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.

Dyker hero lost in Deutsche Bank fire

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

The death of Dyker Heights firefighter Joseph Graffagnino in Saturday’s massive Deutsche Bank blaze horrified an entire city, and also turned a typically raucous Third Avenue bar into an impromptu memorial this week.

Graffagnino, 33, died alongside Robert Beddia, 53, in the fire at the crippled financial building near Ground Zero,which has been empty since the 9-11 attacks and was being taken down piece by piece to minimize the spread of toxins.

Graffagnino, who lived in Dyker Heights, had been tending bar at the Salty Dog just hours earlier.

This week, the memories flowed.

“Joe spread so much joy to everyone he met,” said friend and co-worker Bekim Leka. “The guy always had this smile on his face and it became contagious.”

The bar, which caters to firefighters, hung black-and-purple memorial bunting in honor of Graffagnino, and flowers started gathering at the ad-hoc memorial.

“Everyone just seemed to start gravitating here,” said Leka. “We have had other firefighters and friends coming in and out.”

Copies of the daily papers, with covers featuring pictures of “Joey Bots,” were scattered over the bar. The replica fire truck, usually filled with children at play, now served as a haunting reminder to the perils of the job.

“Joe was seriously the nicest guy you could meet,” said a friend, John Malloy. “I know it sounds cliché, but it’s true, I honestly don’t think I ever knew a nicer guy.”

Graffagnino was an eight-year veteran who leaves behind his wife, Linda, a nurse he married in 2002. He worked out of Ladder Company 5 in Greenwich Village.

Monday would have been his 34th birthday. Instead, his funeral was Thursday at St. Ephrem’s Church on Bay Ridge Parkway.


©2007 The Brooklyn Paper