Joseph Esposito, ex-NYPD chief of department, dies of cancer at 73

Joseph Esposito, who had the longest tenure of any NYPD chief of department and then carved out another career as head of New York City’s Office of Emergency Management, died Monday of cancer, officials said. He was 73.

The Brooklyn-born and bred Esposito started out as a police trainee in 1968 and worked his way up the ranks in various commands before becoming in 2000 the chief of department, the highest ranking uniformed position in the NYPD, according to a statement put out by Mayor Eric Adams, calling Esposito a “friend” and a “hero.”

Other former city officials praised him as well.

“Esposito was the singular individual of any of the chiefs — not only in terms of longevity, but he helped the department in some of the most significant crises of the 21st Century,” former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said in an interview Tuesday.

Esposito, known by the moniker “Espo,” was in command in the days and months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and Superstorm Sandy, said Bratton, who worked closely with him during his first term as police commissioner in the 1990s.

After hitting the mandatory retirement age of 63 in 2013, Esposito was appointed head of OEM by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio and served in that job until 2019. Adams made Esposito a deputy commissioner at the Department of Buildings in 2022.

Esposito was reportedly the target of complaints that he used profanity and excessive force during street protests to control crowds. But, according to former NYPD assistant chief Patrick Conry, Esposito also had a knack for defusing potentially explosive situations. During the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in the fall of 2011, as officers and demonstrators grappled over police barricades, Esposito told both sides to stop the fighting, calming the confrontation, remembered Conry.

“He was phenomenal and a great mentor,” said Kenneth Corey, who was chief of department in 2022. “Having sat in the chair I said, ‘I don’t know how you did this for 13 years.’ ”

The Yankees organization in a statement Tuesday said Esposito’s career was “remarkable: one which transformed our community for the better.”

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, current NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban lauded Esposito’s career, saying, “Joe’s care and compassion touched countless lives.”

While he rose to the pinnacle of the NYPD, Esposito never seemed to forget the officers he commanded and worked with over the years. During one Thanksgiving Day parade, Corey recalled, Esposito made it a point to go up to every officer he saw on duty and shake their hands to thank them for working the holiday.

“He was larger than life. He filled the room,” recalled Corey. “Yet for all the hard work and time he gave to the City of New York, he was a man who truly loved and enjoyed life.”

While OEM chief from 2014 to 2019, Esposito was the face of city government during a number of weather and other emergencies. But after a November 2018 snowstorm dumped more precipitation than expected, a deputy in the de Blasio administration reportedly tried to fire Esposito. De Blasio was out of town and Esposito’s response, according to news reports, was to say that only the mayor could fire him, and he continued to work for a few months until a replacement was found.

Funeral arrangements were pending. Esposito was predeceased by his wife, Christine, in 2022. Information was not available Tuesday about other survivors.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.