A. caught this bad news from The Washington Post from two weeks ago: “The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund plans to cut future payouts in half — and in some cases by as much as 70 percent — as it struggles with a surge of new claims from those who have gotten sick and the families of those who have died, officials announced.”

BUT THEN THERE WAS THIS:
NY state electeds – with Jon Stewart behind them – introduced a bill to restore funding. “With medical claims on the rise, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is running out of money: Already, more than $5 billion of the $7.375 billion it was allotted in 2015 to give away over five years has been spent.” –The Times

AND THIS:
“Anything less than full and permanent funding is ‘shameful,’ said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., adding the death toll from the 2001 attacks ‘is still growing.’” -The Times

AND THIS:
The New York Times editorial board writes, “All those years ago, the horrifying attacks brought the nation together in common cause. Now America forgets these people, but finds the money for a $1.5 trillion tax cut for the wealthy. The country turns its back on these citizens, even as President Trump demands a border wall that could cost up to $70 billion.

TRUMP SOHO FOR SALE?
The Globe reports that CIM Group, the Los Angeles-based real estate investor, is considering buying the Dominick, aka Trump SoHo. “The property, 246 Spring St., sits at the intersection of Manhattan’s SoHo, TriBeCa, and West Village neighborhoods, and includes 391 rooms, some of which have been sold as condominiums. The hotel rooms average about 629 square feet, larger than most Manhattan offerings. The building includes 12,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space.”

GOSSIP FROM GRUB STREET
Grub Street notes that the developers behind luxury condo 25 Park Row made a glaring mistake on a neighborhood dining map geared toward potential residents by leaving out all of Chinatown.

UPDATE ON PAULA CHIN MURDER
Jared Eng pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday. He was charged last month with murder in the second degree (along with several other charges) in the death of his mother, Paula Chin. -The Trib