School Safety honorees with Gregory Floyd, President of Local 237 on the left, Derek Jackson, Director of Local 237’s Law Enforcement Division on the right and members of the NYPD/School Safety Division, DOE, UFT and Stuyvesant High School’s administration.

That is a question, Gregory Floyd, President of Teamsters Local 237, posed at a recent gathering. But he knew that the answer was right in front of him. 20 School Safety Agents from Stuyvesant High School were being honored for their heroism during the October 31 terrorist attack that left 8 dead and many injured. The worst assault in New York City since 9-11 was met with countless first responders who aided the injured and the dead. First on the scene were School Safety Agents who called the NYPD and EMS. Due to the swift actions of the Agents, a police officer shot the perpetrator, ending his shooting spree, and medical teams tended to the victim.

Among the dignitaries on hand were: Borough President Gale Brewer; Brian Conroy, Assistant Chief of the NYPD/School Safety Division; Ramon Garcia, Assistant Commissioner, NYPD/SchoolSafety Division; Eric Contreras, Principal, Stuyvesant High School; Mark Rampersant, Deputy CEO of Safety and Health for the DOE; Jeffrey Povalitis, Director of Safety for the UFT and Joan Jaffe, Chief, NYPD/School Safety Division. President Floyd helped to distribute the “Excellent Performance of Duty Award” to each of the Agents and told them: “We hear the word hero used a lot. But the definition can vary. Most dictionaries describe a hero as someone who puts others before himself or herself. Someone who does things because they are the right thing to do. A hero is someone who does good just for the sake of doing good…someone who acts with a sense of responsibility and honor. On October 31, most School Safety Agents were probably thinking the worst part of the day would be dealing with trick-or-treaters. Some were probably worried if they’d make it home in time to take their own kids around their neighborhoods. Then, everything changed. They dove into action. They replaced calamity with calm. They combined the authority of law enforcement wih the comfort of a loving parent. They were professional yet compassionate. Their training and natural instincts kicked in. They helped to save lives on that day. The work of School Safety Agents is never easy on any day, but that day was like none other. They were heroes.”

Borough President Gale Brewer addresses the audience.		Bestowing the awards to the Agents are, left to right, DOE’s Mark Rampersant, Gregory Floyd, Chief Brian Conroy and Commissioner Ramon Garcia.
Chief Joan Jaffee receives an award from Derek Jackson, Director of Local 237’s Law Enforcement Division and Jeanette Taveras, Local 237 Trustee and Business Agent.

The following Members of Service from Manhattan South Command were assigned or responded to the terrorist attack on Tuesday, October 31, 2017

SSA III Tressa Roberts-Robinson, Task Force SSA I Cindy Fernandez, Task Force SSA I Samantha Bannister, Task Force SSA I Kesha Ellis, Task Force SSA I April Ruiz, Task Force SSA I Yvedcy DeJesus, Task Force SSA I Semintha Brown, Task Force SSA I Saquan Fields, Task Force SSA I Ebony Posey, Task Force SSA I Omar Ruiz, Task Force SSA I Benjamin Shipman, Task Force SSA I Marc Worrell, Task Force SSA I Calvin Crooke, Task Force SSA I Yesennia Franklin, Stuyvesant H.S. SSA I Nicole Marcano-Whittle, Stuyvesant H.S. SSA I Barbara Taylor, Stuyvesant H.S. SSA I Tamara Smith, Stuyvesant H.S. SSA I Chavaugn Moore, PS 150 SSA I Diana Ceneno, PS 234/Annex SSA I Frances Navarro, PS 234/Annex SSA I Stephanie Somerville, PS / IS 89 SSA I Antoinette Dyall, PS 276 SSA I Jalissa Sheppard, PS 276