Officer Killed In 1917 Honored With Yorkville Street Naming

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Over 100 people turned out to pay their respects on Friday morning to a fallen Upper East Side patrolman killed in Yorkville 107 years ago.

Patrolman John Patrick Flood died on July 3, 1917, while responding to a call for help in a domestic dispute involving prize fighter Milton Bleier.

Now, the intersection at East 77th Street and York Avenue, steps from the apartment where Bleier viciously beat Flood to death with his own baton, will be known as "Patrolman John Patrick Flood Way."

In the crowd were police officials, the NYPD ceremonial unit, the 19th Precinct Community Council, City Council Member Julie Menin, and members of Flood's family — including granddaughter Maureen O'Grady, according to Menin's office.

“I am profoundly grateful for the recognition and honor conferred on my grandfather, John P. Flood with the street dedication," said O'Grady. "Thanks to the efforts of Council Member Menin and the NYPD, his heroism, sacrifice, and dedication to duty will never be forgotten."

"These same traits, however, are echoed in all the men and women, past present and future who proudly wear the NYPD blue. It is also my hope that this fact will be reflected and recognized by all who encounter Patrolman John Patrick Way,” O'Grady said of her grandfather's sacrifice.

Flood was born on March 17, 1879, in County Cavan, Ireland, and was well-regarded in the Upper East Side, then known as the 31st Precinct.

Mourners at the time of Flood's death remembered him as the "parish priest" of the precinct, for his constant admonishing of co-workers when overhearing foul language, according to the Daily News.

Despite being given a proper police burial, his widow could not afford a headstone for him and the plot remained unmarked for over a century.

But in 2019, active and retired officers from the 19th Precinct donated a gravestone for Flood, an effort initiated by a 19th Precinct officer, Anthony Nuccio, when he discovered a few years earlier that Flood's burial was still unmarked, the Daily News reported at the time.

“We had to do something. Over 100 years had gone by and he’s been laying there with his family in an unmarked grave. It didn’t seem right," Nuccio told the Daily News in 2019. “It was a no brainer."

And now the neighborhood Flood served will have a constant reminder of his service.

“Patrolman Flood's selflessness and courage in the face of danger to help the victim of domestic violence is finally recognized today," said Council Member Julie Menin. "It was an honor to host this ceremonial street co-naming in his memory, celebrating a person who gave his life while serving this city. New York City must always remember his sacrifice and inspire others to serve their communities with the same dedication and bravery."

Deputy Inspector of the 19th Precinct William Gallagher gave his thanks to Menin for making the naming possible, as well as the precinct's prior efforts to honor the fallen officer.

“A member of the police department killed in the line of duty spent 100 years in an unmarked grave and thank you to Detective Nuccio and the 19th precinct for fixing this," Gallagher said on Friday.