Ex-NYPD Cop Luis Alvarez Honored By NY For 9/11 Activism

NEW YORK — Luis Alvarez, the Astoria-bred detective who fought tirelessly for 9/11 first-responders before his death, was honored for his activism on the 18th anniversary of the attacks.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo posthumously awarded Alvarez the Governor's Medal of Public Service on Wednesday, citing his successful push to save the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund before he died of cancer on June 29.

"He went down to Washington, literally in his last days, and he looked the Congress of the United States in the eye and he spoke the truth from his heart," Cuomo, a Democrat, said of Alvarez.

Alvarez's widow, Alaine Parker Alvarez, and his son, Tyler, accepted the state's highest medal on his behalf at a Wednesday ceremony commemorating the 2001 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania.

Alvarez was instrumental in advocating for the "Never Forget the Heroes Act," the bill Congress passed in July to permanently fund and reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. His name was part of the legislation's formal title.

Alvarez was near the end of his three-year battle with colorectal cancer when he traveled to Washington in June to urge lawmakers to rescue the fund for 9/11 survivors. He had linked the disease to the three months he spent working to rescue victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Alvarez was born in Cuba, raised in Astoria and started his career with the NYPD at Queens's 108th Precinct in 1993, according to obituaries written about him. He reportedly retired from the Police Department in 2010 after a decorated career.

Alvarez was hailed as a hero at his funeral, which was held in July at Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria.