George Pataki, who was governor of New York during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and led the state through the difficult period that followed, has revealed that he is suffering from a lung condition tied to his exposure to toxins at Ground Zero.
Pataki, a Republican who served as governor from 1995 through 2006, told the New York Post that he has restrictive airway disease resulting from his exposure to toxic material at the site of the collapsed World Trade Center towers in Lower Manhattan.
Pataki said he received the diagnosis sometime within the past five years. His disclosure comes just days before the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“I just look at it as I’m one of the lucky ones,” Pataki told The Post, humbly deflecting questions about his condition.
“You know, 25 years later, I feel great. I have this minor residual impact from that time. But compared to so many others, I consider myself very lucky,” he said.
Rudy Giuliani, who was mayor of New York City at the time of the attacks, has also been diagnosed with restrictive airway disease connected to his exposure at Ground Zero, according to his representative. Giuliani was hospitalized in critical condition with pneumonia earlier this year.
The toxic dust and fine particulate matter that blanketed Lower Manhattan after the Twin Towers collapsed have been linked to a wide range of respiratory diseases and other serious health problems among those who were exposed. Research conducted over the ensuing decades has documented the lasting respiratory effects of World Trade Center exposure.
Pataki, who had not previously made his diagnosis public, sought to shift attention away from his own health and toward the first responders, government workers and others who repeatedly returned to Ground Zero during the rescue, recovery and rebuilding efforts after terrorists hijacked commercial airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center.
“The people who were with me at Ground Zero over and over for months after those attacks, many of them have serious illnesses, far more serious than anything I might be experiencing,” Pataki said, noting that he has not been diagnosed with cancer related to Ground Zero.
The continuing health toll from the attacks remains substantial 25 years later. A newly released FDNY report found that more than 10,000 department members are living with at least one physical health condition connected to 9/11 exposure.
Before becoming governor, Pataki served in the New York State Senate and as mayor of Peekskill in Westchester County. He remains the most recent Republican to have won a statewide election in New York.
Pataki has also drawn attention recently for his comments about Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the upcoming 25th anniversary commemoration at Ground Zero. Pataki said Mamdani should consider staying away from the memorial unless he condemns the slogan “globalize the intifada” and distances himself from commentator Hasan Piker.
Mamdani, a Muslim and a critic of Israel, has previously defended the use of “globalize the intifada,” disputing the contention that the phrase amounts to an incitement to violence against Jews. The American Jewish Committee has said the expression invokes the idea of “rising up” against Israel.
Pataki said Mamdani should also make a clear break with Piker, who has faced criticism over remarks concerning the Sept. 11 attacks.
“If he says he will have nothing to do with Hasan Piker, and if he says he will condemn the statement, ‘globalize the intifada,’ then I would have no problem with him being here,” Pataki told The Post.
Pataki, however, said he does not expect that to happen before the anniversary commemoration.
“Out of respect for those who died and out of the respect for their families and the first responders, he should make the decision not to go,” Pataki said.
Regardless of Mamdani’s attendance, Pataki said he wants the anniversary ceremony to remain free of political distractions and to “go off without any disruption.”
“I think basically just ignoring his presence might be the best,” Pataki said.
{Matzav.com}
