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In 1939, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia created the Police Memorial
Fund Committee to finance the creation of a police memorial.
The memorial was the City's way of recognizing the New York
City Police Officers for years of selfless service to its
citizens.
Attilio Piccirilli, an Italian born sculptor, was commissioned
in late 1939 to design the Memorial. Patrolman Martin J. Gillen,
20th Precinct, was chosen as the model for the Policeman and
Eric LaGuardia, the nine year old son of the Mayor, for the
boy.
Unfortunately, a site to house the sculpture was never chosen.
With the outbreak of World War II other concerns clearly took
priority and in 1942, the monument was packed and shipped
to the 42nd Precinct where it remained in storage for 22 years.
In 1964, the 3,000 lb. sculpture was moved to the entrance
way of the Police Recreation Center in Tannersville, New York,
where it remained for many years to greet police families
using the popular summer resort.
The Board of Directors of the Police Recreation Center authorized
the Police Commissioner to have the monument placed in Police
Headquarters. In the Summer of 1983, Officers from the NYPD
Emergency Services Division removed the statue to Queens where
it was refurbished and then placed in the lobby of One Police
Plaza where it still stands today as a tribute to New York's
Finest.
Click
Here for the New York City Police Memorial Page
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