Community Corner

SEE: Prospect Park West Block Renamed For Late NYPD Officer

The Prospect Park West block, at Third Street, is where Officer Jose Perez died in the line of duty in 1994.

The Prospect Park West block, at Third Street, is where Officer Jose Perez died in the line of duty in 1994.
The Prospect Park West block, at Third Street, is where Officer Jose Perez died in the line of duty in 1994. (Courtesy of Megan Flynn/Office of Council Member Brad Lander)

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A new street name added to Prospect Park West and Third Street this week will carry on the legacy of an NYPD officer who died at the intersection nearly three decades ago.

The new name, "Police Officer Jose A. Perez Way," was unveiled at the Prospect Park-adjacent corner on Thursday with Perez's family, the NYPD's Ceremonial Unit and Council Member Brad Lander, whose office led the legislative effort to make the renaming a reality.

The street sign comes 27 years after Perez, a father of two, died when his police van crashedresponding to an assault in the park. He was 28 years old.

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"Jose & his wife Nancy lived in Sunset Park, and she told me he would show up for his fellow Brooklynites no matter what," Lander Tweeted on Thursday. "We honor his service & memory."

The street name adds to an existing plaque at the intersection honoring Perez, which was added the year he died.

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The renaming is the second in recent months on the Prospect Park West corridor.

Late last year, activist unveiled an unofficial renaming of the street's two-way lane as the "Eric McClure Bikeway" for the StreetsPAC co-founder, whose activism helped the bike path overcome years of court battles.

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