Following intense pressure from politicians and unions and minutes before a City Hall press conference, Mayor Bloomberg announced his administration will release the names of police officers who worked at Ground Zero, who have cancer.
Bloomberg broke the news this afternoon that his administration will give Mt. Sinai School of Medicine the names of the officers and civilian NYPD members after following proper confidential agreements.
Mt. Sinai has been treating and monitoring the NYPD since Sept. 11 and is preparing a report to submit by March to the federal government, which must decide whether to include cancer in the list of ailments covered by the Zadroga Act for sick first responders.
“We are committed to working with Mt. Sinai to share this information as quickly as possible,” Bloomberg said in a prepared statement.
The Post broke the story about the number of Ground Zero cops with cancer.
Patrick Lynch, the president of the Patrolman’s Benevolent Association, said the city’s announcement means next to nothing.
“We appreciate the belated gesture, but believe it provides no useful information in the short term and that the city’s obligation to release information that will establish a cancer rate should be memorialized in a law,” Lynch said.