{"id":1694,"date":"2025-10-14T14:58:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T14:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1694\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T14:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T14:58:08","slug":"staten-island-street-renamed-in-honor-of-beloved-public-school-teacher-who-died-suddenly-at-46","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/1694\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island street renamed in honor of beloved public school teacher who died suddenly at 46"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A beloved educator, coach and mentor was honored Friday afternoon as family, friends and colleagues gathered in Great Kills to celebrate the life and legacy of Todd Branden Hack.<\/a><\/p>\n

On Oct. 10 at 4 p.m., the corner of School Street and Oakdale Street was officially renamed \u201cMr. Todd Hack Memorial Street\u201d in recognition of Hack\u2019s impact on students, family and friends, and his unwavering commitment as a teacher with the New York City Department of Education.<\/p>\n

The long-time educator died suddenly in September 2024 at age 46.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis absence leaves a void we can not fulfill but his legacy will continue to inspire us, to lead us with the same integrity, humility and care that he showed every student that crossed his path,\u201d said PS 8 principal Lisa Esposito during the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Hack, who was born in May 1978 in Washington, D.C., to David Hack and the former Marjorie Branden, devoted his career to shaping young minds. He was a teacher for more than two decades, first at PS 3 in Pleasant Plains before transferring to PS 8, where he spent the remainder of his career. The renamed street is in front of the PS 8 building. <\/p>\n

Known for his warm sense of humor and deep patience, Hack taught fourth grade and in his later years led an integrated co-teaching class, which brought together students with and without special needs to learn from one another. His approach emphasized compassion, inclusion and the importance of understanding other perspectives. <\/p>\n

Hack\u2019s passion for mentorship continued beyond the classroom and onto the soccer field. He played goalkeeper during his youth for Silver Lake Soccer Club and later for Goucher College in Maryland. There he earned both his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degree in education. On Staten Island, he coached his daughter\u2019s team with Silver Lake Soccer Academy, a volunteer position he held until his death. <\/p>\n

Families and colleagues say the street renaming tribute was well-deserved; they described Hack as a mentor who inspired confidence, kindness and community wherever he went. <\/p>\n

His mother, Marjorie Branden Hack, shared how meaningful the moment was for their family, \u201cIt is overwhelmingly wonderful, very exciting and he so deserved it. He\u2019s a fabulous teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

In honor of her son, Marjorie Hack wore his leather jacket to the ceremony and shared some background about its significance. \u201cSo, Todd growing up, not every present he got, but many times, Todd would say, \u2018I don\u2019t like this.\u2019 One time it was a leather jacket and I\u2019m like, \u2018What, are you kidding me?\u2019 And he was known for returning gifts. This is one he would never return. This is from his school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Among those in attendance was City Councilmember Frank Morano, who reflected on Hack\u2019s influence in the community. \u201cI never knew Mr. Hack but I feel like I did, hearing so many stories of his colleagues, of his students, of his family, having been at his memorial essentially, having been at PS 8 graduation where there\u2019s the award in his honor,\u201d said Morano. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I really think that there\u2019s no chance of anybody that worked with him and anybody that was ever a student of his, is ever going to forget him,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Hack\u2019s brother, Charles Hack, spoke about his brother\u2019s tireless commitment and the small gestures that left a lasting impression. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe worked here, like 40 to 50 hours a week. I structured my calls to my brother around those 40 to 50 hours and it started early before he went in and he got here so he can get ahead so he can spread his gifts,\u201d said Charles Hack. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe reminded you every day that he remembered something about you or he made a sly joke at you that made you laugh. I know that because I got those like every day and I still think about those so I understand that they may have a massive impact,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Hack\u2019s colleague, Dennis Modafferi said, \u201cEvery day Mr. Hack used to have a sly joke for me and he always used to talk about his son. I always used to talk about my son and when my son was born\u2014my son\u2019s name is Robert, and he always used to call him \u2018Bobito\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former students also reflected on how Hack\u2019s teaching made a difference. \u201cI used to hate reading and we read a book\u2014I forgot what it was called\u2014but he used to make the book really fun to read and that\u2019s like the only book I ever enjoyed reading,\u201d said Jason Deomar. <\/p>\n

As the street sign was revealed, the ceremony ended with smiles, tears and applause. <\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A beloved educator, coach and mentor was honored Friday afternoon as family, friends and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-1694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}