BENSONHURST — Every day of his 45-year NYPD career, former Chief of Department Joseph Esposito put on his uniform and went to work eager to serve the people of New York. Even during the city’s darkest days, such as 9/11 and its aftermath, he was on the front lines.
On Jan. 8, Esposito passed away at the age of 73 from brain cancer — an illness that his friends believe was due his work at the World Trade Center site.
As news of his death spread, his friends and colleagues in city government mourned his passing and paid tribute to him.
“He was an amazing person,” said Msgr. David Cassato, an NYPD chaplain and a close friend. “He cared about every single cop in the NYPD. He was also ready, willing, and able to help people.”
Esposito, who helped guide the city through the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy and later played a key role in reopening churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn during the pandemic, had a long legacy of service to the city.
A wake is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 15, 3 p.m.-7 p.m., at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Williamsburg. His funeral Mass will be Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown. Interment will be at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
In addition to his decadeslong NYPD career, Esposito served a four-year stint as commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management. In recent years, he served as deputy commissioner for enforcement for the New York City Department of Buildings.
Mayor Eric Adams, who called Esposito “the definition of public service,” announced that flags on all municipal buildings would fly at half-staff in tribute to him on Jan. 9.
Esposito, a parishioner of St. Athanasius Church in Bensonhurst, was also a former chairman of the Diocescan Review Board, the panel that assists the bishop in responding to allegations of abuse against priests. He headed the board from 2013 to 2022.
Bishop Robert Brennan called him “a highly respected member of the police and public safety community,” and praised his devotion to service.
“From his days on patrol, to his leadership in the wake of the September 11th terror attacks and Superstorm Sandy, Chief Esposito was on the front lines for many years,” Bishop Brennan said in a statement to The Tablet. “Chief Esposito also served the Catholic Church of Brooklyn and Queens as a member of the Diocesan Review Board, answering another call to promote justice within our society. May God reward him for his many works,”
Msgr. Cassato, the former pastor of St. Athanasius, described Esposito as a man who proudly lived out his Catholic faith.”He never missed a Sunday Mass; he was there every week,” he recalled.
Esposito was the longest serving chief of department in the history of the NYPD, serving for 13 years, from 2000 to 2013.
“He was genuinely loved by the cops because he had worked his way up and they knew they had great leadership in him,” said Msgr. Robert Romano, an NYPD chaplain. “He was a cop’s cop.”
As chief of the department, Esposito was known for treating officers like family, Msgr. Romano said.
The 9/11 attacks hit Esposito hard emotionally, Msgr. Romano recalled. The NYPD lost 23 officers in the attack on the World Trade Center.
Esposito was a frequent presence at the ground zero site in the days and weeks after the attack. “I remember he would call me in the middle of the night to tell me they had found the remains of another service member. I would go down there and I would see him. He would always be there to walk the body out. It was important to him,” Msgr. Romano recalled.
Msgr. Romano added that he was always touched by the devotion Esposito had for his wife Christine. “She was a true partner to him. He was heartbroken when she died,” he remembered. Christine Esposito passed away in 2022.
Retired NYPD Transit Chief Joseph Fox considered Esposito a strong influence. “Mentored me, loved me and brought my nephew Michael home. Those are the fewest words I can find on the impact of Joe Esposito on our world and on me,” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). Fox’s nephew, Firefighter Michael Roberts, was killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Retired Assistant Chief Steven Powers, former commander of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, said Esposito was a deeply compassionate person. “I remember the time he was talking to us about someone who died in the line of duty. He started to cry,” he said, adding that he was touched by the emotion he showed and by his compassion for the cop’s family.
Esposito treated the cops under him with respect, Powers said. As a result, “he was probably the most well-loved person in the NYPD,” he added.
Esposito, who had joined the NYPD in 1968 as a police trainee and became a patrolman in 1971, retired in 2013.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban was among those posting tributes to him on social media. “Joe’s care and compassion touched countless lives throughout his legendary career. His legacy of service will never be forgotten,” he wrote on X.
In 2014, Esposito was appointed commissioner of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, a post he held until 2018. In 2022, Mayor Adams appointed him a deputy commissioner in the Department of Buildings.
While Esposito was well known for his years of service to New York City, he also spent many years serving the Diocese of Brooklyn.
“He was certainly one of our best Catholic lay persons in the diocese, really a church-going Catholic, a real believer. He was always willing and ready to do whatever was needed for the diocese. He was prompt and ready,” said Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio. “He was someone we can be proud of.”
Bishop DiMarzio appointed Esposito to serve as chairman of the Diocescan Review Board in 2013.
“We were very lucky to have someone of his caliber chairing the board,” said Maryellen Quinn, director of the diocese’s Office for the Protection of Children and Young People.
“He was always fair-minded to the victims and the priests. The work of the review board is not for the faint of heart because these are tough cases to hear. But he always did his job diligently,” she explained.
Esposito, Quinn said, was guided by his desire for justice as well as his devotion to the diocese. “He loved the diocese and he wanted what was best for it,” she recalled.
In 2018, Esposito was given the Spirit of Hope Award at the Bishop’s Annual Christmas Luncheon for his work in the diocese. For his many years of service to the diocese, Esposito was made knight in the Order of St. Gregory the Great in 2020, one of the highest honors a layperson can receive in the Catholic Church.
Bishop DiMarzio called on Esposito’s management expertise in 2020 when he tapped him to serve as chairman of a special committee tasked with developing a plan to safely reopen churches in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Esposito came up with a plan that included mapping out social distancing, mandatory mask-wearing, and other safety precautions. He also worked with Thomas Chadzutko, then-superintendent of schools, on a plan to safely reopen schools in the diocese.
Msgr. Cassato, who first met Esposito more than 40 years ago, said he will always cherish their friendship. “We shared many meals together. I have so many memories of sitting with him and talking about life,” he said.