26 North Shore Towers Courier n January 2014 New York’s FINEST Meets New York’s FITTEST Growing up in North Woodmere Todd Heiman, a graduate of Lawrence High School, says he always wanted to be a cop. “‘Starsky and Hutch’ fascinated me on TV and I thought police work would be a cool way to earn a living,” he said. After college in New York and Florida he was hired by the NYPD. “I had to borrow the filing fee from my father and had no trouble passing the exam. My first assignment was lower Manhattan where Mayor Koch wanted the area cleaned up. It was called ‘Operation Pressure Point.’ I got the attention of my superior officers because of the large number of collars or arrests that I made.” Because he took so many guns off the street he was soon promoted to Plain Clothes – a crucial step on the way to Detective. “I only wore a uniform for three years before achieving the coveted promotion to Detective,” said Heiman. As Detective he went from street crimes to narcotics to homicides. He handled many high-profile cases involving shootings and burglaries. While all this was going on an attractive coed from Cardozo High School, Cari, was working in the Empire State Building as a secretary for a large firm. She was an avid dancer who was interested in physical fitness and healthy nutrition. Soon she moved on to pursue her fitness goals by becoming an exercise instructor for the Elaine Powers franchise. It was the 1970s and she soon earned a reputation as a fitness guru. Many well-heeled women were her clients. One of her affluent students suggested, “You should go to North Shore Health Club on the Miracle Mile.” During the interview the manager saw her enthusiasm for fitness and hired her at once. Cari was living in Roslyn at the time and her roommate said she had a friend on the 24th floor of North Shore Towers who lived next door to a “nice guy.” After a few protests Cari accepted a date from the “nice guy” at NST. A day later she called him to cancel their blind date. He persisted and called again. Again, she begged off. A year later she was at Long Beach and pointed out a “very cute guy” sitting a few feet away. Her friend told her that he was the fellow she turned down...twice. Cari and Todd were introduced then and there and the rest was history. “I was immediately taken by his sense of humor and zest for life,” she recalls. They have been married for 23 years, all of them at NST where they have an active social life. Cari is a fitness instructor at the Fitness Center and Todd is involved in many building activities. In 2002 Todd was promoted to Second Grade Detective. He loved working for the NYPD and recalls having many outstanding experiences, not all when on the job. For example, on a September day when he was off he took his car in for a brake job. While the car was on the rack he was watching TV and saw the first World Trade Center building hit. He got his car down in a hurry and drove to the site of the tragedy in record time. That day, and for six months afterward, he was assigned to Fresh Kills, Staten Island to help identify the remains of victims. “It was a sad but important duty,” he said. In the Heiman Building One apartment there is a plaque recognizing Todd as the “2001 Detective of the Year” presented by the 17th Precinct. Three years later he retired. He now shares his expertise and years of experience with another city agency. Cari spends some of her professional time as a trainer at Pro Health and LA Fitness nearby to her base at the NST Fitness Center. Cari enjoys “changing gears” as she moves from working with seniors to training young people and serious fitness enthusiasts. Among her specialties is Step Instruction where she uses a bench for low-impact aerobic workouts. When asked how she keeps her youthful and very fit figure she credits regular exercise, a low sugar diet, and lots of fruits and vegetables. She warns against drinking soda which she calls “liquid candy.” When not at NST the Heimans enjoy cruising. One of their favorite destinations was Bermuda, especially the pink sand beaches. By FRED CHERNOW Todd and Cari Heiman Knitting Letters VETERANS SAY THANK YOU TO KNITTERS Dear members of the Knitting Association: Thank you for your kindness and consideration in donating knitted and crocheted blankets to our veterans at the residential care center. You may be interested to know how great an impact your donations have made on veterans and their family members. Since VA regulations do not permit the recycling of personal items from one patient to another, when a patient is discharged he is given his blanket to take home. And, if sadly he passes away the blanket is given as a memento to surviving family members. These people are always deeply moved by this gift from your loving hands. Thanks once again, Murray Stadtmauer, Chaplain VA Community Living Center St. Albans, NY TOWERS WAS ‘BLESS’ED Rabbi Yossi Blesofsky, also known as “Rabbi Bless,” of the Chabad Lubavitch of Northeast Queens, spoke at the Towers recently. Photos Mike Savitzky Mattie Gross, Gloria Rodin. Marisa Masi (front desk), Anne Brady (activity coordinator). Murray & Frida Rosenthal. (Married 53.5 years). Chickie Kaufman, Dorothy Stracher. Rabbi Yossi Blesofsky.
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