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Bedford Park Officer Laid to Rest

A Bronx police officer who lived in Bedford Park was laid to rest after a tearful farewell at St. Brendan’s Church on Thursday, Aug. 17.

Three days earlier, Eric Concepcion, 29, a native Bronxite and officer with the 42nd Precinct, was killed in a collision with an off-duty volunteer fireman while riding his motorcycle along the West Side Highway.

Concepcion, a five-year police veteran, once worked as a counselor at the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center. It was there that he met his future wife, fellow summer day-camp counselor Melissa Vicens. They had two young daughters together.

“He loved everything about his job and loved helping people,” said Vicens, who is a teacher at PS 56 on East 207th Street in Norwood. “He was a good man,"

After the funeral, Vicens recalled Concepcion’s love for his motorcycle. “I wasn’t too keen about it,” she said, “but I had no choice, it’s what he wanted to do."

Family friend Victoria King, 27, summed up the tragedy. “[Vicens] had the perfect life, they both worked for the city…and now her whole world is shattered,” King said.

Robert Derian, 23, of Saddle River, NJ, was driving his utility vehicle after a night of drinking in Manhattan, when he struck and ran over Concepcion on the Henry Hudson Parkway on Aug. 14. Derian has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, vehicular homicide, driving under the influence and unauthorized use of emergency lights.

Ululy Martinez, a cousin of the victim and the current deputy chief of staff to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, said that a trust fund had been established for the family. Those wishing to make a donation should send it to: Melissa Vicens, c/o The Patrolmans Benevolent Association of the City of New York, 40 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10038.

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.

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