While Congress drags its heels on renewing the Zadroga Act, a hero former FDNY battalion chief was buried on Wednesday after succumbing to World Trade Center-related cancer, officials said.
Manhattan Battalion Chief James Costello, 52, died the day before Thanksgiving and was buried in New Jersey after a Catholic funeral mass, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
The irony of Costello — described as a "very bright" and hardworking member of the department — dying as Congress dallies on renewing a bill that will pay for care for other members wasn't lost on Nigro. "I find it hard to believe," said Nigro. "The effect it [World Trade Center illnesses] has had on members of this department … and on our families is devastating." He spoke after a World Trade Center Steering Committee meeting in which Mayor de Blasio addressed the group — which is responsible for monitoring the health of people impacted by the terror attacks — urged Congress to quickly reauthorize the Zadroga Act.
"World Trade Center illness is not going away, and this program cannot go away either," he said.