Nearly a year after NYPD detective Didarul Islam was killed in a Midtown mass shooting, a crowd of family, friends, elected officials, neighbors and fellow officers honored him with a street sign bearing his name on the Parkchester block he called home.
The street co-naming ceremony at East 172nd Street and Beach Avenue unveiled the sign for Detective First Grade Didarul Islam Way. Islam died July 28, 2025, while working security detail at an office tower at 345 Park Avenue. Four other people, including the shooter, also died in the incident that shook the city.
Despite the threat of heavy rain, a crowd of hundreds attended the street co-naming, including Islam’s parents, sisters, brother-in-law, wife, and three young sons, including one who was born just three weeks after his death.
Borough President Vanessa Gibson, District Attorney Darcel Clark, Council Member Amanda Farías and State Senators Jamaal Bailey and Nathalia Fernandez attended, as did Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry and many fellow officers.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch gave remarks, saying that Islam’s loved ones have now lived a year without his presence. “Today cannot ease that grief, but it gives this city a lasting way to honor the life at the center of it.”
Tisch said the city’s street signs are “a part of the everyday language of New York” and that names on the signs become part of the city’s story and help define neighborhoods.
Islam, who immigrated from Bangladesh in 2009 at age 20 and started his New York City service as a school safety agent, “earned that place in our story,” Tisch said. “This street will now bear the name of a man who made New York his home and gave his life protecting it.”
Farías, whose office helped organize the event, said the street signs marked the community where Islam raised his kids and returned to after long days at work.
“From the very beginning, we wanted this tribute to reflect not only his extraordinary service to New York City but also the life he lived here in the Bronx,” she said.
Farías said Islam’s career path into the NYPD will inspire future officers. She mentioned new state legislation, the Didarul Islam Police Recruitment Act, which will allow those who work certain public safety jobs, including school safety agents, to count those years toward their pensions when they join the NYPD. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law in late May.
Beyond the badge, Islam was active in his neighborhood and mosque, and the street sign will ensure that his life, and not only his death, will be remembered, Farías said. “Service was not simply his profession. It was who he was.”
The 47th precinct commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Muhammad Ashraf, addressed Islam’s family, saying, “Before he was our brother in blue, he was your husband, your father and your son. This honor belongs to you first.”
Ashraf described Islam as a “genuinely good person” who mentored others and was known for his calm demeanor and friendly smile.
“No matter how hard the day, he carried himself with peace and humility, the kind of smile that reminded everyone around him that kindness still matters,” he said.
He said Islam was a model officer and pledged to continue supporting the family and keeping his name alive. Islam was “a man whose life was cut short, but whose legacy wasn’t,” Ashraf said.
In the months since Islam’s death, multiple online fundraisers have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the family, but legal troubles stemming from the mass shooting have also followed.
Islam’s widow, Jamila Akhter, is suing building management for 345 Park Ave. for failing to provide adequate security measures to stop someone from entering with a large weapon.
But another lawsuit was recently brought against the city by Craig Clementi, who worked at the building and was severely wounded in the shooting. He alleges that Islam acted negligently in his duties by not stopping the shooter and that the NYPD, as his employer and trainer, bears responsibility.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
