An off-duty NYPD officer who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, has been honored with a street renaming on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Officer John Perry was posthumously awarded the NYPD’s Medal of Honor in 2001.
The corner of East 101st Street and Madison Avenue was renamed John William Perry Way on Saturday. Perry was at NYPD headquarters filing retirement papers to begin a career in law when the first planes struck the Twin Towers. He rushed to the scene from One Police Plaza to assist.
His brother, Joel Perry, recounted the agonizing search for him on that day. "I said ‘I’m looking for my brother John Perry,’ Perry recalled. ‘He’s missing.’ And they had a piece of paper with 22 names on it in ink and my brother was number 23 in pencil and my heart sank."
The family initially held onto hope that Perry was still missing, but as days passed, they realized he was gone. "People ask me 25 years later what it is like,” Joel Perry said. “It’s the same. The pain is still there. I broke down the other day."
Joel Perry and his sister, Janice Perry, unveiled the new street sign during a ceremony attended by family, friends, and NYPD officials. Janice Perry stated, “It’s great that John will be part of New York City history forever. Even though he didn’t make it out, he’s still a legend now.”