Sam Costanza
This is Felicia Williams at the Union Square entrance to where her MTA assignment post is located.
Felicia Williams’ job title is subway station cleaner, but she could be on track to becoming a Hometown Hero for helping cops nail a vicious mugger.
Scratch that. Williams did more than help.
If not for her actions, it would have been extremely difficult to arrest Robert McLeod, a 20-year-old punk from Bayonne, N.J., who allegedly dragged a woman down two flights of stairs in a Manhattan subway station, just to steal her wallet.
The Daily News, partnering with the MTA and TWU Local 100, is launching the second annual Hometown Heroes in Transit Awards. The purpose is to honor bus and subway workers who do the extraordinary on behalf of riders, co-workers and their city .
We’re talking about bus drivers, train operators, mechanics, token booth clerks, track workers and cleaners, like Williams, who is being nominated by stations department supervisor Algene Hall.
These are everyday New Yorkers. Proud. Caring. And tough when it matters most.
Risking her own safety, Williams shadowed McLeod after he ran out of the 18th St. station on the No. 1 line one March afternoon this year. She kept an eye on McLeod while, at the same time, hoping and praying that a police car, responding to the 911 call, would soon appear.
Williams, 45, was amazed as McLeod quickly changed from a jacket and baseball cap, dropping them in a garbage can, and strolled up Seventh Ave.
“I’m in shock,” Williams said, recalling the scene. “He takes all that stuff off and transforms himself right before my eyes.”
McLeod turned right on 17th St. when a van carrying school safety officers appeared. Williams flagged it down. The officers made a quick U-turn and caught up to McLeod.
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He was charged with robbing and assaulting the woman, who suffered a broken leg .
“Ms. Williams’ act speaks highly of her dedication and concern for the safety of our customers and is yet another example of our employees going above and beyond the call of duty,” Hall said.
The Daily News will accept nominations by email, letter and fax through Nov. 15. Winners will be featured in a special section of The News and be honored at a ceremony Jan. 29.
“It’s only right that we pause and give tribute to these often unsung heroes who provide such a vital service day in and day out,” Daily News Editor-in-Chief Colin Myler said.
A spokesman for Local 100 said it is “thrilled that the Daily News is standing with us to recognize the incredibly important work done by Transport Workers Union members in the bus and subway system.”
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And Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Tom Prendergast said: “MTA workers are heroes every day, and I look forward to reading about the many great things they have done to deserve this honor.
Here’s how to nominate a Hometown Hero in Transit:
Email: hometownheroestransit@nydailynews.com
Fax: (212) 643-7831
Mail: P.O. Box 5047
New York, NY 10274
Please include the name and title of the transit worker being nominated with an explanation why recognition is deserved.
If submitting a nomination, please include your own contact information.
Yahoo Local News – New York Daily News
http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info/?p=14331
via Great Local News: New York http://newyork.greatlocalnews.info
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