Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Dwight Williams (212) 788-2972
Reggie Fitzgerald was born in 1929 in Pennsylvania. During the many years that he resided in New York City, he owned a clothing store on West Fourth Street in Greenwich Village and was in the printing business.
Reggie was an active community leader who served his community for decades as a businessman, community activist and advocate for those in need. He fought for quality of life issues and public safety in his own West Village neighborhood by helping found the Horatio Street Association, which he served as president for several terms and was first vice-president at the time of his death. Mr. Fitzgerald was instrumental in starting the Horatio Street Association Newsletter and organized residents of Horatio Street into night safety patrols, which helped to make the neighborhood more secure.
Mr. Fitzgerald was a member of Community Board No. 2 and a tireless advocate for programs to support people suffering from homelessness, illness, addiction and poverty. As an original member of the Board's Gay and Lesbian Committee, he worked to meet the needs of gay and lesbian people in the community. Furthermore, Mr. Fitzgerald served as the Chairperson of the Board's Traffic and Transportation Committee, where he fought for sensible traffic regulation, improved air quality and public safety. He was a strong advocate for landmarks preservation and was critical of development that would hurt the Greenwich Village area.
Reggie Fitzgerald died on May 10, 1995. In view of his many years of community service, it is fitting that his name be added to the triangle bounded by Horatio Street, West Fourth Street and Eighth Avenue.