First Responders

COVID-19 has confronted first responders and front-line health care workers with an unprecedented crisis, threatening the health and safety of essential workers who have carried New York and the entire nation on their backs, day after day. Throughout the pandemic, Barasch & McGarry has been honored to work tirelessly to support first responders and medical […]

As the days grow shorter and temperatures drop, we will soon be in the middle of winter in the New York City region, home to hundreds of thousands of 9/11 first responders and survivors whose immune and respiratory systems are uniquely vulnerable to COVID-19 – particularly severe cases of the disease. To protect yourself and […]

A research group at a New York University is about to conduct an in-depth study on the cognitive state of 9/11 first responders, now that two recent trial studies have shown that their brains bear biomarkers similar to those found in Alzheimer’s patients. Professor Sean Clouston of Stony Brook University and his research team received […]

A Nassau County park has been dedicated to Luis Alvarez, the cancer-stricken NYPD detective who in the months before his 2019 death became the face of the movement to secure permanent health and death benefits for thousands of 9/11 first responders. The former Terrell Avenue Park in Oceanside, located less than half a mile from […]

On this Veterans Day, once again, we honor the men and women who have served our wonderful country. As the son of a proud WWII Army veteran, my father Marvin and my uncle Norman taught me how important it is to recognize and thank those who protect our nation and whose sacrifices and service make […]

Thanks to a directive issued just before the anniversary of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, if a first responder has a 9/11-related illness and dies of COVID-19, his or her family will be able to obtain benefits from the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). This new VCF directive is welcome news for […]