Beyond Ground Zero Network

The Beyond Ground Zero Network (BGZ) is a group of community-based organizations that came together shortly after September 11, 2001 to address the severe health and economic impact of the World Trade Center’s collapse on Lower Manhattan’s low-income communities, especially among immigrants in Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Since its inception, BGZ has been working to address this crisis by:

• Organizing the low-income, primarily immigrant population that lived and worked in Lower Manhattan on/after 9.11 to demand health care, treatment and assistance for members of their communities affected by 9.11

• Documenting the impact of the 9.11 disaster on the health of thousands of low-income Lower Manhattan residents and workers, through large-scale community surveys reaching thousands of affected individuals

• Securing health care and treatment for low-income, uninsured workers and residents with 9.11-related health problems, through an innovative pilot program in collaboration with Bellevue Hospital. The program was launched with no funding or government support of any kind, and has provided ongoing screening and treatment to thousands of people who would otherwise have gone untreated.

BGZ’s member organizations are:

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association
Commission on the Public’s Health System
National Mobilization Against Sweatshops
Community Development Project of the Urban Justice Center

Read the BGZ brochure

Brochure page 1
Brochure page 2

Our Demands

Federal government-funded programs for the treatment of 9/11-related health problems have been limited to rescue, recovery and cleanup workers in the immediate area surrounding Ground Zero, and until recently no government assistance has gone to treatment for Lower Manhattan residents and workers, low-income or otherwise, who have developed health problems as a result of the events of 9/11.

We demand that the government protect the health of all workers and residents of Lower Manhattan affected by the post-9/11 toxic environment and government cover-up of this problem by:

• Admitting that government officials lied and covered up the 9/11 toxic fallout
• Funding a comprehensive long-term health study and treatment program
• Paying monetary compensation to workers and residents suffering from permanent 9/11 health damage and subsequent economic hardship
• Providing quality health insurance to all 9/11 affected workers and residents
• Guaranteeing immediate and lifetime Workers' Compensation monetary benefits and medical treatment