Village honors police

Blue ribbons have been tied around the village to honor New York City Police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who were killed on Dec. 20. The village recognized Katherine Nadel of Mormile Florist for donating more than 100 blue ribbons to the village and to anyone who comes in the store.

“Our highly trained officers work tirelessly to keep our village safe while respecting the rights of all of our citizens,” said Mayor Francis X. Murray. “I want to thank them for their professionalism and sense of duty to our residents.”

Mayor Murray’s wife, Barbara, had the idea to put up blue ribbons. The Department of Public Works and the Electric Department put up the ribbons around the village.

“When we mess up, you can be sure people write, but I get a lot more people writing to me, lauding the ethics of our police department.” said Police Commissioner Charles Gennario. “It’s a tremendous thing to work in a village, in a community such as Rockville Centre, where we do have the support of so many people.”

Rockville Centre firefighter and New York City Police officer Louie Franco also spoke. “The blue ribbons that you put up, it meant a lot to not only me but every New York City police officer that’s out there,” said Franco. He also said that it was good to know that 30 Rockville Centre Police Department officers attended Ramos and Liu’s funerals.