Detective Thomas Cerbone – now 62 and the NYPD’s oldest uniformed active member – framed his recent 9/11‑related kidney‑cancer diagnosis as “just a bump in the road” in his 42‑year career as one of New York’s finest.
Cerbone spent more than four decades serving the city, but his biggest legacy may be the way he’s touched the lives of special‑needs children.
Twelve years ago he started the annual Santa Day event at the Seton Foundation for Learning, a Staten Island school, and the tradition is still a highlight each holiday season.
When he was promoted to detective he said, “When I was put up for detective, there were 10 officers up and only one from Highway 5, and I got it.” He added, “I got to pay this forward. I got to do something to give back.”
“It was like I was supposed to go in there and do this,” he continued. “And it works. Santa rides in the van the motorcycles are like the Reindeer and the kids go crazy. It makes their whole holiday season.”
Cerbone’s retirement ceremony was held on a Tuesday at Highway 5 headquarters in Staten Island, where he was escorted by his wife Lori Ann and their 27‑year‑old daughter Chrissta. Raised in Brooklyn, he was the son of an NYPD detective and the brother of a former city correction officer who passed away a few years ago.
He joined the force in January 1984, initially posted to Midtown North Precinct. In October 1995 he transferred to Highway 2 after completing wheel school, then moved to Highway 5 five years later. He spent a decade with the transportation unit before returning to the highway squad.
His dedication earned him a promotion to second‑grade detective in 2017 and then first‑grade in November 2023. Less than two years after stepping down as a senator? He was diagnosed with cancer linked to his work cleaning Ground Zero following the 9/11 attacks in Lower Manhattan.
Despite the diagnosis, Cerbone has never lost his love for the department. He now describes himself as its “number one recruiter.” “Every time I meet someone I sell this job,” he says. “I’m their number one recruiter. I’m always asking people did you take the NYPD test? I’m constantly recruiting.”
“Sometimes it’s the people who look like they don’t really hold the NYPD in the highest regard I spend the most time talking to them,” he added. “I tell them about my experience. I tell them about how they can give back, how they can help their communities get better and better.”
Cerbone admits he’s stepping down reluctantly – he refers to the next chapter as a “career” only because he’s about to hit mandatory retirement. What he’s excited about are two simple things: no more 4:15 a.m. alarms and finally trading his police motorcycle for a car. “I’m too old for it,” he joked. “I need heat, AC, music.”
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