By Eric Jankiewicz
A sanitation worker who died on the job last year is being memorialized on the Middle Village block where he first kissed his high school love and wife.
Steven Frosch and his wife Bina kissed for the first time on 78th Street and 67th Drive, when they were in high school. Frosch was killed last yearon June 21st after a street sweeper pinned him in a Maspeth garage. To commemorate the 43–year-old father of four, the city renamed the corner to Steven Frosch Way.
“We always had a group and endless laughs,” his close friend Frank Ciccione told a group of more than 100 people who gathered on the block where Frosch grew up and fell in love with Bina.
“The city just recognized what we already knew – that this is Steve’s block.”
Frosch worked for the Sanitation Department for 15 years. Before that, he walked the streets of the city as a cop for four years. Frosch was in the middle of greasing an idle street sweeper when the 33-year-old driver of another sweeper hit Frosch, according to police. He was dead by the time responders arrived.
Along with his wife, he is survived by their four children Stevie, Charlize, Frederica and Jesse. He also has a brother, Robert. A friend of Frosch’s first suggested the street renaming last year.
“Steven dedicated his life to helping others, even before he became a uniformed serviceman. Those who were close to him tell stories of his selfless ways, always encouraging those around him to be their best. People like Steven Frosch are few and far between, and will always live on in the hearts of those they touched,” Elizabeth Crowley (D- Middle Village) said. “I’m proud of this street renaming and thank my colleagues and everyone who helped make this possible.”
Reach reporter Eric Jankiewicz by e-mail at ejank
