Joseph Ostapiuk
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
NEW YORK — FDNY Auto Mechanic James Villecco, 55, of Staten Island, died Sunday due to coronavirus (COVID-19), the department announced.
Villecco, who joined the FDNY Bureau of Fleet Services in 2014, was originally assigned to the Coney Island repair facility and later the Review Avenue facility, where he worked in the ambulance repair shop, the FDNY said on Facebook.
At a press conference Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Villecco was “the kind of unsung hero who doesn’t get the credit he deserves.”
“This is the kind of man who keeps us safe because he kept the ambulances in good repair so they could get there to help all of us,” de Blasio said. “We grieve with his family in Staten Island.”
Villecco, a six-year veteran of the U.S. Army, is survived by his wife, Joy, and his daughter, Jessica.
“Behind the thousands of calls our members respond to every day is a team of dedicated and skilled mechanics who ensure our ambulances are running 24/7,” said Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro. “James Villecco was one of those truly unsung heroes in our Department whose outstanding work provided medical care for the people of our city.”
“The entire Department mourns his loss,” Nigro said.
———
©2020 Staten Island Advance, N.Y.