VIDEO: Barasch & McGarry Law Firm Honors Victims of 9/11 Illness with Descendants Scholarship
More than two decades after the Sept. 11 attacks, the toll on first responders and civilians continues — and so does the commitment to their families.
Barasch & McGarry, a law firm representing the 9/11 community, is sending rising college freshmen off to school with scholarships born from that promise.
One of the recipients is Gabriella Abate, who is days away from heading to Marist University’s Florence campus in Italy to study fashion merchandising.
“Being a fashion merchandising major, like I know it’s really important to like, go big or go home because it’s really, really competitive. I can’t wait to go and travel,” Abate said.
Packing for the adventure is taxing, but her must-have item barely weighs an ounce and takes up hardly any space: a photo of her grandfather, Joseph Abate Sr.
“I just know that he’s always there and he was always there. Always there for anyone that needed it, always put in the work, like never like cut anything short,” she said.
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Joseph Abate Sr. died in 2021 from 9/11-related lung cancer. He was 67. He spent 37 years as an electrician for the New York City Police Department. After the attacks, when the city needed his tools, skills, and tireless dedication most, he was there.
It cost him his life — not immediately, but slowly over time. He is one of the only civilians ever awarded the NYPD’s Distinguished Service Medal.
“I always knew something was wrong, but, like, he never made his problems anyone else’s,” Gabriella Abate said.
The dust from the collapsed Twin Towers has been linked to more than 69 types of cancer. More than 9,000 people have died from 9/11-related illnesses.
“Many people, especially those outside of New York, just think it was a one-day horrible tragedy. And it was. But it’s equally tragic to the families who have lost loved ones. My firm loses two clients every single day,” said Michael Barasch, managing partner at Barasch & McGarry.
Every day he fields phone calls about medical records, compensation, and death certificates. Recently, a few calls made him smile — the ones he placed to Gabriella Abate and five other rising college freshmen who had lost a parent or grandparent to a 9/11 illness. Each was awarded $25,000 as part of the 9/11 Descendants Scholarship.
“You can hear the emotion in their voice, in their parents’ voice. It’s, so it’s a great feeling for me,” Barasch said. The recipients were selected by an independent party, the 9/11 Museum’s Visionary Network.
On Sept. 2, Barasch & McGarry held a ceremony for the scholarship recipients at 3 World Trade Center. They were presented with checks to their respective colleges as the FDNY Pipes and Drums played.
Joseph Abate Sr. will not be here to see his granddaughter off to college, but his memory and sacrifice will travel with her across the ocean and for a lifetime. She leaves for Italy with a suitcase full of clothes — and a photo of the man whose courage helped build the future she is about to step into.
Nearly 25 years later, the health impact of that day is still unfolding. More than 400,000 people were exposed to the toxic dust at ground zero.
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Today more than 136,000 first responders and survivors are enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program. Nearly 90,000 of them have at least one certified 9/11-related health condition.
Among the most common are chronic sinus problems, acid reflux, asthma, PTSD, and cancer. More than 52,000 people have been diagnosed with a 9/11-linked cancer.
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has paid out more than $16.8 billion to over 71,000 claimants since it reopened in 2011, and new claims continue to come in every month.
Barasch & McGarry, the largest law firm dealing with 9/11-related illness claims, says anyone living, working, or going to school downtown in the weeks and months following Sept. 11 is eligible to register with the World Trade Center Health Program.
The firm says 80% of first responders — but just 10% of civilians — have enrolled. Both the World Trade Center Health Program and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund have been extended through 2090.