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• Thursday, September 21, 2017

  ‘Jimmy Lanza Way’ Honors Former Post Commander

  

  Photo provided by Alan Feuer

  A street in Woodside, Queens now honors a former post commander and firefighter who died from a 911-related illness.

  The corner of 54th Street and 31st Avenue now bears the name, “Jimmy Lanza Way,” in memory of James Lanza, former commander of Boulevard Gardens Post 1836, reports Post Commander Alan Feuer.

  Elected officials, relatives and the Legion Family gathered Saturday afternoon, Sept. 9, for the dedication ceremony.

  Lanza, a native of Woodside, died in April at age 71 from cancer he developed working on rescue and recovery efforts at the World Trade Center, Spectrum News reported. He was part of the team that rescued 16 survivors out of the rubble, the TV station reported, and he worked for the FDNY for nearly three decades.

  “99 percent of the time, Jimmy Lanza’s way was the positive way,” Marian Penachio, Lanza’s sister, told news media.

  Councilman Costa Constantinides said: “He was a hero, a true American here. He defined what it means for the word ‘service’.”