NY Daily News – October 21, 2015
by Laura Bult, Leonard Greene
New York City honored two of its fallen heroes Tuesday, naming a pair of streets in the Bronx and Brooklyn after a police officer and a firefighter who died in service to the city.
Bagpipes played in the Bronx, where cops unveiled a green-and-white sign bearing the name of Police Officer Ronald G. Becker Jr.
Becker, 53, died of lung cancer in 2012, a disease he developed from the days he spent in the aftermath of 9/11 working at Ground Zero.
“Ronald possessed a quality of spirit that enabled him to face extraordinary peril in the absence of fear,” said Chief of Department James O’Neill.
“In the weeks following the terror attacks, Ronald continued the thankless work of recovery at Ground Zero, and ultimately he gave his life in service to all New Yorkers.”
In Brooklyn, the corner of Morgan Avenue and Grattan Street was renamed Lt. Richard A. Nappi Way, in honor of the firefighter who died while on duty in April 2012.
The intersection is near the firehouse where he last served.
Nappi, 47, collapsed after becoming overheated while battling a three-alarm blaze in a Bushwick warehouse. He went into cardiac arrest, and died at nearby Woodhull Medical Center.
“Three years ago we lost an outstanding firefighter and an even better man,” said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
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