Washington Heights Mourns For Loss Of Community Activist
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Washington Heights residents mourned the loss of a man who was a positive force in their community this past week.
Ted Buczek lived in Bergen County, but his heart was in Washington Heights, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reports. That's where his son, police officer Michael Buczek, was shot and killed by drug dealers in 1988.
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LISTEN: WCBS 880's Sean Adams reports
Since then, Ted Buczek worked to make sure that no other kid would suffer tragedy in a neighborhood plagued by gangs and drug deals. He supplied meals to the needy, gave scholarships to teenagers and started the Michael Buczek Little League.
League president and police sergeant John Monahan said Buczek did it all for the kids.
"He did it because his son was only 24 years old when he was killed in the line of duty. To him, his son was just a kid, too," Monahan said.
About 11,000 Washington Heights youngsters have passed through the little league and 25 of them went on to become police officers.
"Ted Buczek was to be, as everybody knows him, a true inspiration. He did such great things for our community. Where he suffered a terrible tragedy, he turned a field of dust into a field of dreams to create major-league citizens," Monahan said.
