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Tunnel To Towers Will Raise $800,000 To Pay Slain Officers' Mortgages
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 27, 2014
Modified Dec 27, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 27, 2014
Modified Dec 27, 2014
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The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which announced it would pay for the mortgages of executed police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, offered more details at a press conference yesterday. Already, $120,000 has been raised and the foundation hopes to raise the entire amount by New Year's Day.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation was created after off-duty firefighter Stephen Siller, with 60 pounds of gear, ran from Brooklyn through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel towards the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. He was last seen at West Street, where another FDNY truck dropped him off.
Police Officer Wenjian Liu, 32, and Police Officer Rafael Ramos, 40, were fatally shot in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon. The killer, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, turned the gun on himself on a subway platform after being pursued by police. Liu's wife Pei Xia Chen and parents attended the press conference, and Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of Tunnel to Towers, said, "I think it's important that we show the first-responder families that we are coming together as a community and New Yorkers, and we want to help lift (the Liu and Ramos families) out of the despair there is today."
The remaining mortgages for the officers' home are a total of $800,000. Chen and the Lius issued a statement: "On behalf of the Liu family, we would like to thank the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and also Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Former Mayor Giuliani and everyone who has showed their support during this difficult time." Chen and Liu's mother both broke down repeatedly during the press conference.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is a board member of the foundation, was also present. He said he was making a personal donation of $20,000. "If you are just a regular person you can contribute $1 or $2 or three—these people died for you," he said. "You owe them this money because they are keeping you safe. I urge you to contribute something. You will feel a lot better about yourself if you do that."
The donations through the press conference were $70,000, and since then another $50,000 has come in. Siller said today, "We knew that once the people in our great city and folks all around the United States found out about our goal to buy the families of these two heroes their homes—so they need never worry about meeting mortgage payments--they would rally around this cause—and boy, did they ever. We could not be more thankful, and confident, that we are going to be able to keep our promise to the Liu and Ramos families within a very short period of time."
If you'd like to donate to the Tunnel to Towers' fundraising for the officers, you can donate at the website. The Daily News' fund for the families of Liu and Ramos has raised $90,000 so far; you can donate to that here (every dollar goes directly to the families).
Tagged
nypd
rafael ramos
rudy giuliani
stephen siller
tunnel to towers
wenjian liu
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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