City Council Supports Pension Rights for Children of Fallen NYPD Officer
On Wednesday, the city council unanimously approved a proposal aimed at updating state laws, which would permit children of a slain NYPD officer to collect her pension. This decision is a crucial step before the bill can be presented for a vote in Albany.
“My mother lived her American dream,” stated Genesis Villella, who took on the responsibility of her two younger siblings after their mother, Miosotis Familia, was tragically killed in the Bronx in 2017.
“For years, the city that my mother cherished somehow didn’t reciprocate that love,” Villella, 28, expressed before the vote. “They attempted to erase her legacy—and mine. My mother was a hero, always a hero to me, and I need to believe that this erasure and discrimination is coming to an end.”
The family’s struggle highlights how outdated state laws currently grant lifetime pensions only to the spouses and parents of law enforcement officers who lose their lives on duty, leaving children overlooked, which is crucial in single-parent families.
The proposed amendment would change the law to “provide children under the age of 25, who lose a parent in the line of duty, with accidental death benefits for life.”
However, before Albany can make any decisions, New York City officials must approve the bill, as state law necessitates local business support for such changes.
During a press conference, Council majority leader Amanda Farias (D-Bronx) emphasized that “young people like Genesis shouldn’t be made to feel invisible by law.”
This recent vote is a significant milestone for Villella in what has been a long battle. “When I was 17, my mother asked me to look after my brother and sister if anything should happen on the job,” she recalled. “There was always a target on her back, like there is for many officers.”
Villella took on the role of caregiver for her twin siblings, Peter and Delilah, essentially becoming their mother and father after their loss. She had to set aside her education to focus on raising them after her mother, a dedicated police officer, was tragically killed on July 5, 2017.
Under current law, Villella faced financial challenges, as benefits would only last until her siblings turned 21.
In light of Wednesday’s council vote, she is now just one step away from fulfilling her promise to her mother.
“Now, the children who were previously overlooked will receive death benefits for life, just like the spouses and parents of fallen officers,” she stated. “Those orphaned children will finally be taken care of as they deserve.”
