Salty Dog honors hero

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

A local hero wasn’t in his usual place behind the bar, but he was in everyone’s memories.

Dyker Height’s firefighter Joseph Graffagnino, 33, who died in the Deutsche Bank blaze last month, was honored on Sept. 11 at the Salty Dog, the Bay Ridge tavern where he used to tend bar.

Graffagnino died alongside Robert Beddia in the August fire at the crippled financial building near Ground Zero, which has been empty since the 9-11 attacks and is being taken down piece by piece to minimize the spread of toxins.

Graffagnino had been tending bar at the Salty Dog just hours before he died.

On Tuesday, the bar raised $30,000 for his family, thanks to a Chinese auction, raffles, and t-shirt sales.

Graffagnino, an eight-year veteran, left behind his wife, Linda.

The bar, which caters to firefighters, hung black-and-purple bunting after Graffagnino’s death and even became the scene of an ad-hoc memorial after the Aug. 23 funeral.

On Tuesday, the bar began to fill at around 5 pm, an hour before the benefit was slated to begin.

Rich Serpice, who knew Graffagnino since they were both 14-years-old, gladly handed over his $20 at the door.

“You’ll hear everyone say it, but he really was the freaking greatest guy you could ever meet,” said Serpice. “He always had a kind word for everyone and this is one small way we can give something back.”


Contributions are still being accepted at the Salty Dog, which is on Third Avenue between 75th and 76th streets.