New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will recognize first responders and volunteers who worked for over a decade to convince Congress to renew the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.
The fund was permanently extended in July to pay for the medical treatment of first responders and survivors of the terrorist attacks in 2001.
Later Monday, de Blasio will honor a band of 50 survivors connected to the Nesconset, Long Island-based FealGood Foundation, likely including former Daily Show host Jon Stewart, who pushed for the extension.
The fund now bears the name of several Long Island first responders-turned-activists: New York firefighter Ray Pfeifer and city detective Lou Alvarez. Doctors say they died from illnesses associated with toxins they were exposed to at 9/11.
