Verleye Park to Be Renamed 'Charles A. Oddo Memorial Park' on Sunday

Members of the community can join officials at Verleye Park on Sunday to rename the park after Charles A. Oddo, a fallen NYPD Officer from East Northport and member of the Huntington community.

The East Northport park will officially be renamed “Charles A. Oddo Memorial Park” at the renaming ceremony, which kicks off at 11 a.m.

The Huntington Town Board unanimously adopted a resolution to name Verleye Park after Oddo in May.

The Huntington native graduated from John H. Glenn High School in Elwood and served as a volunteer firefighter, paramedic and mechanic at the Commack Fire Department since 1982.

Oddo joined the NYPD in 1990 and followed in his father’s footsteps after he was assigned to NYPD Highway Patrol No. 2. Oddo’s father was a retired sergeant from the Suffolk County Police Department’s Highway Patrol.

In Feb. 1996, Oddo was struck and killed in the line of duty. He was setting up flares in the merge lane of the Gowanus Expressway and Belt Parkway after a tanker spill when he was fatally struck by a vehicle.

Oddo grew up just around the corner from Verleye Park and his family still lives there, making the park a perfect spot to pay tribute to his legacy, says Councilman Eugene Cook, who sponsored the resolution.

“Officer Oddo was known to be a man who would give you the shirt off his own back if you needed it,” Cook said in a press release.

The following groups will be in attendance at the renaming ceremony: Commack Fire Department, East Northport Fire Department, NYPD Highway Patrol Unit, NYPD Ceremonial Unit Chaplains, Suffolk County Police Highway Unit, Suffolk County Police Commissioners Office, members of the Huntington Town Council and the Huntington Town Supervisor.

Verleye Park is located on Verleye Avenue between Burr Road and Colonial Street .

Image via Google Maps