Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrates the extension of the Zadroga Act alongside September 11 first responders.
"It is my honor to present the key to the city of New York to Ray Pfiefer."
Pfiefer is a retired firefighter who's been a longtime advocate of the law which provides healthcare for first responders who got sick after the attacks.
He was joined by dozens of other lobbyists, and former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart.
Pfiefer says the fight to renew the act was not easy.
"We got something done that I never would've thought would have been done," Pfiefer said. "It was a hard fought — we dealt with people that really didn't get it.
"We held them to it about never forgetting and we told them we're still dying from terrorists, we're still sick from terrorists. They started to get it."
"That part of our founding document that says 'we hold these truths to be self-evident' supporting our heroes should be self-evident," de Blasio said.
Last month, funding for the program was extended by congress until the year 2090.