Fifty-five years ago when Gerald Phelan first became a Greece Police Officer the headquarters of the Greece Police looked very different. Headquarters were located in the basement of the Greece Town Hall at 2505 Ridge Road West. There were a total of 24 police officers. In the early 1970s the headquarters moved to the former Waste Water Treatment Plant on Island Cottage Road. Forty years later, the department out grew the space and building conditions were deteriorating.
In May 2017 the Greece Police Department moved their headquarters to their first ever brand new state of the art facility. The 30,000 sq. ft. new headquarters is located at the Greece Town Hall Campus, 6 Vince Tofany Blvd., Greece. At the ribbon cutting ceremony held on May 16, 2017 it was revealed that the new police headquarters was named in honor of the former Greece Police Chief Gerald D. Phelan who served the Greece Community as Chief of Police for nearly 20 years.
Gerald Phelan grew up in the post-war era as a young boy from the 19th Ward of Rochester. He had a dream to follow in the footsteps of his uncles and someday be a police officer. Even in his wildest dreams he never once thought he would have a $9 million dollar state-of-the-art Police Headquarters named after him.
Phelan graduated from The Aquinas Institute High School in 1954 and went to work in the construction field. In March of 1961 Gerald attended a St. Patrick’s Day Party held by the Ladies Auxiliary. At the party he met his wife Kathryn. Kathryn, who is originally from Buffalo, was a Nun who was on temporary leave from the Convent to help her family after her Mom passed away. She never returned to the Convent. She married Gerald Phelan in June of 1962 and they began to build their legacy together.
The year 1962 was life changing for Phelan. Not only did he marry his true love, but he also took the Civil Service Test which opened the door to begin his life-long career in law enforcement. Kathy and Gerald began their life together in Greece and Phelan started as a rookie cop in the Greece Police Department in 1962 serving under Chief Gerald Paul.
Phelan worked as a patrolman for 5 years. In 1967 he was promoted to sergeant. While he was a sergeant he began college under the Safe Street Act of 1968 which was legislation signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He began his college education at MCC and graduated from Brockport College with a Criminal Justice Degree.
In 1975 Phelan was promoted to the Chief of Police for the Greece Police Department where he would serve for nearly 20 years. When he took the reins of the Greece Police Department the town and the department were rapidly growing. At this point in his career Chief Phelan was already a father of three; his first son Sean, daughter Colleen and youngest son Patrick.
During Phelan’s 34 years working at the Greece Police he was part of many moments in the history of the Greece Police Department. He served during the Riots of 1964 where five people were killed and several police officers injured. There were over 1000 arrests.
He recalls this event in history vividly. It was a very hot summer. Simmering racial tensions were mounting nationally and locally, housing and employment were suffering. Riots, looting and fires broke out in the city of Rochester. Greece, among several other police agencies, had to help restore order by securing the borders of the city and enforce strict curfews.
When Phelan was a Sergeant in 1971 he began the PAL program (Police Athletic League). His goal in starting this youth athletic program was to keep kids in play grounds to help keep them from going to prisons. It began as a boxing program bringing police officers and children together to teach boxing, develop sportsmanship and most importantly foster good relations between kids and police officers. The program is still going strong today, 46 years later, as a softball and bowling program. Phelan continues his involvement in this program and enjoys attending the year-end picnic where he helps cook and pass out trophies to the children.
In 1974 Phelan also began another youth program called the ‘Store Front Cops.’ This program for which he obtained one of the largest federal grants issued in Monroe County, was designed to work with kids to prevent juvenile delinquency. It helped at risk youth and provided them support through social workers, psychologists, school faculty and the police with the goal of helping direct them on a path away from criminal behavior.
Phelan had a soft heart for at risk children. He saw that the circumstances in their upbringing could often lead them down the wrong path. Whether it was lacking resources, parenting or support he felt strongly that “no child is born evil.” Phelan said, “I never met a youngster I could not turn around. The program goal was created to intercept and support and let the child know I care about you.”
Phelan’s other career milestones include hiring Greece’s first African American police officer in 1975, and the first female police officer in 1976. Another notable accomplishment with the Greece Police was the creation of their Precinct System. Due to the size of the town, growing population and increase in officers, Chief Gerald Phelan began the Precincts in 1977 to better serve the community.
During his career as Greece Chief of Police he also served as the President of the NYS Association of Chiefs of Police and the NYS Representative on the Board of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
When Phelan retired the Greece Police Department had grown to 89 officers.
When asked about his most meaningful career memory, he said, “Swearing in my son as a Patrolman. That was my greatest achievement and the biggest thrill of my career.” Patrick was 4 years old when his Dad became Chief of Police. Patrick saw first-hand the good and bad of a life in law enforcement. He grew up seeing the demands the job not only put on his Dad but also his Mom and family. When Patrick was sworn in as an officer he was given his father’s number 24. Patrick became the 4th generation of police officers in his family in the span of almost 100 years.
Patrick Phelan continued following his father’s career path at the Greece Police and is the current Chief of Police. His father proudly was able to come back and participate in all of his son’s achievements and promotions throughout his career. Gerald realizes how unusual it is for a son to be in the same department as his father and especially how incredibly rare it is for them both to have served as Chief for the same agency.
As Gerald reflected back on his life long career at the Greece Police he said, “I owe everything to the Department, they were the most wonderful agency to work for. The police department doesn’t owe me anything. I owe them everything. Working for Greece Police were the proudest years of my life.”
At the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new headquarters, Gerald arrived as a guest and had absolutely no idea the building was being dedicated in his name. “The Town did a great job hiding the scribing until the official dedication ceremony. When Supervisor Reilich presented me the photo rendering and dedication I was at a loss for words. I was shocked. It was the most tremendous honor and I was full of gratitude,” Gerald Phelan said.
Later that day, after the ceremony, he drove back over to see his name scribed on the building. “It was surreal. I had trouble comprehending it.”
Gerald feels great respect to the Town of Greece, the Town Board and especially Supervisor Reilich. The new headquarters was a huge step forward and so needed. Today his son runs the department with 105 officers and over a 150 employees, including the civilian positions. The town has nearly quadrupled and is now nearly 100,000 in population. Gerald expects to see more growth in Greece and in the Police Department. He recognizes that there is more land to develop in the North West region of Greece and anticipates that maybe even someday there could be a 3rd Precinct in the Town’s future.
Gerald recently celebrated his 55th wedding anniversary with his devoted wife Kathy. He keeps the ticket to the party where he met her 56 years ago in his wallet today. The couple still resides in Greece and their family consists of their 3 children and 5 grandchildren. In the evening, Gerald enjoys walking the town streets. Often on his walks he sees officers patrolling and doing their job to keep the community safe. It makes him proud but also continues to provide a reminder to him of the privilege he had to serve the town. “It’s not a right, but it was a privilege to serve this town. Every day I say a prayer of gratitude for my family and for being allowed the opportunity to serve this town,” Phelan said.
Photos by Karen Fien
