Toxic air sickened thousands after 9/11. Ben Chevat has been fighting for them ever since.

WASHINGTON — He’s been described as "the man behind the curtain" and an "unsung hero." He's been called the "master scientist" who for 25 years has worked behind the scenes to secure federal support for those exposed to the toxic air after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Since that fateful day, Ben Chevat’s lifework has focused on ensuring lawmakers at all levels of government live up to the solemn promise to never forget the attacks and the countless first responders, recovery workers and everyday people who have faced chronic illnesses linked to their exposure to the attack sites.

As executive director of the nonprofit 9/11 Health Watch, Chevat, 67, is usually the first to flag issues arising with the World Trade Center Health Program to New York lawmakers and government agencies — from looming budget shortfalls to service delays — to ensure a legislative solution can be found.

He knows all the intricacies of the 15-year-old federal program, which provides services to 150,000 people, having played a key role in crafting the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act that created the health program when he served as chief of staff to then-Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D- Manhattan). 

Chevat has been part of the community of 9/11 advocates who have pushed for the renewal and full funding of the program six separate times, and most recently he led the legal fight that resulted in New York City this week releasing previously sealed documents detailing the air quality concerns being raised by officials in the days and weeks after the attacks, despite public assurances from elected representatives to the contrary.

"Whatever you're thinking, he's already outthought you 100 times," said 9/11 advocate John Feal, of Nesconset, who has worked closely with Chevat to draw attention to the ongoing health challenges facing survivors by meeting with lawmakers and arranging trips for first responders to Capitol Hill. 

'A real challenge'

Chevat, in a phone interview, said he never envisioned the 9/11 community of survivors would have to fight so hard to sustain federal support for the health program, given the magnitude of the attacks. As lawmakers retire, and a younger generation of congressional aides assumes roles in Washington, he worries they will never fully understand what transpired 25 years ago.

"Regrettably, this is now much more akin to Pearl Harbor," Chevat said. "It is a real challenge as we get further and further away."

Chevat has been praised by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle for his tireless advocacy, but the Queens native, who now lives in a suburb of Maryland, never seeks out the limelight or credit.

"He’s always in the back," said Suzy Ballantyne, deputy director of 9/11 Health Watch. "At any press conference, any of the [congressional] hearings, he's in the back of the room, always moving."

Ballantyne, in a phone interview, said it’s Chevat’s past experience working at all levels of government — serving as a lawyer inside of Queens Borough Hall in the 1990s, working for former Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin in the early 1990s, and serving as a top aide to Maloney and now-Sen. Chuck Schumer when the latter was a congressman — that helped him recognize immediately that New York’s congressional delegation needed to prepare for a long-term federal response.

He called Ballantyne hours after the attack, asking if she could use her contacts as then-legislative director of the New York AFL-CIO to coordinate a conference call with all of the chiefs of staff of the New York congressional delegation the next day.

"Ben had a unique position and understanding of government that most people don't, because he had worked for the city, he had worked for the state and at the time he was working for the federal government," Ballantyne said. "So in Ben's head, he kind of always knows how to move through the levers of power, and who would be the best advocate or best person to move the policy ahead. He knew the New York delegation needed to come together and work through this crisis. ... He’s been working on this literally since Sept. 12."

'A relentless warrior'

The conference calls first focused on the immediate needs of those working around Ground Zero, but they would eventually evolve into calls focused on documenting the health concerns relayed by those working the three different attack sites and, years later, generating support for the Zadroga Act.

Schumer, in a statement to Newsday, called Chevat "a relentless warrior for injured and ill 9/11 workers."

Former Rep. Peter King, a Seaford Republican, who was one of the lead House sponsors of the Zadroga Act, called Chevat "an unsung hero" and a "quiet guy" who made it a point to negotiate compromises between both parties and "all of the strange personalities in Congress."

"Ben never made it political," King said in a phone interview. "He functioned in a way that he could make sure he held the Democratic support, and he was able to line up Republican support, too, or do what had to be done to help me get Republican support."

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), the current chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has worked closely with Chevat, most recently leaning on his knowledge of the World Trade Center Health Program when successfully negotiating the inclusion of a budget provision that ensures the program will remain fully funded through 2090.

"Ben has never stopped showing up for this community," Garbarino said in a statement. "The progress we have made, including finally securing lifetime funding for the [program], would not have been possible without Ben’s partnership. I am incredibly grateful for everything he has done. He continues to ensure we never forget our commitment to those impacted by September 11th."