Public Employee Press

Eugene Gee:
Part-time worker, full-time hero

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

To those he has helped, Eugene Gee is a true hero who fights for right in a time of need.

Last August as Local 983 member Eugene Gee patrolled Rockaway Beach, two surfers flagged him down and reported that their customized bikes had just been stolen. Gee sprung into action and chased down the thieves in his all-terrain vehicle. “I did what came natural — I helped,” said Gee.

He radioed the police, who collared the thieves red-handed in a nearby housing complex. The bikes were returned to the rightful owners. Gee, a seasonal Park Enforcement Patrol Officer, has worked the beaches of Far Rockaway and the riverside of Battery Park City every summer since 2001.

“Officer Gee went above and beyond the call of duty to help us retrieve two bicycles stolen from the boardwalk,” wrote Linda Kettle, the Broad Channel resident whose young guests were robbed. “He never hesitated to get involved. He is an exemplary employee,” she said.

Wherever Gee works, “he goes above and beyond the call of duty,” said Supervisor John Locascio. In Battery Park City, Gee stopped a crazed man who attacked a toddler. After the Twin Towers fell Sept. 11, he helped rescue animals left behind in high-rise apartments.

Gee walks with a portfolio of commendations from Parks Dept. supervisors and Lifeguard Lieutenants and letters of gratitude from beachgoers and the families of those he’s aided along the way.

Highly praised for his outstanding heroic acts, professionalism and excellence, Eugene Gee, a father of two, faces his own personal crisis: What Eugene Gee needs more than praise is a full-time job.

“I like giving 110 percent,” said Gee. “What motivates me is I have to set a good example for my children. They need to see that I go to work every day and give it my best.”

In the dog days of summer, Gee logged more than 300 hours of overtime to squirrel away money for the lean times he knew would come after his seasonal job ended in September.

Told by management that 60 college credits stand between him full-time employment, Gee wondered aloud if five summers as a seasonal PEP counts for anything. “I already know the job inside and out. I’m unemployed now and really need work. For my children, I’ll never give up.”