Anthony Vitaliano's Biography

Anthony “Tony” Vitaliano was born in East Harlem in 1940. For the first 13 years of his life, he grew up in Manhattan before moving to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn with his parents. Following graduation from Cardinal Hayes High School, he voluntarily joined the U.S. Army and served in the Third Armored Division in Germany, receiving the Good Conduct Medal and an honorable discharge after two years of service.

In 1963, Tony began a 38-year career with the NYPD, where he served as a police officer in the 41st and 78th Precincts, sergeant in the Public Morals Division, Detective in the Organized Crime Control Bureau, supervisor of detectives in the Safe, Loft & Trucks Squad, commanding officer of the 46th and 47th Precinct Detective Squads and City-wide Technical Assistance Response Unit, and detective commander of the Bronx Robbery and Homicide Squads. Tony also served as a hostage negotiator for ten years.
Although he was required to do his share of paperwork, Tony was a field cop until he retired on December 31, 2001. A recipient of over 25 citations, he's most proud of having received the Department’s third highest medal, the Medal of Valor, as well as recognition awards from the 47th and 49th Precinct Community Councils.

Tony moved to the Pelham Gardens section of Community Board 11 in 1967. He was a member of the Chester Civic Association for over 30 years. His friend, neighbor and long-standing Chester Civic Association President, Gene Tutora, persuaded Tony to fill out an application for the Community Board in 2008. Tony was appointed by Bronx Borough President Carrión that year as a Council Member Vacca nominee. Two years later, Tony ran for and won the position of First Vice Chair. In 2011, he helped select the Board's fourth District Manager, and in 2012, he, as Acting Chair, changed the Board's committee structure back to issue-oriented committees.

In late 2012, in a hotly contested election following the passing of the Board’s tenth and longest-serving chairman, Tony came out on top as the Board’s 11th Chairman. During his campaign speech before the full board, he pledged to re-enact term limits for Board Officers and to stay focused on public safety, quality of life and educational issues. Living up to his promise of re-enacting term limits, Tony was re-elected Chairman in 2014 and 2016, being required to step down in 2018.

Tony is married to his loving wife, Marie, with whom he shares a son and two grandchildren.