Ground Zero News Round Up

- A study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine shows that the lungs first responders to the September 11 attacks had the equivalent of 12 years of aging. The study continues to bolster constant claims that the World Trade Center's toxic dust had a deleterious effect on firefighters. amNew York reports the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association as saying the city needs to help September 11's first responders: "There are over 100 firefighters that FDNY doctors have deemed as too permanently disabled to continue working as firefighters, yet the city won't allow them to retire. If we are not going to take care of the rescuers, what type of message does that send?" Keep in mind, the EPA may have "buried" information about Ground Zero air being hazardous.

- The "Survivors' Staircase" - aka the Vesey Street Staircase from World Trade Center Plaza that was named to the National Trust for Historical Preservation in May - may need to be moved due to excavation for the WTC's rebuilding. People are split about the need to preserve the staircase, as moving it might be costly. The West Street Coalition chairman told the Daily News, "Get rid of it. [And since WTC survivors] escaped through many doorways and down many stairways, of which this one has no particular historical significance. ... It's a hunk of junk."

- Now that the LMDC announced that it would close, its president Stefan Pryor is now joining Newark Mayor Cory Booker's staff as the deputy mayor of economic department. Well, Booker is nothing if not an optimist.

- And in Tribeca last night, there was a screening of World Trade Center - here's an Oliver Stone sandwich with Courtney Love and Scarlett Johnson as the bread.

Photograph from garyxx on Flickr