“On 9/11, my constituent joined hundreds of other heroic first responders who selflessly rushed into the World Trade Center to save lives. Mr. Pearlman answered the call to help his fellow New Yorkers and made the ultimate sacrifice in the process. His mother should not be denied the benefits due to her,” Weiner said.
Pearlman, then 18, was killed in the collapse of the second tower while helping to evacuate and treat the wounded, according to his mother. A photo of Pearlman treating a bloodied woman after the first tower’s collapse appeared in Newsday the week of the attacks.
“He died to help people,” Dorie Pearlman said. “To me, the Justice Department stands for justice. And if I can’t get justice in my son’s name — and not just his name, all EMS workers — then what good is the Justice Department?”
According to her, Pearlman began volunteering with the ambulance corps at 14, commuting to their Metropoltian Avenue headquarters from his home in Howard Beach.
And despite the Justice Deprtment’s contention that Pearlman was not a licensed first responder, Weiner pointed to his certification with the Red Cross and the ambulance corps’ certification with the state Department of Health.
“He gave his life to help other strangers. He never said to a stranger, ‘This is out of my jurisdiction. I can’t cross the line,’” Pearlman’s mother said.
Funding for surviving family members has been provided since 1976 under the federal Public Safety Officers Benefits program.
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