Barasch & McGarry Recognizes Professor Yvonne Phang of BMCC on International Women’s Day

As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, Barasch & McGarry recognizes an extraordinary woman with whom we have collaborated extensively to support the 9/11 community: Professor Yvonne Phang of Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC).

Professor Yvonne Phang, who teaches Accounting, has worked to focus attention on the nearly 400,000 members of the 9/11 community who were not first responders: the survivors who lived, worked, studied, and taught in Lower Manhattan after 9/11.

These survivors were exposed to the same deadly Ground Zero toxins that dramatically increase the risk of 68 different types of cancer and many severe respiratory diseases.

Yet only 7% of survivors have registered with the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program and the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF)—compared to 80% of first responders.

Professor Phang helped organize a 9/11 informational seminar at BMCC in September 2019, where hundreds of people from the academic community gathered to learn about their rights as 9/11 survivors.

In a recent letter to the editor of Clarion, the newspaper of Professional Staff Congress which represents 30,000 faculty and staff at the City University of New York (CUNY), Professor Phang noted that more than 100 of her BMCC colleagues had been diagnosed with 9/11-related cancer.

She added that, in the next few years, the number of 9/11 first responders and survivors could triple, according to estimates from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 

Professor Phang’s fierce dedication and endless support to the 9/11 community has been invaluable.

If you were there, visit 911victims.com or call 212-385-8000 today to register with the WTC Health Program and Victim Compensation Fund.