MASTIC BEACH – Friends and family paid their last respects today to an NYPD officer who worked at Ground Zero.
The family of Sgt. Paul Ferrara, of Yaphank, says he worked for months helping to recover victims from the World Trade Center disaster. They say he contracted stage 4 cancer from working at Ground Zero.
Hundreds of New York’s finest lined the street in front of Saint Jude’s Roman Catholic Church in Mastic Beach to honor Ferrara as family members, friends and fellow officers celebrated his life.
Officials estimate 1,600 people who worked at Ground Zero have passed away from 9/11-related illnesses.
The Zadroga Act, which allows 9/11 victims to apply for compensation, is set to expire in 2016.
