NEW YORK - August 25 - As New York prepares for the Republican convention, Sierra Club will launch its 8-day vigil in support of the Ground Zero community on Thursday, August 26th at 11:00 AM. Residents and workers of the Ground Zero area will participate in a daily vigil marking President Bush’s upcoming visit to New York. The goals of the daily, sunrise-to-sunset event are to call upon the Bush administration to meet the needs of the people exposed to Ground Zero pollution, and to educate the nation about the need for better public health protection in national emergencies.

The event kicks off with a press conference on the steps of Federal Hall (across from the New York Stock Exchange) at 11:00 AM on Thursday, August 26th. This event is sponsored by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), the Sierra Club, 9/11 Environmental Action, and New York Environmental Law & Justice Project.

After the press conference on Thursday, participants will gather daily on the corner of Liberty and Broadway (one block from Ground Zero) from August 26 until the final day of the Convention. Each day will honor and advocate on behalf of a different constituency of the Ground Zero community.

What: Press Conference to launch 8-day vigil to support the Ground Zero community during the Bush Administration’s visit to New York.

Who: Suzanne Mattei, Sierra Club’s New York City Executive

Ariel Goodman, President and Small Business owner, From the Ground Up -- a small businesses organization

Marie Rogers, spokesperson, Civil Service Employees Union

Robert Gulack, Union Steward, National Treasury Employees Union (offices located in the Woolworth Building in lower Manhattan)

Joel Kupferman, New York Environmental Law & Justice Project

Kimberly Flynn, 9/11 Environmental Action (parents and residents organization)

Jonathan Bennett, spokesperson, New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health

When: 11:00 AM Thursday, August 26, 2004

Where: Federal Hall Steps--corner of Wall St and Broad St, one block east of Broadway. (NY Stock Exchange in background)

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