By Kathianne Boniello
Christopher Postiglione, 30, was struck by a car traveling eastbound on Horace Harding Expressway on Jan. 11, 1999 while working for the city DEP. Postiglione, who was taken to New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, died 10 days later from his injuries.
The driver of the vehicle that hit Postiglione, who was born in Ozone Park and lived in Richmond Hill, has not been caught. A $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person who hit him and fled the scene is still available.
City Councilman Mike Abel (R-Bayside) and Morton Povman (D-Forest Hills) sponsored the legislation to transform the concrete triangle at 174th Street and Horace Harding Expressway in Fresh Meadows into a memorial for Postiglione, who worked for DEP for nine years. State Sen. Dan Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) also attended the ceremony.
The memorial includes a street sign dedicating part of the roadway in Postiglione's name, a large garden developed by the city Parks Department, a plaque explaining who Postiglione was, and a bus shelter on the previously barren site.
DEP Commissioner Joel Miele, who spoke at the Nov. 22 ceremony, said it was “appalling that someone would actually get away with something like this.
“I'm more sensitive to hit-and-run accidents now,” he said.
Giuliani described Postiglione as “a dedicated public servant who earned the respect of his co-workers. His commitment to his job did not go unrecognized.”
Postiglione's parents, Alfred and Olga, raised their son in Ozone Park and now live on Long Island. The couple wept openly during the ceremony unveiling the “Christopher Postiglione Triangle” sign, and Alfred Postiglione said the grief from his only son's death remained fresh nearly two years later.
“I feel terrible every day,” he said before the event. Looking around at the politicians and the dozens of city DEP workers who attended the memorial – many of whom were too emotional to speak – Alfred Postiglione said: “I appreciate them all coming out, but I still feel like I lost him.
“He was a good son,” he said. Postiglione's girlfriend, Lena Iuliano, works for both the DEP and Abel, and spearheaded the councilman's involvement with the memorial. She said the Department of Transportation readily made the concrete triangle available for the memorial and the Parks Department quickly offered to plant a large garden for the effort.
“Before that it was a big nothing,” Iuliano said, motioning toward the newly rehabilitated space.
Abel, who called Postiglione “a son of the city,” said he believed the memorial was one of the first to city workers outside of the Police, Fire or Sanitation departments who had lost their lives on the job.
“It's the right thing to do,” he said. Povman described Postiglione as “an unsung hero of this community” and said it would be “a big error not to honor the idea that every city worker is important to us.”
While many of Postiglione's fellow DEP workers who attended the ceremony declined to comment, those who did said their colleague was a “a damn good guy” who cared about his job.
They said the job of any city employee who works in the street is more dangerous than many people think.
Frank Romeo, who has been with DEP for five years, said people “don't think about it but it's risky.” He said he has seen people drive so recklessly around city workers that they often speed or drive up on a sidewalk to avoid being delayed.
Detective Louis Amen, who has been investigating the accident that killed Christopher Postiglione, said there has been little progress in identifying the driver who hit Postiglione because of a lack of information.
At the time, he said, witnesses did not see a license plate number, a piece of information he described as critical to the case.
Amen, who has been investigating hit-and-run accidents since 1987, said they are “one of the hardest cases to solve.”
On Jan. 11 1999, Amen said Postiglione was getting ready to work on a catch basin on Horace Harding Expressway next to the concrete triangle and had walked to the back of his truck when he was hit by a car, possible a red Toyota.
The car did not stop, Amen said, and fled a block away to Utopia Parkway and made a right turn, possibly toward nearby St. John's University, the detective said.
Amen said the car, which witnesses said might have had a driver and a passenger inside, would have sustained damage to the windshield, front hood, and right side fender.
He urged anyone with information to call 718 217-3529 or 718 217-3525.
