Theodore Roosevelt Day Celebrates Theodore Roosevelt’s Legacy and Friendship with Lt. Joseph Petrosino
May 29, 2026
On Thursday, May 28th, the Theodore Roosevelt Association hosted Theodore Roosevelt Day at PS70Q - The Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino School for the Expressive Arts in Queens, New York.
TRA Executive Director Chris Cosentino encouraged nearly 200 fourth-grade students to “Dare Mighty Things” as he presented on Theodore Roosevelt’s life and legacy before fielding insightful questions from the students.
The visit was especially meaningful given the connection between Theodore Roosevelt and the school’s namesake, Lt. Joseph Petrosino. On October 19, 1883, Petrosino joined the NYPD, becoming the first Italian-speaking officer in NYPD history. Standing just 5 feet 3 inches tall, he required a waiver of the department’s minimum height requirement.
Petrosino became friends with Theodore Roosevelt while TR served as President of the New York City Board of Police Commissioners from May 6, 1895, to April 19, 1897. Fluent in several Italian dialects, Petrosino was able to solve cases that other officers could not. On July 20, 1895, TR promoted him to detective sergeant and placed him in charge of the department’s Homicide Division.
The pinnacle of Petrosino’s career came in December 1908, when he was promoted to lieutenant and placed in command of the Italian Squad, an elite unit of Italian-American detectives assembled to combat organized crime groups such as the Mafia. Petrosino viewed these criminal organizations as a stain on the reputation of law-abiding Italians and Italian Americans.
Upon learning of Joseph Petrosino’s death in 1909, President Roosevelt remarked, “Petrosino was a great man and a good man. I knew him for years, and he did not know the name of fear.”
Theodore Roosevelt Day was coordinated through the TRA’s School Outreach Program, which aims to inspire the next generation of leaders through Theodore Roosevelt’s life experiences and values.
The Theodore Roosevelt Association thanks PS 70Q – The Lt. Joseph Petrosino School for partnering with us on Theodore Roosevelt Day and helping connect Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy to the school’s namesake.