Alison Russo, fatally stabbed FDNY paramedic, will be promoted to captain

The FDNY is posthumously promoting Lt. Alison Russo, the paramedic from Huntington who was fatally stabbed last week while grabbing lunch in Queens.

The promotion, to the rank of captain, is to take place at Russo’s funeral Wednesday in Brookville, according to the FDNY, which oversees the city’s emergency medical service.

On Instagram, the department said in a statement: "Alison Russo was everything we look for in a leader in our Department. A dedicated and accomplished veteran of 25 years, she responded to thousands of emergencies, mentored many new EMTs and Paramedics, cared deeply for the communities she served, and set an incredible example for others at Station 49 and at every station she called home throughout her outstanding career."

"This posthumous promotion is a sign of our deep respect and admiration for all the courageous and selfless work she did throughout her career," the department added. "We will never forget her."

Posthumous promotion, a standard practice following uniformed personnel deaths considered by the department to have occurred in the line of duty, leads to greater benefits for families.

Wednesday’s 11 a.m. funeral, at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts on the LIU Post campus, caps a three-day “celebration of life” for Russo that began with wakes on Monday and Tuesday.

Russo, 61, had been on the job for 24 years. She was stabbed “numerous times” Thursday afternoon in front of 40-19 20th Ave. in Queens’ Astoria neighborhood — around the corner from Station 49, where she was assigned — as she went to get food, according to the NYPD and a charging document.

Peter Zisopoulos, 34, of nearby 41st Street, is charged with second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. His scheduled arraignment, at Queens Criminal Court, has been put off for days so he could undergo a psychiatric exam, according to the court.

In an email Tuesday, Meris Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Queens District Attorney's Office, said the arraignment is expected to be held remotely on Thursday morning.

No motive for the killing has been disclosed; the charging document says Zisopoulos made "statements and admissions."

In the hours after the stabbing, the NYPD chief of detectives said that eyewitnesses chased Zisopoulos from the scene to his apartment, where he had barricaded himself before being coaxed out by police hostage negotiators.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.