Brian Moore memorial fund gives out $10G in scholarships

The memorial fund set up to honor Brian Moore, the Plainedge resident and NYPD police detective who was fatally shot while on patrol in Queens Village in May 2015, recently handed out its first two $5,000 scholarships.

Plainedge High School graduates Nicholas Ticali and Alexa LaScala each received a college scholarship. They were selected because of their academic and extracurricular accomplishments and volunteer experience, said Ralph Raymond, secretary of the Brian Moore Memorial Fund’s board of directors and a former youth baseball coach of Moore.

The fund, which now has about $35,000, was established last year in commemoration of Moore, 25, who attended Plainedge High School. Three events in the next three months will raise additional money for the fund, Raymond said: Golf outings sponsored by Moore’s 105th NYPD precinct in Queens and another by the Plainedge Alumni Association, and an annual Plainedge youth baseball tournament that started in July 2015 to collect money for the fund.

In addition to the scholarships, the fund will provide financial assistance to police officers, firefighters and military personnel in need, such as those who are injured, or to their families, in the event of a death, Raymond said.

The scholarships were handed out on June 2 at the athletic center in Plainedge Park that recently was renamed in Moore’s honor.

Moore’s father, retired NYPD Sgt. Raymond Moore, his mother, Irene Moore, and his sister, Christine Moore, were among those who attended the ceremony. Raymond Moore is on the fund’s board; Christine Moore is a fund administrator, Raymond said.