Patrolman Charles Reynolds
Patrolman Charles Reynolds and Patrolman Frank Romanella were shot and killed after arresting several men in a taxicab in 1923.
The patrolmen were driving on the Queensborough Bridge when they heard a woman screaming in a taxicab for help. The officers stopped the cab a short distance away and placed the occupants in custody. The officers then ordered the driver to drive to the 81st Precinct station as they rode on the outside of the cab. As the cab neared 64th Street and 2nd Avenue, one of the occupants opened fire on them, killing them both.
Patrolman Reynolds was assigned to the 116th Precinct, the present-day 104th Precinct.
We will be co-naming the corner of Catalpa Avenue and 62nd Street where Ptl. Reynolds’ horse Inspector was stabled on April 13 at 1pm.
Stanislaw Kozikowski
One of the members of the Lost Battalion, Pvt. Stanislaw Kozikowski of Perry Avenue, Maspeth, was awarded the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross. The citation read:
“The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Stanislaw Kozikowski, Private, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Binarville, France, October 2–7, 1918. During the time when his company was isolated in the Argonne Forest and cut off from communication with friendly troops, Private Kozikowski, together with another soldier, volunteered to carry a message through the German lines, although he was aware that several unsuccessful attempts had been previously made by patrols and members of which were either killed, wounded, or driven back. By his courage and determination, he succeeded in delivering the message and brought relief to his battalion.”
After his discharge from the Army, Kozikowski worked as a machinist at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he worked for more than 30 years. The “Brooklyn Navy Yard Shipworker” described him as ‘a quiet, unassuming individual, a man one would hardly expect to be pointed out as one of this country’s greatest heroes of World War I.
We will be co-naming Perry Avenue and Remsen Place in honor of Stanislaw Kozikowski on April 20 at 1 pm.