For over a century, the Long Island chapter of the American Red Cross has served Nassau and Suffolk counties with disaster aid and emergency support, enlisting hundreds of volunteers throughout the region. And each year the organization acknowledges community members who exemplify its spirit and mission while supporting their neighbors.
On Oct. 22, the Red Cross honored six area residents at its annual Long Island Heroes Celebration, at the Heritage Club at Bethpage, in Farmingdale. Recipients were chosen from among nominees suggested by members of their communities. This year’s winner of the Red Cross Humanitarian Award was longtime Long Beach philanthropist Harvey Weisenberg, a former city councilman and state assemblyman.
“He’s someone who starts his day with a very simple question: ‘How can I help?’” Stacey Sweet, vice chair of the American Red Cross Long Island chapter’s board of directors, said. “I think that’s what Harvey’s been committed to for his entire life of service, and it’s quite a legacy.”
Weisenberg, who will turn 93 in December, has a decades-long track record of community service and local activism, including advocating for people with developmental disabilities — inspired by his son, Ricky, who lived with cerebral palsy — and supporting a range of local organizations, both financially and through policy-making.
“The need for good people, and people that care about people as a priority, is the most important thing that we can have within our communities,” Weisenberg told the gathering. “Love is so much better than hate and anger. We need more ]love in the world, so keep that in mind.”
City Manager Dan Creighton noted that Weisenberg is one of a small group of people who can lay claim to serving their community for more than 50 years. “Harvey’s done a lot for all of Long Beach, all of Long Island, all of New York for years and years and years.” Creighton said. “He’s worthy of this honor.”
In addition to Weisenberg, the Red Cross recognized five other Long Island honorees. Tom Von Essen, of Rockville Centre, was presented with the Community Impact Legacy Hero Award for more than 40 years as a firefighter. Von Essen was the commissioner of the New York City Fire Department at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. From 2017 to 2020 he was a region administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria and coordinating operations in New York during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sea Cliff resident Susanne Deegan, who donated a kidney to local restaurant manager David Geliashvili, won the Help Can’t Wait Hero Award. Deegan and her family were longtime patrons of La Bussola of Glen Cove and, when she learned about the severity of Geliashvili’s polycystic kidney disease, she was tested to find out whether she was compatible, and decided to become a living donor.
New York City Police Officer Freddy Cerpa, of Elmont, was named the First Responder Hero, for saving two children in separate incidents barely a month apart — first while off-duty last December and then, while on duty, in January.
Brandi M. Carney, of Huntington, was honored as the Military Hero. Carney has focused nearly 30 years of her work as a licensed clinical social worker on helping veterans, military families, first responders and trauma survivors.
And the Youth Hero Award was presented to Bay Shore’s Finn Shiavone. After a wrestling accident in 2022 left him unable to walk or talk, Schiavone, now 18, endured intensive rehabilitation to make a nearly complete recovery, and now works to inspire others.
After the award ceremony and a silent auction fundraiser to support the Red Cross’s mission and services, Ryan Attard, a co-chair of the event, concluded the celebration with words of appreciation and a call to action. “Let’s continue to celebrate heroes, build resilience and uplift one another,” Attard said. “We hope you leave here inspired today and ready to be our next community hero.”
