Heroes of the Month BROOKLYN-USA.ORG
Borough President Adams honored the Heroes of the Month for June, July, August, and September (from left: Borough President Adams, MTA Conductor Eric Boyo, FDNY Captain Frank
Stonitsch, Bay Ridge Cares President Karen Tadross and Director Kathy Ioannou, MTA Motorman Larry Moreno, Williamsburg resident Daphne Youree, community activist Joe Gonzalez).
Borough President’s Offi ce
Recognizing Brooklynites for their good works
The everyday, unsung heroes of
Kings County rarely get — and most
times do not want — their day in the
spotlight. Such Samaritans, the borough
president’s offi ce upholds, should
be recognized for their courageous,
selfl ess, and impactful actions. Their
strong sense of community is at the core
of what One Brooklyn stands for.
June 2019 – Bay Ridge Cares
For June, Borough President Adams
honored Bay Ridge Cares, a
southern Brooklyn volunteer group
that drew attention to the need for senior
housing after helping to pack up
the apartment of Diana Murolo, a Bay
Ridge resident who passed away in
June of this year while living in Shore
Hill senior housing facility. Bay Ridge
Cares organized volunteers to help Ms.
Murolo’s daughter, Stephanie, pack up
the place and make her mother’s room
available to a new senior occupant, all
while highlighting the citywide need
for more senior housing. According to
one estimate, there are 200,000 people
on the wait-list for senior housing in
New York City.
July 2019 – Daphne Youree
For July, Borough President Adams
honored Williamsburg resident
Daphne Youree who was photographed
unclogging Long Island Expressway
sewer grates with a traffi c cone during
a torrential rainstorm. When the
downpour fl ooded much of Brooklyn
on the evening of July 22nd, impeding
many people’s commutes, Ms. Youree
32 ONE BROOKLYN | FALL 2019
decided she didn’t want to sit in traffi
c either, so she sprang into action, got
out of her car, and used a traffi c cone
to unclog a number of sewer grates, alleviating
some of the fl ooding. Her efforts
didn’t go unnoticed. The drainage
was captured on camera, and she
quickly went viral on social media.
August 2019 – Eric Boyo and Larry
Moreno
For August, Borough President Adams
recognized MTA employees Eric
Boyo and Larry Moreno, both of whom
saved people from struck by trains
while on the subway tracks in separate
incidents.
Anthony Mannino, an MTA worker,
was at the Newkirk Plaza Q stop on August
7th at 10:30 AM when he heard people
screaming about a woman on the
tracks. Realizing there wasn’t enough
time to bring the woman up to the
platform, he jumped on to the tracks
and tried to get the motorman, Larry
Moreno, to stop. Mr. Moreno saw there
was a problem when the train began
pulling into the station, and immediately
put the train into emergency. Mr.
Mannino then helped the woman back
onto the platform. The quick thinking
of both men saved her life, right in the
nick of time.
MTA Conductor Eric Boyo, a G-train
operator, was traveling southbound on
Monday, July 29th at 4:00 PM when he
saw someone waving from the platform.
At fi rst, he thought it was a joke. Nevertheless,
as a precautionary measure, he
began to brake earlier than normal. It
turns out that decision saved someone’s
life. As soon as he noticed a woman on
the tracks, he pulled the emergency
brake, stopping 75 feet away from her.
Afterward, Mr. Boyo jumped out of the
train to assist the woman and bring her
back to the platform.
August 2019 – Joe Gonzalez
Also for August, Borough President
Adams recognized Joe Gonzalez,
a community activist who led a
water collection drive in the borough
to aid residents of Newark, NJ, where
elevated levels of lead were recently
discovered in the city’s drinking water.
In late August, when Mr. Gonzalez
learned that the water in our sister
city of Newark, NJ was tainted
by elevated levels of lead, he didn’t
hesitate to do something about it. He
sprang into action to lead a Brooklynbased
bottled water collection drive to
aid those affected in that city. On his
own, he started making calls, telling
folks in a position to help that he was
collecting bottles of water, and where
and when they could meet him to assist
in the effort. Through simple word
of mouth, news of the water collection
drive spread throughout Brooklyn. All
in, he managed to collect and distribute
more than 9,000 bottles of water for
our Newark neighbors.
September 2019 – Frank Stonitsch
Finally, in September, Borough
President Adams honored FDNY Captain
Frank Stonitsch from Engine
Company 10, who rescued a person
from drowning off of Pier 6 in Brooklyn
while the fi rst responder was off duty.
When off-duty FDNY Captain Frank
Stonitsch left home with his daughter
to enjoy a relaxing bike ride on the
evening of Wednesday, September 4th,
little did he know he’d return home a
hero. When he arrived at the pier, Captain
Stonitsch and his daughter noticed
a ferry out on the water, and then
he heard a ferry crew member shouting,
“MAN OVERBOARD!” Immediately,
Captain Stonitsch’s training as
a former lifeguard and a current fi rstresponder
clicked in, and after seeing
people on the ferry pointing toward
the underbelly of the pier on which he
had been riding, he knew what he had
to do. Captain Stonitsch jumped into
the water, not knowing who or what
he would fi nd below. He quickly found
out, some 15-20 feet below, when he discovered
an individual in distress. Captain
Stonitsch guided the person out
and up to the surface, to the care of
the FDNY units and harbor patrol that
had by then arrived on the scene. Enlisting
his training, Captain Stonitsch
fi tted the near-drowning victim with a
sling offered by the fi rst-responders on
the pier, allowing him to be hoisted up
to safety. Because of his quick action, a
life was saved, with the victim sustaining
only minor injuries.
Borough President Adams salutes
these heroes for their brave actions,
and thanks them for their steadfast
commitment to making Brooklyn a
better place to live, work, and raise
healthy families.
/BROOKLYN-USA.ORG