NEW YORK -- A top Giuliani aide who worked at ground zero and was overcome with debilitating asthma after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack was hailed as an "unsung hero'' on Thursday, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his disputed workers' compensation case has been resolved.
Former Deputy Mayor Rudy Washington has been afflicted with a number of health complications, including weight loss and "debilitating respiratory problems,'' according to Randy Mastro, a friend of Washington's who also served as a deputy mayor under Rudolph Giuliani.
"He's had to be rushed to the emergency room on more than one occasion,'' Mastro said.
Washington, a top city official for several years, was on scene when the first World Trade Center tower fell, spewing dust and debris throughout downtown. He also had a hand in city operations at ground zero for weeks afterward.
Washington filed for workers' compensation medical benefits and presented his case to an administrative law judge, who ruled that he was entitled to the benefits. The New York Post reported this week that the city had filed an appeal, which put the benefits in question.
Bloomberg told reporters Thursday that once he learned of the appeal, he ordered it dropped because it was based on a "technicality.'' Mayoral aides say Washington, who now works as a consultant, filed the claim past the statute of limitations.
"Rudy Washington is somebody who has worked very hard for this city,'' Bloomberg said.
"I just thought on a technicality,'' he added, "this is something where a lawyer was probably reading the law too closely and shouldn't have done that, and so I just changed it.''
The mayor was speaking at a press conference in SoHo that was also attended by Gov. George Pataki, who offered his own praise for the former city official.
Pataki described Washington as a crucial voice from City Hall for several hours on the morning of the World Trade Center attack as officials coordinated the emergency response.
"No one knew what might happen next _ Rudy Washington was the person I spoke with throughout that time,'' Pataki said.
"There were many unsung heroes on Sept. 11 -- one of the most important was Rudy Washington.''
The lingering health effects on emergency workers, lower Manhattan residents and others who were exposed to smoke, dust and debris have begun to emerge in recent years. Health and government officials are trying to track the results with screening programs and health registries, and this winter the Bush administration appointed Dr. John Howard to oversee the federal response.
New alarms were raised after a 34-year-old retired police detective died in January of respiratory failure, which his autopsy concluded was "directly related to the 9/11 incident.''
Howard said last month that Detective James Zadroga's death and others may be ``warning cases to us that something might be going on here.''
New York state received about 8,500 injury and exposure claims stemming from the attacks and the cleanup. The Workers' Compensation Board insists it has no breakdown of how many claims were rejected or granted because the agency does not maintain aggregate data.
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