Meet the Newest Members of Our Public Safety Honor Roll

They’re the eyes and ears of the district — on patrol 24/7 — helping rescue people from subway tracks, finding lost children and assisting the NYPD in keeping Lower Manhattan one of the safest places in the city.

On Tuesday the Downtown Alliance honored 12 of its  Public Safety Officers  for extraordinary service last year.

“You have made Lower Manhattan a far more inviting place to be,” Downtown Alliance Chairman Robert R. Douglass told the officers at the organization’s annual public safety luncheon at Moran’s Restaurant and Bar. “Thanks for another great year. (For a full array of photos from the event check out the Downtown Alliance’s Flickr page here.)

The Downtown Alliance’s 57-person public safety staff –- recognizable by their distinctive red uniforms –- checks in with neighborhood businesses, provides visitors and residents with friendly directions and aid, and assists the New York City Police Department. Criminal activity in Lower Manhattan has dropped considerably since the Downtown Alliance and NYPD began working together 12 years ago.

Several officers received multiple awards for their actions.

The awards were presented –- in chronological order –- for actions on the following dates:

April 6, 2010 –- Frank Dell’Alba was recognized for assisting an NYPD officer and an MTA worker in removing an intoxicated man from the train tracks of the R-line. The man was taken to Bellevue Hospital.

June 26, 2010 –- Stephen Lefkowitz was recognized for notifying the NYPD about unlawful vending at a bus stop at Morris Street and Broadway. The vendor refused to leave, and so Lefkowitz notified the NYPD’s 1st Precinct. A computer check revealed three outstanding warrants.

June 30, 2010 –- Donnell Stevens was recognized for notifying the NYPD after he saw a man –- who was being chased by security personnel –- toss stolen items over a fence into a construction site. The man was arrested by 1st Precinct officers.

July 22, 2010 –- Jeison Hidalgo and Rosa Williams were recognized for reuniting a lost 8-year-old girl with her grandmother after the girl went missing near Castle Clinton in Battery Park.

August 6, 2010 –- Jason Rivera, Shawn Soto, Denise Blackwell, Donnell Stevens, Jose Matias, Jonathan Molina, and Joseph Cuadrado were recognized for detaining a reportedly violent homeless man after a woman reported his actions. NYPD officers arrived and took the man to Bellevue Hospital.

October 16, 2010 –- Jerry Marcus and Jason Rivera were recognized after helping members of the NYPD’s Scooter Task Force chase down a man suspected of illegal vending near the World Trade Center site.

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