[RWG, BBK, NS & Perry]

After Mayor Giuliani, Commissioner Kerik and COBA President Norman Seabrook unvieled the control center's new name sign, they gather around C.O. Perry offering their congratulations.

Mayor Giuliani and Commissioner Kerik
Dedicate Rikers Control Center
in Honor of Samuel Perry's 40 Years of Continuous City Service

[CO Perry & Assemblyman]

Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio, himself a former CO who once served with Perry, embraces Sam and presents a state proclamation. 

SEPT. 28, 1998 -- Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Department of Correction (DOC) Commissioner Bernard B. Kerik and Correction Officers Benevolent Association (COBA) President Norman Seabrook today dedicated the Rikers Island Control Center in honor of Correction Officer Samuel Perry who has worked at the DOC for the past 40 years.

"Today, in dedicating the Correction Officer Samuel Perry Control Center, we honor a man whose commitment, talent, humility, dignity, and sense of responsibility make him a model for every member of this Department," said Mayor Giuliani.
[Firing range plaque]

Capt. Dominick Provisiero presents CO Perry with a plaque from fellow officers at the Rodman's Neck firing range where Sam supervises the inmate work crews.

"When he started in 1959, he was one of about 1,000 correction officers, today there are more than 1 1,000. For 30 years, between 1962 and 1992, Officer Perry did not miss a single day of work.

"He sets an example not only for every member of this Department, but for all the people of the City, because he understands the fundamental importance of work in all our lives.
 
[Rikers kin]

Dorothy Braun and her brother, George, tenth generation grandchildren of the Rikers (Rycken) family that gave its name to the island that it once owned, view the Perry center ceremonies during a visit to their ancestral farmland. 

"I want to thank Officer Perry for his commitment and dedicated service for the past 40 years to the City of New York."

On July 10. 1998, Commissioner Kerik presented Officer Perry with his eighth five-year service stripe to mark the start of his 40th year as a Correction Officer.

For 30 of these years he never missed a day of work. Officer Perry started at the DOC on July 13, 1959, at the Workhouse, which was then operated on Hart Island and was later replaced by a Rikers facility, the Correctional Institution for Men (CIFM), where Officer Perry was one of the first Correction Officers assigned.
[Ebbets seats]

As the Mayor applauds, the Commissioner unveils repaired and repainted Ebbets Field seats from Hart Island where C.O. Perry worked early in his DOC career.

"Officer Sam Perry is the Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig of the Department of Correction," said Commissioner Kerik.

"We honor Officer Perry for his remarkable and continuing achievement, four decades of service to the people of New York.
 
[Perry kin]

As Chief of Dept. Edward Reilly, left, and C.O. Perry look on, the Mayor greets Sam's grandsons.

"In honoring him we also honor all the dedicated men and women who work in the City's jails and other correctional facilities.

We are proud of Officer Perry and proud of all our officers who serve with devotion and integrity."
[Sam speaks]

"I am proud to say Correction has been my home for 40 years."

Correction Officer Samuel Perry said, "I am honored and humbled by this dedication. I am proud to say that the Department of Correction has been my home for the past 40 years, and I wouldn't have had it any other way."

Since 1978 he has served at the Rodmans Neck Range where he is responsible for the inmate work detail program which maintains the grounds used by City law enforcement officers for firearms training and qualifying. Officer Perry has two children and six grandchildren.



 

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