FIGHTING 9TH PRECINCT REUNION 2010



The Fighting 9th Precinct Reunion 2010 was held on May 5, 2010 at the Bowery Hotel.  The flyer said that The Bowery Hotel, located at 319 Bowery was at East 3rd Street. 
As I walked into this hotel, I could not but be amazed at the transformation of the East Village in recent years.  As I greeted and mingled with the veteran cops who worked in the 9th Precinct during the most violent years in the history of New York City,  my thoughts turned to the men and women who served in those times.   I wrote an article entitled “The Spirit of the Times” in the April 1999 issue of NY Cop Online Magazine, www.nycop.com in which I tried to paint a picture of those years for the street cops who were on the frontlines during the years when New York City was in dire straights.    The financial situation for NYC led to layoffs of thousands of cops.  The conditions on the streets of the city are hard to imagine today.    For the retired cops who attended the Fighting 9th Precinct Reunion of 2010,  those memories are embedded in their spirits and minds. To read that article, just click on the link:

THE SPIRIT OF THE TIMES

STREET PHOTOS OF THE FIGHTING 9TH PRECINCT IN YEARS PAST:


Photo courtesy of the 9th Precinct Club



Photo courtesy of 9th Precinct Club



Photo courtesy of Jill Friedman


When the City of New York was being deserted by the big money interests in favor of the Sunbelt, the cops of the 9th Precinct remained behind to defend the citizens of the city from the ravages of crime.   Like the Roman Legionaries they fought in the streets of the city against the looters and lowlifes who preyed on the poor and working people that the financiers and corporate elites ignored.   We remember the years when the city almost went bankrupt and a lot of folks gave up on New York City.  Those were hard times for the City.    The streets and subways reflected the sad times.  But for the cops who worked the mean streets of the City,  there was the daily task of dealing with the violence and disorder that effected us all.  The 9th Precinct seemed to be the focal point for much of those disorders.







The cops who worked during those years hadn’t heard about Compstat.  Cell phones were in the future.  In fact,  to find a working public phone in the street was rare.  To read about the reality of patrol during those times, read a story about the problems with the 911 system

SLAVES TO 911

I remember when I worked with a cop who had spent his career in the Bronx in crime ridden precincts.   As he neared his retirement,  he lamented that he felt that his entire police career had been wasted.   As he patrolled the ruins of what had been vibrant neighborhoods in the South Bronx,  he believed that he had wasted his young years in a vain effort to preserve those same neighborhoods from crime.  The rows of medals above his shield revealed that he had indeed fought a valiant fight.  He was wrong about his career. Just as some of the 9th Precinct veterans who felt the same did not realize just how important their lives had been to the citizens of the City of New York.   Now that the City has undergone a renaisssance, the rebirth of the City should recognize those veteran cops who gave their lives and their youthful years to the fight to save the City.

What follows are some photos of those men and women who worked in the Fighting 9th Precinct during those turbulent years.  Jill Friedman, a skilled photographer documented many of the 9th Precinct cops who worked during those years.   She published “Street Cops” back in the late 70s. 



TopRow LtoR:
Donald Muldoon, Ed Fiani, Unidentified, Charles Nelson
2ndRow:
Joseph MCGrath, Richard Innis, Joseph O”Keefe, John Deluca
3rd Row:
Unidentified, Matthew Anderson, Monica Sullivan, Michael Reedy
Bottom Row:
John DeBerry, Vincent D’Adamo, Steve Misner, Charles Biada
Photos Courtesy Jill Firedman “Street Cops”




Top Row LtoR:
Perry Story, Raymond Murphy, Michael Fox, Frank Santangelo
2nd Row:
Ronny Fair, Sal Riccobono, Steve Kraji, Tom Fatore
3rd Row:
Robert McNamara, Tom Palazzi, Roger Coulston, Gene Lewis
Bottom Row:
Joseph DiLiberti, Victor Kumatsky, Kerry Schreiner, Harry Donnelly

Photos Courtesy  Jill Friedman “Street Cops”



LtoR:  PO John Ryszetnyk, unidentified prisoner, PO Eddie Cowan, PO Eddie Joergens
Photo Courtesy Jill Friedman “Street Cops”


Photo courtesy of the 9th Precinct Club
LtoR: 9th Pct cops with Fred Neglia, Doug Pfleging, Cedric Barksdale, Don Muldoon,
Kevin O’Donnell, Ed Jacobsen



LtoR:  Pete English and Joe Byrne in their prime



                                             PO Charlie Nelson, running the 9th Precinct Desk



                                                       LtoR: Tony Longo with Hank Schrage


Photo courtesy of the 9th Precinct Club



LtoR: Sgt Tim Clark, Mike Dimino, Pat Rogers, Gene Fiocca, Lt Ed Reuss
           Kneeling: Tom Kalb.  Unable to ID cop in helmet


PO Mike Dimino collaring up on LaFayette Street &  E 4th St



9TH Precinct softball team circa 1984
LtoR: Standing rear row: Frank Mannion, Eddie Cowan,  Charlie Goodacre, Dan Kearney
         Middle row: Frank X Mannion, Mike Dimino, Jim Palmieri,  Manny Lopez
         Front row:  Harry Donnelly, Kevin Donohue,  Ron Severin, Bobby Glass
         Children left:  Bernadette Cowan and Kevin Mannion


REUNION 2010 PHOTOS


LtoR:  Jerry Frulio, Dennis Harrington, Don Muldoon



LtoR:  Casey Morgan, Tom Roche, Keith Prunty,  Gary Giacomarra



LtoR: Tom Jones, Ed Reuss, John Ryszetnyk, Tom Dowd



LtoR: Bob Cruz, Cleo Higgs, John Leitgeb, Steve Toth,  Bill Ludwig



LtoR:  Scott Prendergast,  Deputy Inspector Ken Lehr Co , 9th Pct,  Bill Cutter



LtoR: Insp Joe Byrne,  Bill Ludwig,  Dave Flannery



LtoRe: Ricky Rondina, Pete Mulroy, Dennis Harrington, Ed Reuss


LtoR:  Ed Reuss, Mike Wigdor, Sam Miller


LtoR: DI Ken Lehr, Det Theiss, Sam Miller, John Murphy, Derek Blair




LtoR:  Don Muldoon, Eddie Reuss, Colleen Quayle Cobine


Arial Vasquez, Chris Reisman, Hank Cartmell


LtoR:  Cedric Barksdale, Rich Abinanti, Dennis Harrington


LtoR: Mike Boylan, Doug Pfleging, Vin D’Adamo, Sean O’Toole



LtoR: Vin D’Adamo, Sal DelRosario,



LtoR: Tom Kalb, Gene Fiocca, Bernie Fuschino, Dennis Harrington



LtoR: Eddie Reuss, Scott Prendergast, Ed Reuss ,Kevin O’Donnell, Mike Maher, Walter Lotz



LtoR: Det Doyle, Bill Coleman, Arial Vasquez, Eddie Reuss


We must all thank Scott Prendergast for running this reunion.  He did a first class job of getting the word out about the racket and coordinating the Facebook site that was so instrumental in having a successful reunion. To visit the Facebook Page of the Fighting 9th Precinct go to this link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/FIGHTING-9TH-PRECINCT-ALUMNI-PAGE/342708077344?ref=mf#!/pages/New-York-NY/FIGHTING-9TH-PRECINCT-ALUMNI-PAGE/342708077344?v=photos&ref=mf

Note:  John Leitgeb has written a memoir of his years in the 9th Precinct:



To order the book,   Click on logo above

See you at the next reunion!



The end of an era! The desk in the old 9th Precinct goes into history!



The old 9th Precinct Stationhouse “The Fighting 9th”



LINKS TO OTHER STORIES ABOUT THE FIGHTING 9TH PRECINCT:

THE FIGHTING 9th

THE FIGHTING 9TH PRECINCT RISES AGAIN!

DEDICATION OF THE NEW 9TH PRECINCT STATIONHOUSE

THE LEPERS

STRIPTEASE IN THE MUSTER ROOM

DEADLY DUEL IN THE HALLWAY

MEMORIAL TO FALLEN WARRIORS

PHOTOS OF THE NINTH PRECINCT REUNION IN 2007


Copyright © 2010 Edward D. Reuss

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