Business address gone, ambition intact

And it bothers her that she hasn't been allowed to enter Fresh Kills landfill to look for an office safe that held stock certificates. "You want the receipt for the safe? It's at the landfill," she says. "You want the serial number? How many people do you know write down the serial number of their property and [keep] it somewhere else?"

Goodman and many others also bristle at the perception that insurance, public grants, and private donations have former Twin Towers tenants sitting pretty. Many, including Goodman, have received funds from such groups as the Red Cross and Safe Horizon. But there has been no official focus, say several of her former neighbors, on the owners of firms that were, as one puts it, "vaporized."

"After the ones who lost their lives or were injured, the small businesses of ground zero are the most affected group," says Michael Koulouroudis, a Greek immigrant who ran an import-export business with a staff of two from the 33rd floor of Tower 1. "What we got in comparison to what we lost was nothing."

The Empire State Development Corp., whose New York City Economic Development Corp. (EDC) is the main distributor of federal relief money, counters that $500 million in aid remains unclaimed.

Many small firms have been impossible to find and others lost records in the attack – now needed to quantify their loss, explains Rosalie Tanaka, an EDC vice president.

As an officer in From the Ground Up, a nonprofit advocacy group she co-founded, Goodman works to bridge the gap. She has recorded radio spots to call attention to the plight of small firms. That has required some personal evolution.

"Ari is very private, and not an activist by nature," says Jeannine Chanes, an attorney and fellow cofounder. "But she is extremely intelligent, capable, and passionate on these issues."

Though Goodman calls herself "a persistent little phone caller," she does her best work in person. " Her tenacity serves her well," Ms. Tanaka says of Goodman. "She's very unusual. I wish I could reach the other ones who don't have a voice."

Goodman, who helped break into apartments in her building last September – rescuing pets with the ASPCA – likes to open doors: "If I figure out the way the rules are set up, I will share it with our entire group."

Goodman is also sensitive to language issues – an Arabic-language dictionary sits among her books – and that has been useful in helping the diverse ground zero community. FEMA only recently began publishing information in languages other than English.

She appreciates America's patriotic outpouring since Sept. 11, but she also watches French TV news every night for a perspective other than America's.

"This is definitely an experience that has reshaped who she is," says Ms. Alexis, her friend. "It's a stronger defined self, really, that I've seen."

"There are people in my apartment every day," says Goodman. "I have no privacy, and I love my privacy. [But] I've adjusted remarkably well, I think. I've worked alone for so long, it's actually nice to be working with people for a change."

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