Top city officials were once again in the Bronx in the span of three weeks to rename a street, this time in honor fallen NYPD Det. Miosotis Familia who was shot to death by an assailant with an apparent mental illness.  Familia, 48, who was posthumously promoted to detective, was remembered with a street sign on Ryer Avenue and East 181st Street, in front of the 46th Precinct, where she was stationed.

Familia was killed while completing an administrative report inside a mobile command post truck on July 5, 2017.

This was the second street renaming in recent weeks for a fallen civil servant.  On June 15, the late Yadira Arroyo, an EMT in the Bronx, was honored with a street renaming ceremony on Boston Road and East 169th Street.

NYPD Commissioner James P. O’Neill spoke to the crowd in front of the 46th Precinct, that included Familia’s mother, sisters, and three children.  He acknowledged that renaming a street does not ease the pain of loss.  He pointed out that whenever people walk by the corner and ask who Familia was, the people of the neighborhood, cop or resident, will tell her story.

“They will know what everyone here today already knows, that Miosotis’s life though it ended tragically was lived brilliantly. Our job now is to continue her legacy, to finish the work she started, and to make sure that no one ever forgets,” said O’Neill.

Familia’s sister, Adriana Sanchez, hopes that the renamed street will help Bronx residents remember how much Familia loved her job.  “My sister was such a loving person.  She always wanted to keep people safe.  That’s the main memory I want everyone to have about my sister,” Sanchez told the Norwood News.

Holding back tears, Familia’s oldest daughter, Genesis Villella, 21, spoke from the podium flanked by her younger brother and sister.  “My mom was the embodiment of courage and strength,” Villella said.  Villella has sole custody of her twin siblings, Delilah and Peter, 13.

On the night of Familia’s killing, a sergeant and patrol officer chased the shooter, ex-con Alexander Bonds, and fatally shot him.

“I’m glad they killed him [Bonds],” said Villella.  As the crowd in front of the 46^th grew Villella continued, “That’s why you see the whole community is out here supporting her.”

Among them was Calvin McCarter, 44, a super at a nearby building who remembers Familia joking that she was going to “kidnap” his black chihuahua, because she loved his pet.  “She’d say ‘Your dog’s so cute I’m gonna kidnap him when you’re not looking,” said McCarter. “She was a sweetie pie, that’s why I’m here today.”