Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, September 21, 1999

Release # 367-99

Contact: Sunny Mindel/ Edward Skyler (212) 788-2958
Marilyn Mode, DCPI (212) 374-6700


MAYOR GIULIANI AND POLICE COMMISSIONER SAFIR DEDICATE POLICE OFFICER ANTHONY MCLEAN COMMUNITY CENTER

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Police Commissioner Howard Safir and New York City Housing Authority Chairman John G. Martinez today dedicated the Police Officer Anthony McLean Community Center. In 1988, Officer McLean was killed in the line of duty after interrupting a drug deal in the Tilden Houses, the same complex where the Community Center is located. Among those attending today's ceremony were the officer's mother, Eleanor McLean, and his partner, Anthony Weekes.

"It is a tragedy whenever a police officer is killed and their actions must be properly memorialized so those who have benefited from their heroism can recall their actions for years to come," Mayor Giuliani said. "This community center, located just two blocks away from where Officer McLean was slain, will remind the people of Tilden Houses that Officer McLean died while protecting them. His memory will endure and enrich the lives of the many people, both young and old, who use this vital resource."

Early in the morning of April 13, 1988, Police Officer Anthony O. McLean and his partner answered a radio call for a missing girl in the Tilden Houses, located in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. The two officers spilt up, each searching a stairwell. Officer McLean encountered several men who, unbeknownst to him, were engaged in a narcotics transaction. One of them, backed up to a landing and shot Officer McLean on the left side, fatally wounding him. His killer was arrested after an out-of-state manhunt and was convicted of murder in 1989.

"Today we gather to remember a loving son, a courageous police officer, and the truest of friends," said Commissioner Safir. "This Brooklyn community seeks to give something back to a man who gave them so much. From this day on, this Community Center will carry the name of a caring young man that lived a life of service and left us with dignity and valor. Those who worked with Tony will never forget the dedication he brought to his job, nor the way his enthusiasm for helping others inspired them to be better officers. This community will never forget the way their hero came to them when he was needed and the sacrifice he made in the name of their children. We dedicate this building and this plaque to speak to those who did not have the honor of knowing Anthony McLean."

Born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1960, Anthony McLean and his family immigrated to America in 1974. After attending high school in Brooklyn, he joined the Army where he became a member of the Green Berets, an elite Army unit. He was honorably discharged in 1980. Mr. McLean joined the NYPD in 1985 and was twenty-seven years old when he died, having been on the force for less then three years.

The Anthony McLean Community Center has a meeting room utilized by community groups and senior citizens, and both recreation and arts & crafts rooms for the children who attend after-school programs. A playground is located outside of the center. The building was originally built in 1961.

www.ci.nyc.ny.us


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