Street renamed for late NYPD Det. Wilbert Mora in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- A street in Brooklyn was renamed Tuesday for a fallen hero, but in more ways than one.
NYPD Det. Wilbert Mora was killed in the line of duty in 2022.
But, the new sign in his honor isn't just meant to capture the past; it's to prompt curiosity about the future.
On what would have been Mora's 29th birthday, family, fellow officers, and neighbors gathered on Keap Street in South Williamsburg, where a young Mora first dreamt of joining the NYPD. They watched as his name was forever memorialized.
"For generations to come, people will see the sign, read the name, and ask the question, 'Who was he?'" NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said.
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Mora emigrated to his country from the Dominican Republic when he was 7 years old. From that young age, he knew he wanted to be a force for change, choosing to study criminal justice in college and joining the NYPD the same year he graduated.
"He wanted to become the difference he wanted to see in the world. That was his motivation for becoming a police officer," said Amir Yakatally, commanding officer of the 32nd Precinct.
In January of 2022, Mora and his partner, Jason Rivera, were ambushed by a gunman while answering a domestic violence call. Rivera was killed. Mora, who was gravely injured, clung on long enough to perform a final act of service, donating his organs to save the lives of five people.
His mother spoke through a translator on Tuesday.
"I will never stop loving you because I know you will never stop loving us. This is a loss that was not planned, a void that I can't explain," Amalia Mora said.
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Renaming this street was especially important to Mora's family because it's where he grew up, went to elementary school, and where he first blossomed.
"This sign is also a message, a message to every kid that goes to this school that a hero sat in that same classroom," said Patrick Henry, president of the Police Benevolent Association.
And that maybe one day, one of them, will grow up to change lives, too.