FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 20, 2018 • HOLIDAY GUIDE • THE QUEENS COURIER 43
holiday guide
Cops spread some holiday cheer at Bayside hospital
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
New York City police offi cers, including
the city’s top cop, hosted an aft ernoon
of holiday fun in Bayside for patients and
their families.
Dozens of children at St. Mary’s
Hospital for Children were joined by
Police Commissioner James O’Neill and
NYPD offi cers from all fi ve boroughs last
Th ursday for the sixth-annual event that
featured presents, photo ops with popular
characters and an appearance from Santa
Claus himself.
Husband and wife team Terry and
Bernice Brienza started the event in 2013
when they were brainstorming ways to
spread some holiday cheer to kids who
were “stuck inside” during this time of year.
“We realized that being stuck inside
was kind of terrible, imagine being stuck
in a hospital. So a bunch of guys got
together, put money in a pool and bought
some presents,” Terry Brienza said. “We
reached out to a bunch of hospitals in the
area, St. Mary’s was very opened to the
idea of us coming down here and that was
it. We came down, got amazing feedback
from both the hospital and the cops that
participated.”
He added that every year, they try to
make the event “bigger and better” than
the last. Th e Brienzas’ children participated
in the holiday event for the fi rst time
this year in order for them to learn the
importance of giving back to the community,
according to Bernice Brienza.
“As a mother, it’s an amazing feeling to
me. It’s very rewarding as a mother, as a
police offi cer and as a citizen,” she said.
Kids and their families were treated to holiday
sing-alongs and visits from superheroes
and cartoon characters including Anna
and Elsa from Frozen, Mr. Met, Spiderman,
Wonder Woman and MacGruff the Crime
Dog. Attendees were also visited by NYPD
horses and several K-9 dogs.
Th e fun continued outside as a motorcade
of police vehicles ushered in a
blue-suited Santa Claus, who delighted
the crowd in an NYPD Emergency
Services Unit truck. Up in the sky, an
NYPD helicopter wowed onlookers with
exciting aerial feats.
“I think it’s really important for the
NYPD to be at St. Mary’s today,” O’Neill
said. “Th is is my second year and it’s really
inspirational for us and this is something
Photos by Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
that’s just done by the police offi -
cers. Th ere’s no outside funding; they do
it. It makes the kids feel good but it really
makes the cops feel like they’re part of
this community. Th is is important work
that’s done here and we want to make
sure the kids feel that people aren’t forgetting
about them.”
Check out photos from this year’s holiday
festivities.
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