Recent Blog Posts

On January 9, Mayor Bill de Blasio presented former FDNY firefighter Ray Pfeifer the keys to the city at City Hall in honor of his tenacious advocacy of Zadroga Act reauthorization. Pfeifer, currently battling stage-four renal cancer, played a pivotal role in persuading Congress to continue health benefits for sick 9/11 responders until the year […]

It is with great sadness that we at Barasch & McGarry acknowledge the passing in January of another brave 9/11 responder who succumbed to 9/11-related illness at all-too-young an age. The Journal News recently reported that Thomas John Kelly, 58, an FDNY firefighter for 17 years in the Bronx and a resident of Carmel, New […]

Michael Barasch was honored along with other 9/11 union leaders and advocates by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and Congressman Jerrold Nadler for their group effort in getting Congress to extend and reauthorize the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The law was passed by Congress at the end of December 2015. It guarantees full payment of all […]

Although it is a fairly rare cancer, thyroid cancer was one of the most prevalent 9/11-related diseases to emerge among WTC responders and Ground Zero rescue and recovery workers. The disease has a very short latency period of only 2.5 years after exposure, so it wasn’t very surprising to see thyroid cancer get a jump […]

Although law enforcement on Manhattan Island began with Dutch settlers in 1625, the New York City Police Department as an entity dates back to 1845. In the 170 years of its existence, thousands of men and women have served honorably in the rank and file of the NYPD, facing numerous dangers. Yet, the greatest historical […]

As a rule, lawyers should stay out of politics. So—we would never suggest who someone should vote for. However, when we hear something said that isn’t true, we feel a moral obligation to set the record straight. Following his victory at the Iowa caucus, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz addressed a room of supporters to celebrate […]