NEW YORK, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Four months to the day after more than 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, families of the victims are planning to protest what they feel is inadequate compensation from the federal government.
"We have serious concerns with how the funds will be distributed," said Gov. George Pataki said. The Republican governor said a demonstration would be held on Jan. 17 at the Park Avenue Armory.
In the weeks following the attacks, Congress approved a $15 billion bailout for the airline industry with a portion of the federal money designated to go to the families of the victims.
Kenneth Feinberg was appointed special master to administer the federal victims compensation fund by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. While victims' families would receive from $500,000 to $3.8 million, depending on their age, income and dependents, Feinberg set up regulations that require the family members to have pension and insurance benefits reduce the amount of the compensation.
Many of the families of the firefighters, police and those working in the financial services industry could lose their share of the federal victims compensation fund after the other benefits are subtracted.
"I feel we're united in our profound losses," said Marian Fontana, of the group Sept. 11 Widows, Victims and Families. "Everyone was a hero that day, and we're all deeply affected."
Fontana added: "There is no price on pain and suffering. We suffer every day, and we will continue to suffer, and all of us would return all this money for just one day to say good-bye to our loved ones."
About 1,000 people are expected to attend the "Family Rally."
"What we don't need is finger pointing and lawsuits and complications that delay getting help to the family members," Pataki said. "Very simply, Feinberg should change those regulations."
Pataki said he was also concerned that funds from the charity he formed might further diminish compensation because the fund is administered by the state.
The New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund was formed by Pataki and is administered by the New York State Department of Finance and Taxation. It has collected $56 million and has sent out more then $9 million in checks.
Pataki announced a second round of checks totaling $26 million will soon be in the mail to the families of the almost 3,000 people who perished in the World Trade Center, the 184 at the Pentagon and the 40 on United Airlines 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.
More than $20 million is being held for families that have not yet applied. A surviving spouse or domestic partner will receive a total of $10,000 from the fund, children will receive $5,000 and the parents of victims who left no other dependents will receive $10,000.
The New York Police Department said that the tally of those dead and missing from the attacks has stabilized and that the number lost at the World Trade Center remained at 2,893, with 632 confirmed dead, 1,952 awarded death certificates and 309 missing.
Initially, more the 7,000 were listed as missing by police but those figures have gone done, as the number of death certificates awarded by the court has risen. The tally was further reduced as police investigated incorrect missing people's reports, many from consulate offices of foreign countries.
"We do have some questions that still need to be answered, but we're fairly close," said Charles Campisi of the NYPD.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the recovery at "Ground Zero" has proceeded more quickly than anticipated and that more than half of the rubble and steel from the collapsed building has been removed. He said that the recovery of the 16-acre site might end ahead of schedule in May or June, three months earlier than planned.
Meanwhile, a six-car subway train that ferried people from New Jersey to a station at the World Trade Center was uncovered Thursday, mostly intact, but recovery officials said no bodies were found.
According to the New York/New Jersey Port Authority, the train was the only train not to leave the World Trade Center after the first jetliner struck one of the Twin Towers, and that all other trains were rerouted out of the area.
While the remnants of the Twin Towers are gone, as are the giant cranes used to move rubble, thousands of people continue to visit Ground Zero to pay their respects or just to look at the devastation.
The city has discouraged people from visiting the area for months, but people kept coming. In response, the city built a visitors platform that opened on Dec. 30. Those wanting to get a first-hand look at Ground Zero must now first visit a ticket booth seven blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood and are assigned a half-hour, usually the same day, when 250 people are allowed access to the platform. The tickets are free and the assignments are on a first-come first-serve basis.
