Slain FDNY paramedic Alison Russo has Queens street named in her memory
A Queens street was named Wednesday for Alison Russo, the FDNY paramedic supervisor from Huntington who was fatally stabbed a year ago.
Also Wednesday, a plaque was dedicated to her memory at her nearby Emergency Medical Service Station 49 in Astoria.
Russo, a 61-year-old lieutenant, was posthumously promoted to captain in the days after the stabbing on Sept. 29, 2022. The station is on the street that has now been named for her: 42nd Street, between 19th and 20th avenues, now “Alison Russo Way.”
“For anyone who asks who this street was named after, the stories will be plentiful: a hardworking public servant who responded to the World Trade Center attacks, a highly skilled rescue paramedic, a fearless woman who did not shy away from a challenge but embraced it, a steadfast presence in this EMS station — she was a proud mentor, a teacher, a daughter, a sister and a mother,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a ceremony held at the station.
Russo came on the job in 1998 as an emergency medical technician, according to an FDNY news release. She was promoted in 2002 to paramedic, and to lieutenant in 2016.
On Sept. 29, 2022, Peter Zisopoulos, 34, ran up to Russo, slammed her down, and stabbed her.
She was stabbed "numerous times" in front of 40-19 20th Ave. — around the corner from Station 49, where she was assigned — as she went to get food, according to the NYPD and a charging document filed in the days after the attack.
Last month, Zisopoulos, who lived nearby, was ordered transferred back to a medical unit on the Rikers Island jail complex from an upstate mental hospital. He has been found mentally competent to stand trial.
“The terrible, terrible act of violence that took Captain Russo from us was committed by a man in the midst of severe mental health crisis and illness, and it’s crucially important that we invest serious resources in our mental health system before one more life is lost,” City Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán, the local representative, said at the ceremony.
Zisopoulos' defense attorney Wilson LaFaurie told Newsday last month that the most recent finding about his client's mental state doesn't mean that the case will necessarily go to trial soon.
Two previous court-ordered examinations of Zisopoulos determined that he was incompetent to go to trial and assist in his own defense, said LaFaurie. After Zisopoulos, who has a history of being schizophrenic, was transferred to the upstate mental hospital and apparently treated with drug therapy, he was once again evaluated and found mentally able to go to trial, LaFaurie said.
A Queens street was named Wednesday for Alison Russo, the FDNY paramedic supervisor from Huntington who was fatally stabbed a year ago.
Also Wednesday, a plaque was dedicated to her memory at her nearby Emergency Medical Service Station 49 in Astoria.
Russo, a 61-year-old lieutenant, was posthumously promoted to captain in the days after the stabbing on Sept. 29, 2022. The station is on the street that has now been named for her: 42nd Street, between 19th and 20th avenues, now “Alison Russo Way.”
“For anyone who asks who this street was named after, the stories will be plentiful: a hardworking public servant who responded to the World Trade Center attacks, a highly skilled rescue paramedic, a fearless woman who did not shy away from a challenge but embraced it, a steadfast presence in this EMS station — she was a proud mentor, a teacher, a daughter, a sister and a mother,” FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a ceremony held at the station.
Russo came on the job in 1998 as an emergency medical technician, according to an FDNY news release. She was promoted in 2002 to paramedic, and to lieutenant in 2016.
On Sept. 29, 2022, Peter Zisopoulos, 34, ran up to Russo, slammed her down, and stabbed her.
She was stabbed "numerous times" in front of 40-19 20th Ave. — around the corner from Station 49, where she was assigned — as she went to get food, according to the NYPD and a charging document filed in the days after the attack.
Danielle Falco, left, daughter of EMS Capt. Alison Russo, attends a street dedication in honor of her mother in Astoria, Queens, on Wednesday. Credit: James Carbone
Last month, Zisopoulos, who lived nearby, was ordered transferred back to a medical unit on the Rikers Island jail complex from an upstate mental hospital. He has been found mentally competent to stand trial.
“The terrible, terrible act of violence that took Captain Russo from us was committed by a man in the midst of severe mental health crisis and illness, and it’s crucially important that we invest serious resources in our mental health system before one more life is lost,” City Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán, the local representative, said at the ceremony.
Zisopoulos' defense attorney Wilson LaFaurie told Newsday last month that the most recent finding about his client's mental state doesn't mean that the case will necessarily go to trial soon.
Two previous court-ordered examinations of Zisopoulos determined that he was incompetent to go to trial and assist in his own defense, said LaFaurie. After Zisopoulos, who has a history of being schizophrenic, was transferred to the upstate mental hospital and apparently treated with drug therapy, he was once again evaluated and found mentally able to go to trial, LaFaurie said.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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