{"id":52957,"date":"2025-11-26T14:33:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T14:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/52957\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T14:33:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T14:33:08","slug":"nypd-det-thomas-cerbone-retiring-from-elite-highway-unit-after-42-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/52957\/","title":{"rendered":"NYPD Det. Thomas Cerbone retiring from elite highway unit after 42 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

To hear veteran NYPD Det. Thomas Cerbone tell it, a recent 9\/11<\/a>-linked kidney cancer diagnosis was \u201cjust a bump in the road\u201d of a proud 42-year legacy as one of New York\u2019s Finest.<\/p>\n

Cerbone, 62, a motorcycle cop and the senior active uniformed member on the force, did more than serve the community \u2014 he changed the lives of some of the Big Apple\u2019s most vulnerable children.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been 12 years since he founded the annual Santa Day at the Seton Foundation for Learning, a Staten Island school for kids with special needs. And the tradition continues to this day.<\/p>\n

NYPD Det. Thomas Cerbone, the senior active uniformed member, is retiring after 42 years on the force. Dennis A. Clark<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was put up for detective, there were 10 officers up and only one from Highway 5, and I got it,\u201d he told The Post. \u201cWhen that happened I said I got to pay this forward. I got to do something to give back. And I went to go see if we could do something with the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like I was supposed to go in there and do this,\u201d Cerbone said. \u201cAnd it works. Santa rides in the van the motorcycles are like the Reindeer and the kids go crazy. It makes their whole holiday season.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, he received a traditional \u201cwalk out\u201d at Highway 5 headquarters on Staten Island with his wife, Lori Ann Cerbone and their 27-year-old daughter, Chrissta, at his side.<\/p>\n

Raised in Brooklyn, Cerbone is the son of an NYPD detective<\/a> and the brother who served as a city correction officer before passing away several years ago.<\/p>\n

Thomas Cerbone, a Brooklyn boy, joined the NYPD in 1984 and is retiring after 42 years as one of New York\u2019s Finest. Obtained by the NYPost<\/p>\n

He joined the NYPD in January 1984, and was assigned to the Midtown North Precint one year later.<\/p>\n

In October 1995, he joined Highway 2 after completing wheel school, and moved to Highway 5 five years later. In 2005, he moved to the transportation unit before returning to the highway squad.<\/p>\n

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His service was rewarded in 2017 when he was promoted to second-grade detective, and again in November 2023 when he made first-grade. <\/p>\n

Less than two years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer, which has been tied to his service at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks<\/a> in Lower Manhattan.<\/p>\n

NYPD Det. Thomas Cerbone with his wife, Lori Ann, and their daughter, Chrissta, at his \u201cwalk out\u201d ceremony Tuesday. Obtained by the NYPost<\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t dampened his love for the department, and now calls himself its number one recruiter.<\/p>\n

Det. Thomas Cerbone founded the Santa Day tradition at Seton Foundation for Learning for special needs children. Obtained by the NYPost<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I meet someone I sell this job,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m their number one recruiter. I\u2019m always asking people did you take the NYPD test? I\u2019m constantly recruiting. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it\u2019s the people who look like they don\u2019t really hold the NYPD in the highest regard I spend the most time talking to them,\u201d he added. \u201cI tell them about my experience. I tell them about how they can give back, how they can help their communities get better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The veteran cop said he\u2019s leaving the force grudgingly \u2014 he said he\u2019s only calling it a career because he\u2019s about to hit mandatory retirement.<\/p>\n

NYPD Det. Thomas Cerbone at his \u201cwalk out\u201dceremony at Highway 5 headquarters in Staten Island on Tuesday. Dennis A. Clark<\/p>\n

He said there\u2019s only two things he\u2019s looking forward to \u2014 not having to set his alarm for 4:15 a.m., and, surprisingly, trading in his police motorcycle for a car after decades on two wheels. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m too old for it,\u201d he quipped. \u201cI need heat, AC, music.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To hear veteran NYPD Det. Thomas Cerbone tell it, a recent 9\/11-linked kidney cancer diagnosis was \u201cjust a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[98,57,9,24,63,103,104,9391,1577,134,136,135,58],"class_list":{"0":"post-52957","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-brooklyn","9":"tag-metro","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-nyc","13":"tag-nypd","14":"tag-police","15":"tag-police-heroes","16":"tag-retirement","17":"tag-staten-island","18":"tag-staten-island-headlines","19":"tag-staten-island-news","20":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52957","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=52957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}