Officials Defend Cleanup Actions at City Council Hearing

Starting March 11, residents can call a new city hotline, at 212–221–8635, to express concerns and ask questions about environmental conditions in Lower Manhattan. It will be staffed by employees of the city’s Department of Health and Department of Environmental Protection and will operate Monday through Friday between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Michael Bloomberg and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton also announced on March 8 the formation of a Lower Manhattan air quality task force, led by the city’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM), to oversee environmental issues in and around the World Trade Center site. The task force will coordinate the activities of city agencies and will review and disseminate environmental testing data and other information.