Farmingdale resident John Streich, a letter carrier in East Meadow, was presented with the New York State Senate Liberty Medal last week for his heroic effort of saving a man's life at The Knolls, a senior citizen community in East Meadow.

Streich, an East Meadow letter carrier for more than three decades, has been delivering mail to the residents of The Knolls for more than eight years. Although he is only required to deposit the seniors' mail into a cluster box, Streich, knowing of some of the residents who may have difficulty getting outside to collect their mail, made a habit of personally delivering the mail to their apartments.

Last December, Streich arrived at the apartment of John Nevins, who often left his door ajar to alert the letter carrier that he could leave his mail on a chair by the door. Upon leaving Nevins' mail on the chair, Streich called out to him but received no response. After calling out to the man several more times with no response, Streich entered the home and found Nevins lying on the floor. The letter carrier immediately notified a neighbor, who called for help, and stayed with the man. Streich's efforts helped prolong the man's life.

Senator Charles Fuschillo, who presented the medal to Streich, honored his heroic efforts together with Senator Hannon, and was joined by Hempstead Town Supervisor Rich Guardino, Town Councilman Gary Hudes, Former Receiver of Taxes Dan Fisher, USPS LI District Manager Thomas Rosati, East Meadow Postmaster Charles Knowles and other senior postal representatives. Nevins' sons Tom and Jim were also on hand to thank and commend Streich on his efforts.

"We all came today to recognize, to honor and to thank a hero. Over the last six or seven months, we've all heard a lot about heroes and we've come to realize that the real, true heroes are not the superstar ball players or the movie stars but the ordinary men and women who go out of their way and help other people," Tom Nevins said. "My dad was that kind of hero too, for many years he worked tirelessly and anonymously to help the poor and disadvantaged through his work with the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Baldwin. He was a quiet hero.

"Exactly three months ago today, John found himself in a dramatic situation and he acted heroically to save my dad's life," he said. "The result was that my dad lived on for an additional six weeks and he was able to die in complete peace because he had that extra time to say goodbye to his family. For that my family will be eternally grateful. But John's not a hero only because of what he did that day, John's a hero every day. He had been doing kind things and good deeds for my dad and for many [seniors] every day. That's really what makes John a hero."

Streich's day-to-day activities at the senior community often include helping seniors with errands such as carrying their groceries.

"John epitomizes what letter carriers do each and every day," Rosati said. "It's a part of their life. They're involved in their community. John certainly went above and beyond this time; he was certainly a hero."

Rosati added that not only should the residents feel gratified to have a person like Streich have such a strong presence in their community, but told Streich that he is lucky to have interactions with such wonderful residents.

"It is great to see this community come together to celebrate the heroism of John," Guardino said. "We have a whole new definition of heroes, and it involves a lot of uniformed personnel.

"It's obvious that John's loved by this community by the turnout here today," Guardino added. "He's there for people on a daily basis. I can't imagine how you can be a greater hero for a family. I think that because of 9/11, people have turned inward and I believe they're starting to appreciate a lot more a sense of community and friendships and of course their family and home. This touches on all those things, the fact that this fellow who's with them every day, who is a friend, saved a life."

"What we're celebrating is the ability of all of us to come together," Hannon said. "We see firsthand the benefits of coming together as neighbors and friends. Mr. Streich is a hard worker and a humanitarian. He is indeed a hero."

"If we've learned any example from the tragedy on our country of 9/11, about helping our fellow mankind, John Streich is an example to all of us," Fuschillo said. "Dedicated letter carriers like John Streich become the eyes and the ears of a community. He came to know his customers personally and because he is truly concerned about their well-being, he was easily alerted of a problem and saved the life of Jim Nevins."

"When situations like this occur, people always say somebody should do something," Hudes said. "John was a somebody that day."

Streich humbly accepted the highest civilian medal that can be presented from the senators and thanked all in attendance for their friendships and appreciation.

"I appreciate this honor very much," Streich said. "In the seven years that I've been delivering mail to The Knolls, [I have made] very good friends, and I considered Mr. Nevins a very good friend."