Borough President Vito Fossella Presents Patrick F. Daly Awards To Outstanding Educators

Borough President Vito Fossella presented the 2023 Patrick F. Daly Award to two outstanding educators who exemplify the selfless leadership of the fallen principal during a ceremony at Borough Hall on Tuesday.

​Patrick F. Daly lost his life in 1992 when he was caught in a gang crossfire in Red Hook, Brooklyn, while searching for a student who had left the school building.

The award was posthumously presented to David LaMorte, who was the director of the Tottenville High School Marching Band for more than two decades, and to Lawrence Hansen, the principal of St. Joseph Hill Academy Elementary School. 

In addition to leading the award-winning Marching Band, David LaMorte served as an assistant principal at Tottenville High School. He was also involved in advancing the education of the arts during his tenure as conductor of the Staten Island Community Band and was the executive director of the Summer Arts Institute.

Lawrence Hansen has been the principal of St. Joseph Hill Academy since 2017. He previously taught English Language Arts and religion at St. Clare School in Great Kills to seventh-grade students from 2000 to 2007 and eighth-grade students from 2008 to 2017.

A special thank you to the Tottenville High School Band, Port Richmond High School Culinary Department, and Community Media of Staten Island for making this a truly special event. And, thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating these two worthy educators.

It was a wonderful and inspiring evening.