer and healthier environment for all of New Yorkers," he said.