Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, November 08, 2001 4:24 PM 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 Department of Justice Battery Park City Residents -Victims Too My son and I are residents of Gateway Plaza in Battery Park City, and although I was already in mid-town at my office, at the time of the attack on the WTC, my son, and his puppy were at home. Totally traumatized and covered in black smoke, with difficulty breathing, they were part of the evacuation effort and thank goodness made it out okay. Of course while trying to locate my son, I completely comprehend the terror, fear, and anxiety that others must have endured while trying to locate their loved ones, as I went through physical reactions myself (vomiting, etc), until I was able to find him by 4:00PM. That was only the first day. Since then, I have been displaced from my apartment, which is the 600 Plaza and referred to as "Ground Zero Minus One". Unfortunately, I will not be able to return until the middle of December, if all goes well. Yet, it will still be under construction to repair the many severely damaged apartments in my building. There are so many difficulties we have had to endure during this time, many of which are emotional and stressful, however, much of the distress is tremendous financial hardship. 1) The FBI and Police prohibited residents from reoccupying our apartments for quite some time, as it was designated as a 'crime scene'. Our apartments were broken into as emergency workers commandeered the streets and buildings. Even now, for those that have returned, taxis with residents attempting to return home are stopped at check points and often not permitted to proceed to their homes. Car services to pick up business travelers for airport rides cannot do so, as passengers must walk to Bowling Green Subway Station with their luggage in order to meet corporate limousine services. (The inconveniences even at this late date or numerous, yet no longer seem to have reason). 2) All apartments in the vicinity contain "the substance" (1-3 inches deep) covering walls, ceilings, floors, couches, bedding, clothing, etc. Research and conversation with residents, that have already reoccupied, have indicated that the 'substance' can be extremely irritating to eyes, nose, throat and skin. Although the EPA assured us that the air poses no long-term health risk, we all have our doubts. Obviously, if the sign on the movie theater indicates contamination, as well as the restaurants in Northern Battery Park, are not reopening due to the hazardous materials, there clearly is a problem. They are even further away from the site than we are. The fires are still burning. This means that prior to reoccupation of our apartment, we will have to retain the services of a certified hazardous materials remediation/restoration firm. This will be quite costly. I do not have insurance to cover this expense. Additionally, we will have to purchase HEPA Filter air purifiers to maintain the clean air in our apartments. This too will be an expense and of course the electricity to keep them running 24x7. 3) When the tragedy first occurred, we were walking the streets of Manhattan trying to find friends couches to sleep on - nothing but the clothes on our back. People from all over the country were trying to reach us to make sure we were alive and we had to contact people looking for place to stay and we had to use my son's Verizon cell phone. We are now faced with a bill that is over $700 for the last two months. They are willing to credit $200, but his usual cell phone bill is $40/month. He just started a new job, he does not make a high salary, this will be just another one of the financial hardships. 4) We had to buy underwear, clothing, toiletries and spend huge amounts on laundering and dry cleaning when were finally able to retrieve some of our clothes a couple of weeks later. 5) Hotel costs - some paid through Red Cross vouchers - after hours of painful, stressful and angry encounters with them. I have been told that it may be difficult to gain continued assistance from the Red Cross, as they are withholding the funds from the 9/11 victims and saving the money for future events and they have put a stop on further donations. 6) I have been a resident in my apartment for 19 years and there is a definite quality of life issue, but I cannot afford to move out. I must return, however, the longer it takes the more costly and stressful it is. I work for a very demanding company, and not being focused on my job is not what I want to portray at these times of huge layoffs. 7) Obviously, living in a hotel results in extremely high food bills, and the knowledge that I am not safe in my home - I don't have a safe haven - a place where I feel protected or calm. This entire event has cost me thousands of dollars - I am not a kid anymore. I have raised two children as a single parent. I have just put my daughter through veterinary school, still paying off loans - I cannot afford what has already been spent, not to mention what is yet to come. I realize that these problems don't equate to loss of life, but so much has been lost to us and continues. We have recieved no respect, care or concern from the City or State of NY and as time goes by, there is less interest and less attention paid to us (if that is possible). We really do need assistance! We really are victims too! If you would like to contact me, I can be reached at my office Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-08 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000263.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-08