Dear PBA Member,
As you may know, on September 12 ever patrol command in the city received a special delivery in the form of four-foot-long hero sandwiches donated by the “Heroes 4 Our Heroes” project. Similar deliveries — more than 3,200 sandwiches in total — were made at police facilities in Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The man behind this project is Donato Panico, owner of Panico’s Community Market in Smithtown. His simple gesture of support for first responders has its roots in the days following September 11, 2001, when he loaded up his catering truck and drove to Ground Zero to provide food and water for those participating in the rescue and recovery operations. Fifteen years later, Donato and his team of volunteers are continuing to look out for the women and men who protect the New York City area, and this year’s sandwich donation was their largest effort to date.
It’s time to say thank you. This Sunday, the NYC PBA will be joined by the Nassau and Suffolk County PBAs — and the NYPD Emerald Society Pipes & Drums — for a plaque presentation ceremony at Panico’s Market in Smithtown. We encourage all PBA members who are available to come help us express our thanks to Donato and his team.
WHERE: Panico’s Community Market, 186 Terry Rd., Smithtown NY
Please park and assemble in the parking lot of the Blacksmith Tavern
(across Terry Rd. from Panico’s Market)
Attend in uniform if possible
Patrick J. Lynch
President
August 29, 2016
Brothers and Sisters,
No man stands taller than when he kneels to help another. Your brothers and sisters in Louisiana desperately need your help.
It is estimated that nearly 110,000 homes have been severely damaged after up to 30 inches of rain fell on Southern Louisiana in as many hours. Louisiana’s first-responders and private citizens braved the rising waters to save so many, even though many were rendered homeless in this same flood. The images of the devastation are heart-wrenching. Lives of so many families have been severely interrupted. Homes and businesses have incurred heavy damage. People have lost their lives.
Top News
Ray McGowan, retired NYPD sergeant, dies at 56
BY JOHN MARZULLI
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, August 10, 2016, 3:14 PM
Retired NYPD Sgt. Ray McGowan, a past president of the police department's Emerald Society and the father of NY1 reporter Clodagh McGowan, died Wednesday after a long illness. He was 56.
McGowan, the son of Irish immigrant parents, served 32 years in the New York City Police Department in East Harlem precincts, the Midtown North Precinct and as a detective in the Organized Crime Control Bureau's auto crime division.
McGowan was too ill to attend his daughter's wedding on Saturday, but he regained consciousness in his Queens home when his daughter modeled her gown for him before the ceremony. "He said, 'Get me my tuxedo,' and then lapsed back unconscious," said his brother Kevin McGowan, a retired police chief for the Waterfront Commission of New York and New Jersey who walked the bride down the aisle.
Clodagh's husband is an NYPD cop and wears his father-in-law's badge number.
McGowan responded to Ground Zero on 9/11 and worked for several months on the toxic site, his brother said.
McGowan is survived by his wife Mary, son Seamus, daughter Clodagh, brother Kevin, and sisters Eileen Pendleton and Elizabeth Reeves.
"He could have retired after 20 years but he stayed on because it was his dream job and he loved the police department," Kevin McGowan said.
A viewing will be Thursday at Martin Gleason Funeral Home on Bell Blvd., in Bayside from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held on Friday at St. Kevin's Church on 194th St. in Flushing.
Cleveland Divison of Police releases an RNC thank you video that will give you chills!
CLEVELAND – The Republican National Convention is a wrap…but the good feelings that washed over Cleveland during the week still live on. And the Cleveland Division of Police wants to ma…
Statement on The DNC Convention
As law enforcement officers we are rightly expected to recognize and honor the sanctity of life- all life. We do so every day in every corner of this country as we patrol and attempt to preserve order and the rule of law in some of the poorest and most decaying neighborhoods, wading through the festering toxic stew created by the elected officials who have exploited and failed the least advantaged among us for generations. We do so every day anonymously, and sometimes heroically, despite millions upon millions of public contacts every year.
We are now on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, and the men and women of law enforcement have been bravely, efficiently and stoically preparing to protect the city of Philadelphia, its citizens, and its guests during the Convention's proceedings. AND WE ARE IN SHOCK. We are shocked, angered and saddened to learn the Convention planners have invited the survivors of several who have tragically, died as a result of altercations with police officers to speak at the Convention, while totally ignoring the survivors of brave officers gunned down in ambushes in places like Dallas and Baton Rouge and Kansas City. We are shocked that the Convention chooses to pillory police, forgetting about the heroes of San Bernardino, and Fort Hood, and Orlando, and of every city and town and lonely highway in the United States who risks his or her life to protect others.
It's time for politicians so cynical as to pick sides against the rule of law and due process to make the right choice and to stand with the men and women of law enforcement and to stop shameful rhetoric.
Medicare Part B Premiums Projected to Rise by 22% as Early as 2017.
The Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital and Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund submitted a report to Congress on June 22, 2016 projecting a 22% increase in Medicare Part B Premiums as early as 2017. The report, which was based on actuarial assumptions, including the solvency of the Fund, increasing healthcare costs, increased enrollments and recently enacted legislation such as the Affordable Care Act ("Obama Care") were particularly mentioned as underlying reasons for their forecast.
...Read The Full Story.
June 7, 2016
Dear LBA Member:
As some of you may be aware, the NYC Retiree Health Benefits Section announced that this year the Medicare Reimbursement Check, routinely sent to members via US Mail in mid-August, will now be sent to members in June. Those members who receive their monthly Police Pension Fund check through Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) or Direct Deposit will receive the Medicare Reimbursement payment by Direct Deposit into their bank account. Members who receive their monthly Police Pension Fund check via US Mail will receive the Medicare Reimbursement check via US mail. The Direct Deposit or Medicare Reimbursement check are completely separate from your Police Pension Fund check.
You can visit the following link for additional information on this topic: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/olr/downloads/pdf/health/faq-medicare-part-b.pdf.
We were informed by the NYC Retiree Health Benefits Section that members should receive the Medicare Reimbursement check at the end of June.
Fraternally,
Lou Turco
President
LBA | 212-964-7500 | lba@nypd-lba.org | http://www.nypd-lba.org
233 Broadway
Suite 1801
New York, NY 10279
NYPD Memorial Wall adds 19 officers' names
With the new names, the total number of officers and civilians memorialized now stands at 882
May 6, 2016
By Anthony M. Destefano
Newsday
NEW YORK — The lives of 19 NYPD officers, most of whom died from illnesses attributed to Sept. 11 duty, were commemorated Thursday during an evocative Memorial Wall ceremony at police headquarters.
As a solitary violin played in the background, the names of the 19 officers, including Brian Moore and Randolph Holder who died in line-of-duty shootings last year, were read aloud in the lobby of One Police Plaza.
A police officer walks along the NYC Police Memorial wall during a NYPD memorial ceremony. (AP Image)
With the new names, the total number of officers and civilians memorialized now stands at 882, officials said.
“To do these ceremonies is never easy,” Commissioner William Bratton told hundreds of family members and officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio. “What we continue to do today, is the memory of the life, a life well lived and life given for others.”
Bratton noted that the 2001 terror attacks continue to take a toll on the health of officers who worked at Ground Zero and at the Staten Island landfill, where debris was sifted to recover human remains. He said 121 officers have died from 9/11 illnesses.
“That day took many lives but we are today continuing the promise that we will always remember, that their lives will never be erased from our memory and the memory of time,” Bratton told the hundreds of family members in the audience.
Those whose Sept. 11-related names are now on the wall include: Deputy Chief Steven J. Bonano, Inspector James Guida, Captain Scott V. Stelmok and sergeants Patrick P. Murphy and Stephen P. Scalza. Detectives memorialized were: James J. Albanese, Luis G. Fernandez, Stuart F. Fishkin, John A. Russo and Richard H. Wentz. Police officers honored with plaques were: James M. Burke, Peter D. Ciaccio, Cheryul D. Johnson, Robert W. Kaminski, Shaun M. Mahoney and Peter O. Rodriguez.
The names of Moore, who died last May 4 after being shot in Queens Village, Det. Randolph Holder, killed in a shooting in upper Manhattan on Oct. 20, 2015, and Det. Joseph G. Lemm, killed in Afghanistan on Dec. 21, 2015, also were added to sections of the wall.
Officials didn’t have a complete list of the counties of residences for the fallen officers. Long Island was home to at least two, Moore of Plainedge and Fishkin of New Hyde Park. Fishkin’s mother-in-law, Emma Sgambati of College Point, said later that he died on May 8, 2015 of pancreatic cancer.Police fraternal groups and unions presented floral displays that were placed in the headquarters lobby.
To underscore why remembrances were important on such a day, Bratton read from a letter written by Union soldier Sullivan Ballou to his wife, Sarah, just before he was killed in the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 at the age of 32.
“I shall always be near you in the garish days, the darkest nights ... always, always,” wrote Ballou, as read by Bratton.
Bratton also cited a poetic line he read at the funeral of his mother, June Devilla Bratton, who died in 2007.
“Don’t cry because it is over. Smile because it happened,” were the words from the poem attributed to Dr. Seuss.
Copyright 2016 Newsday
Congratulations, Mike
Congratulations, Mike and may God bless your grandson in the performance of his duties for the Margate Police Department. Since the inception of SOAR I’ve known you as one of those few members who could always be relied upon to cheerfully and enthusiastically support our efforts to unify all NYPD Retirees.
I’ve never mentioned this to you before, but over the years, following our numerous unification endeavors together, I’ve come to believe that a line from an old, old song best epitomizes your philosophy: YOU’VE GOT TO ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE, DELIMINATE THE NEGATIVE AND DON’T MESS WITH MR. INBETWEEN!
Thanks Mike for your enduring friendship to SOAR, as an organization and me as its President.
Ron Schule
Mike J. Borrelli Sr.
What a great organization. You know how proud I am of being part of it.
Last week my grandson, Brad J. Borrelli was sworn in at the Margate Police Department. With my Deputy Chief son, Mike J. Borrelli Jr. We are now 3 generations of Police Officers
No one could be more proud of a son who has superceded his father in his chosen profession.
Mike J. Borrelli Sr.
Dear LBA Member,
Over the last few months we have been negotiating with a number of dental plans to continue to offer you a premium dental plan with no co-payments for general services and enhanced orthodontia coverage for dependent children. The Dental "Buy-Up" program through HealthPlex that provided this option since 2014 is up for renewal July 1, 2016. The renewal option HealthPlex was offering included a reduced benefit at a higher cost that was not to the LBA's satisfaction. We began a competitive bidding process and have now selected EmblemHealth Preferred Dental Program as our "Buy-Up" option for the next two years
Over the next few weeks you will be receiving mail correspondence from the Superior Officer's Council and EmblemHealth with a greater description of the plan design, but I am pleased that the total number of participating dentists in the New York Area you will have access to is increased from the current 1,200 in HealthPlex to over 5,500 with EmblemHealth. The member cost per paycheck for this enhanced plan will be $21.50 effective July 1, 2016. The open enrollment period will be April 15th to May 15, 2016. If you would like to search the EmblemHealth network for participating dentists use this link:
http://psearch.ghi.com/ProviderSearchEHGHI/Search.aspx?Plan=PPO|4|110&Network=06
This "Buy-Up" plan will be offered to both active and retired members of the LBA. If you are an active member currently enrolled in the HealthPlex "Buy-Up" plan you will automatically be moved into the new EmblemHealth Plan unless you return an "opt-out" form that will be sent to you from the SOC. Retired members currently in the Healthplex "Buy-Up" plan will continue in that plan until June 30, 2017 (the expiration of the retiree contract with Healthplex).
If you have dependents currently receiving Orthodontia treatment, that treatment will be transferred to the new Emblem Health plan. With the exception of this new "Buy-Up" option, all other dental plans offered by the SOC will remain the same.
I will have more information and enrollment forms available for you at our April 20th Delegate and General Membership meeting. The meeting will be at 18:00 hours at Antun's: 96-43 Springfield Blvd, Queens Village, NY 11429.
Fraternally,
Lou Turco
President