Daily News Honors New York’s Transit Heroes
A ‘who’s who’ of New York politics and media turned out today (Jan. 29, 2014) to participate in the 2nd Annual New York Daily News Hometown Heroes for Transit awards breakfast. The Daily News, TWU Local 100 and the MTA jointly sponsored the event at the Edison Ballroom on West 47th Street to honor 15 MTA employees for going above and beyond to assist riders and co-workers in dangerous situations. Nine are TWU Local 100 members, five supervisory personnel and one member of the United Transportation Union from Staten Island Rapid Transit.
The Daily News published a special section in their January 29 edition that relates the tales of heroism of all the Hometown Hero recipients.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and new Police Commissioner William Bratton were among the award presenters. Both de Blasio and Bratton, who served as Commissioner of the New York City Transit Police Department 20 years ago, heaped heartfelt praise on the award winners, as well as on all transit workers for their daily contributions to the City of the New York. Both men said that the Daily News event highlighting the heroics of transit workers is “long overdue."
Local 100 President John Samuelsen told the crowd of nearly 300 well wishers that transit workers are “truly the unsung heroes" of New York.
MTA Chair Tom Prendergast echoed Samuelsen’s sentiment, saying that the MTA “deeply appreciates" the hard work and dedication of its employees. Other presenters included Mary Calvi, anchor of the WCBS Morning News; Darlene Rodriguez, co-anchor of the WNBC Today show; actress Tamara Tunie of Law and Order: SVU fame; New York Giants great Carl Banks; Lionel and Howard Thompson of WPIX, and Cheryl Wills of NY1 News. Pat Kiernan, the morning news anchor at NY1 News, served as emcee for the second year in a row. Carl Banks and Mary Calvi were repeat presenters as well.
Daily News Editor-in-Chief Colin Myler opened the program and presented an award as well. “It’s a great honor for The Daily News to be hosting today’s awards — New York’s Hometown newspaper saluting more than 50,000 transit workers,” said Myler.
The TWU Local 100 honorees are listed below; accounts of their heroics are linked to the respective names:
- Cleaner Felicia Williams, who came to the aid of a mugging victim and helped Police collar the culprit.
- Power Maintainer Roger Bell, who jumped on the tracks to hoist a legally blind man to safety at Broadway Junction.
- Signal Maintainer Frank D’Erasmo, who saved an unconscious young man who had tumbled to the tracks at Queens Plaza.
- Train Operator Danny Hay, who helped save an unconscious man from the tracks as well as two would-be rescuers.
- Bus Operator Jihad Abed, who risked life and limb to save a young passenger who was being beaten by a gang of teens in the Bronx.
- Structure Maintainer Johnny Goings, who rescued co-workers, a police officers and several civilians near the Stillwell Terminal during the height of Hurricane Sandy.
- Conductor Denise Davis, who protected her passengers during a wild shoot-out between police and an ex-con they were trying to arrest.
- Signal Maintainers Colombo Solimo and Devin Puma, who along with four supervisors, performed heroics during Sandy.