Local Tribute To Police Officer Moira Smith

Brooklyn- State Senator Marty Golden along with Brooklyn Public Library Executive Director Dionne Mack-Harvin and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, this week officially unveiled a New York State Senate honor, a framed commemorative print officially inducting Police Officer Moira Smith into State Senate history as a Senate Woman of Distinction at Brooklyn Public Library’s Bay Ridge Library amongst a crowd of family, friends and neighbors.

Police Officer Moira Smith, a 13-year veteran of the N.Y.P.D., was inducted as a hero into the New York State Senate Women of Distinction program earlier this year. This prestigious recognition, also on display in the State Capitol, remembers the life and ultimate sacrifice of Police Officer Moira Smith. Police Officer Moira Smith was among the first to respond to the attack at the World Trade Center on September 11 and was last seen evacuating people out of Tower Two, saving hundreds of lives. Officer Smith was the only female New York City Police Officer who died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001.

Senator Marty Golden stated, "Police Officer Moira Smith was a hero not only on 74th Street where she grew up, but throughout Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and New York City, long before and ever since September 11, 2001. Police Officer Moira Smith defined bravery, pride and love for our City as a member of New York’s finest. Now, we have honored Moira Smith as a State Senate Woman of Distinction, a tribute that will insure that her ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten throughout New York."

New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly stated, "Moira Smith was not only a hero on September 11th. She was an extraordinary Police Officer and public servant. It is fitting we honor her in such a public way, with this plaque in one of Brooklyn’s most famous and important institutions, its great public library. I want to thank Senator Marty Golden and the Brooklyn Public Library for making this tribute possible."

Moira Smith was born and raised in Bay Ridge and graduated from Our Lady of Angels School and Our Lady of Perpetual Help High School. Officer Smith began her police career in 1988 when she joined the New York City Transit Police Department. After the department merged with the NYPD, Officer Smith was assigned to Manhattan’s 13th Precinct in 1997.

Throughout her police career, Officer Smith inhibited extreme valor, and among her awards was the department’s distinguished duty medal, which she received in 1991 for saving dozens of lives after a subway crash. Officer Smith was posthumously awarded the NYPD’s Medal of Honor, the Department’s highest honor. She was listed among GLAMOUR and Ms. magazines’ as "Woman of the Year for 2001" and was named Woman of the Year by NYPD’s Policewomen’s Endowment Association.

A commemorative print, including Police Officer Smith’s biography and photo, will be displayed at the Bay Ridge Library for one month.

In 2002, then-City Councilman Marty Golden proposed legislation successfully to rename 74th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue in honor of Police Officer Moira Smith. The legislation was signed into law on September 27, 2002 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the street was officially renamed "Police Officer Moira Smith Way".