Thursday, December 12, 2024
In a heartfelt ceremony held last Saturday, Union Drive in Uniondale was officially dedicated to the late Erick Contreras, a Uniondale native and former Nassau County detective.
“This is a day when we come together to celebrate not just a man, but a legacy of courage, compassion and unwavering service,” Contreras’ younger sister, Sharon, said in a speech at the ceremony. “Today, Union Drive is reborn as Detective Erick Wendell Contreras Drive, a fitting tribute to a Uniondale son who made his mark here in his youth and went on to make an indelible impact in the world beyond.”
Contreras grew up in Uniondale, having attended Walnut Street Elementary School and Turtle Hook Middle School before graduating from Uniondale High School in 1985.
Contreras began his career as a corrections officer in 1988, Dorothy Goosby, Town of Hempstead deputy supervisor, said at the ceremony. In 1994, after six years, he joined the Nassau County Police Department.
He was promoted to detective with the department’s Fourth Squad in 2002, and Goosby said he was ultimately assigned to the Nassau County District Attorney Squad, a position he held until his death on Jan. 15, 2021, at the age of 53. He was posthumously promoted to detective first grade shortly after his death.
Bill Bourguignon, president of the Nassau County Detectives’ Association, who worked with Contreras throughout his career, spoke about the man nicknamed “Big E” by his co-workers.
“Whenever anyone had the pleasure of encountering Erick, they were met with a big hello and a big smile,” Bourguignon said at the ceremony.
“E is short for Erick, but it may well have been for easy going, as Erick had the most easy-going personality on the job,” Bourguignon said in his emotional speech. “Everyone knew him, and to know him was to love him.”
He said Contreras loved being a detective and serving the public “no matter the assignment,” and he treated everyone he encountered with “dignity, respect and professionalism.”
Contreras was passionate about animals, and was a dog owner himself. “His care extended even to the animals and wildlife, which he adored with almost the same passion he had for people,” Sharon said.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Contreras was a first responder during the attacks on the World Trade Center. He was diagnosed years later with cancer that was believed to be 9/11-related, which he fought until his death.
“I often smile with pride, knowing without a doubt that even if Erick had known what lay ahead,” Sharon said, “if he had glimpsed the hardship and terminal illness he would endure because of his service at the World Trade Center, Erick would still have gone. His courage was unwavering, his sense of duty unbreakable.”
Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly also spoke at the ceremony in honor of Contreras. Before she became the district attorney, she said she was the deputy bureau chief of the district attorney squad, where Contreras was assigned.
“Nothing made me happier than when he walked into my office with that big smile and said, ‘What do you need done today, Annie?’” she said in her speech. “That was the type of detective he was: hard working, good at what he did and never, ever said no to anything I would ask him.”
The holidays are a difficult time for those who have experienced loss, Donnelly said, addressing his mother, siblings and cousins in attendance to tell them that “Erick is with you.”
“He’s in your heart, he’s in your mind,” she said, “he’s with us all around because of what he gave to this community, what he gave to Nassau County, what he gave to New York state.”
The Uniondale High School Rhythm of the Night show choir performed at the ceremony, and Donnelly had advice for them, too.
“Nothing made Erick prouder than the fact that he graduated from Uniondale High School and became a detective in the Nassau County Police Department,” she said, “so think of him always as the hero that he is and was.”
