New York City will release a treasure trove of memos about what the city knew about the toxic air at the World Trade Center site — only if federal lawmakers can help protect the city from lawsuits after the documents are made public, the Daily News has learned.
City attorneys met with Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Carolyn Maloney’s (D-N.Y.) staffers earlier this month, at the invitation of Mayor Adams, to talk about releasing the secret 9/11-related documents that have been under lock and key since planes destroyed the twin towers, congressional sources said.
The municipal attorneys said they might release the undisclosed material, but only if the lawmakers met three eyebrow-raising demands: Let the city keep $300 million remaining in a federally funded litigation account, fund a new lawsuit protection plan, and pass a federal law shielding the city from any further responsibility, the sources said.