Kathy Healy says she might not have held out for that $8.75 million settlement of her lawsuit had City Hall shown some basic civility after her husband’s death in the completely avoidable 2003 Staten Island ferry crash.
“Mayor Bloomberg never gave a public apology for their mistakes,” she said. “No New York politician ever gave their support to help us.”
Her bitterness is understandable.
From the start, the mayor’s attitude toward the crash – which killed 11 people and injured hundreds of others – was pretty bizarre.
Despite findings that ferry employees and supervisors alike routinely ignored safety directives and regulations, Bloomberg kept his transportation commissioner, Iris Weinshall – to whom the ferry’s senior directors ultimately reported – in her job for years after the accident.
Indeed, she wasn’t even reprimanded – publicly or, as far as we know, privately, either.
No accountability. No blame.
“Had they treated us a little differently,” said Healy, “maybe my decision would be a little different.”
It’s hard to fault her for that.