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By LIZ GOFF All eyes are on Queens Firefighter Michael Moran. The feisty Far Rockaway resident took to the stage at the Oct. 22 "Concert For New York" at Madison Square Garden with a personal message for Osama bin Laden.
"In the spirit of the Irish people," Moran said, "Osama bin Laden – you can kiss my royal Irish ass." The crowd of 6,000 firefighters, police officers, city paramedics and other emergency workers went wild with cheers and applause for the 38-year-old Moran. "Look at my face," Moran said, "Take a good look. Now come and get me – I’m in Far Rockaway, Queens, USA," he said in his message to the terror suspect. "I’ll be waiting for you, bitch," he declared. Moran was introduced to the crowd by comedian Michael J. Fox at the end of the concert. He began his remarks with a tribute to his brother, Battalion Chief John Moran, 42, who was killed when the Twin Towers collapsed, and to his 12 "brother firefighters" from Ladder 3 who were killed while helping people from the towers. Moran told the Tribune that he spoke using the "most genteel" language he could. Moran’s words, tinged with anger, touched millions of New Yorkers and viewers nationwide. "He said exactly what each of us has wanted to say," said Queens Firefighter Paul Brady. Moran’s words were also greeted with rousing applause by his cousin, Queens Congressman Joseph Crowley. Crowley told the Tribune that he is "proud" of his cousin for "telling it like it is." "Mike has spent countless hours searching at ground zero for John (his brother)," Crowley said. "He is heartbroken over the deaths he has experienced and his grief and anger fueled his remarks. "I believe he was echoing the words of almost all of us. It was a relief," Crowley said. Moran’s words also drew applause from Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who stood behind the 12-year FDNY veteran at center stage. "I really didn’t hear a thing," Moran said of the crowd’s response. "I remember walking on stage and searching the audience for my girlfriend. Then I kind of went blank," he added. "Stage fright." "It was a breath of fresh air," Brady said. Talking Terrorism By NICK ABADJIAN With virtually one subject on the minds of many Queens residents in recent weeks, Congressman Anthony Weiner visited children and seniors in Middle Village and Glendale to talk about terrorism and its affects. On Thursday, Oct. 18 Weiner toured IS 119 in Glendale, PS 87 in Middle Village, and the Middle Village Senior Center. He tackled some tough questions from elementary and junior high school kids and reassured seniors about the current state of affairs on topics such as immigration, social security, Medicare, and the tactics of war. Weiner said, "This is a rare moment in our life where people are looking at their elected officials to show leadership. Part of it is about reassuring people." Yet to Weiner, hearing a third grader at P.S. 87 talk about anthrax is bizarre, he said. Since the school used to face the Twin Towers, some of the kids witnessed the disaster. Eight students had parents in the Towers – all who got out safe, the Tribune learned. To be a good patriot, Weiner told them to study history and ask their teachers questions to understand the world better. Then two students asked him why the terrorists did what they did. "Out of the mouth of babes comes the question of what most Americans are wrestling with," said Weiner. "I am a congressman and I don’t have all the answers. I’m still sorting it out." Homeless Congress Back In DCBy ANGELA MONTEFINISE Outside the front steps of the Capitol Building in Washington DC, displaced Queens Congressman Gary Ackerman sat at a makeshift office made of card tables and chairs waiting for his home - the Capitol - to reopen following the anthrax scare.
Jordan Goldes, a representative for Ackerman, said, "The Congressman knows business must go on even though the congressional offices inside the Capitol are shut. Setting up temporary shop outside makes him visible and accessible, and shows that he is not afraid of terrorists." Congress may have appeared to be afraid on Oct. 18, when its members suspended their session and flew home following the discovery of an anthrax-laced letter to Senator Tom Daschle in Washington. Five of the seven Queens Congressmen held a press conference at LaGuardia Airport that day to tell their constituents not to panic, a move which many congressmen, including Joseph Crowley, found "somewhat hypocritical." Crowley said, "We cannot be perceived as abandoning the peoples’ interests every time we get an envelope full of white powder. We weren’t afraid at all, but it was perceived that way. It’s not easy to calm constituents when we look like we’re running away." The seven Queens Congressmen - Ackerman, Crowley, Gregory Meeks, Nita Lowey, Carolyn Maloney, Anthony Weiner, and Nydia Velazquez - all spent the weekend of Oct. 19 with constituents in their districts, and went back to Washington on Oct. 23. At presstime, none of the Congressmen were allowed to receive mail or return to their offices, but business was getting done out of temporary offices in "Washington basements and backrooms," according to Goldes. It’s unclear when health officials will declare the Capitol safe and anthrax free, but in the meantime constituents can reach out to displaced Congressmen by calling their district offices or their Washington offices, where phone calls are being forwarded to the district. — Marcia Moxam Comrie contributed to this story. Pushing The Clear Envelope By NICK ABADJIAN One Queens company believes the solution to the postal Anthrax scare is clear, and they have already begun marketing it in the form of a see-through envelope. A spokespeson for the Glendale-based Brenner Paper Company, which produces three million envelopes a day for direct mail clients, said they believe the threat of anthrax has left the direct mail industry facing a potential crisis Brenner owner Rhoda Levenson, who came up with the diaphanous solution said, "You can see through the mail so you’re not suspicious of opening it … If the envelope contained that anthrax powder, you’d shake it and see it. It would fall right to the bottom." The transparent paper is called "clear fold," but Levenson refers to it as "clear-view." Brenner has used the clear fold before, but never as an anti-terrorist tactic. Brenner produces a little over a billion envelopes a year and last week, Levenson sent out a mailer to her direct-mail clients with the clear envelope concept. Brenner has already produced 14 million clear envelopes for a MasterCard direct mailer. The clear fold paper costs about five times as much as regular paper. It can be written on and printed just like regular paper, Levenson said. Brenner Paper got started in Levenson’s father’s print shop in Brooklyn in 1932. The company moved to Glendale 35 years ago. All In A Day's Work
A group of medical workers from the Queens-Long Island Medical Group presented a check for $100,000 to the Twin Towers fund at a ceremony at Borough Hall on Oct. 24. The health care workers gave up a day’s pay to help the families of victims of Sept 11. (From left to right) John Mariano, medical Records clerk; Tony Caruso;
Frederica Caruso, medical records clerk; Dr. Suman Reejsinghani, NYPD Assistant Chief
Harold Meyers; Borough President Claire Shulman, FDNY Deputy Inspector Richard Keegan;
Michael Sparacino, executive administrator and David Pizarro, maintenance worker; were on
hand for the check presentation ceremony. By NICK ABADJIAN A New York delegation of Congress members gathered at LaGuardia to push a bill aimed at federalizing airport security. Representatives from flight attendant and traffic controller unions joined Congress members Nita Lowey, Joseph Crowley, and Anthony Weiner in support of a bill that calls to federalize airport security and turn over luggage screening to federal law enforcement officials. "Aviation security is a matter of national security," said Congressman Joseph Crowley. "Passengers need to be assured that airports like LaGuardia practice the highest levels of security procedures." According to the Federal General Accounting Office GAO, turnover rates for luggage screeners range from 100 to 400 percent. The turnover rate is attributed to low wages with averages of $5.25 to $6.75 an hour and low benefits. |
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