The stricken daughter of the FDNY lieutenant randomly stabbed to demise advised The Put up on Friday that her mother “ought to be remembered because the hero that she was” — as weeping coworkers referred to as the sufferer “the mom of the station.”
Tragic 25-year division veteran Alison Russo-Elling, 61, had phoned an in depth good friend to casually chat about her day solely minutes earlier than she was killed in a vicious apparently random assault in Astoria on Thursday.
“I spoke to her 20 minutes earlier than she was stabbed,” stated the pal, Jackie Gardiner, 69. “Then the hospital referred to as me — Mount Sinai — and requested me if I knew Alison Russo. I assumed, what, did someone discover her telephone? I assumed it was a prank name or one thing.”
Russo-Elling’s daughter, Danielle Fuoco, 41, advised The Put up, “I'd simply say that I would like everybody to respect the household, our needs, maintain her in your prayers and keep in mind her for the hero that she was.”
Russo-Elling had lately thought of retirement however stayed on the job as a result of she liked working within the Queens neighborhood and constructed a chummy relationship together with her colleagues there at Station 49, pals and coworkers stated.
“She liked her job. She liked the fellows that have been underneath her,” stated Gardiner, additionally Russo-Elling’s neighbor in Huntington on Lengthy Island. “She referred to as them her children. She cooked for them. That they had a pleasant kitchen and every little thing. The final image she despatched me, she opens up the fridge, and someone had left six items of cheesecake, and it stated, ‘Don't contact this, Russo.’ ”
Lots of of FDNY members attended a bunting ceremony at Station 49 to mourn Russo-Elling on Friday, with devastated paramedics seen crying and sharing hugs after the mindless killing.
“She was the mom of the station,” stated Lt. Maddy Higuleros. “She made positive everyone was doing what they have been presupposed to do. And in the event that they didn’t know, they have been free to return to her and ask her any questions. She was stuffed with liveliness.”
The lack of Russo-Elling, who had been a responder on the World Commerce Heart after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist assault, can be felt by individuals for a really very long time, stated Lt. Nancy Ledger, who stated she was an in depth good friend and accomplice of the sufferer.
“She was the mom hen of the station. She was all the time searching for everyone — she would all the time name me on my days off,” Ledger stated. “There aren't any phrases to specific the ache that I’m feeling proper now.”
Russo-Elling “wore her coronary heart on her sleeve and would provide the shirt off her again,” Deputy Chief Gregg Brady stated.
“And he or she was there for me at a time that I used to be at my most weak,’ Brady stated. “She put her arm round me and stated, ‘Every thing’s gonna be OK.’ “
Maniac Peter Zisopoulos, 34, allegedly adopted Russo-Elling on the road, then slammed her to the bottom and stabbed her 19 instances on twentieth Avenue and forty first Road at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
A scooter-riding witness tried to intervene, however Peter Zisopoulos charged with the knife in hand, yelling, “F—okay you, f—okay you!” based on police sources. Peter Zisopoulos then ran again to his third-story house close by earlier than cops took him into custody, sources and officers stated.
Zisopoulos was slapped with homicide and weapons possession prices Friday within the apparently random assault.
Russo-Elling was the second “EMS lady, second mom, second EMS member to be murdered on these streets within the final 5 years,” stated Lilian Bonsignore, chief of EMS for FDNY.
“This lady, she was a mom. She’s a good friend. She’s a daughter. She’s a civil servant who devoted her life to caring for the individuals of this metropolis for 25 years, she did simply that,” Bonsignore stated.
“In a single second, simply a short while away from her deliberate retirement, a lifetime of labor got here crashing to an finish. We'd like this metropolis to face up for Alison Russo. We'd like this metropolis to face up for EMS. We'd like a metropolis to face up for all of our first responders who served you and your households.”
FDNY staff used a tower ladder to hold three purple and black striped banners throughout the memorial service, with uniformed FDNY saluting whereas “Wonderful Grace” performed.
Reply the Name, a gaggle that runs a fund to profit households of deceased police and fireplace staff, introduced Friday it could give Russo-Elling’s household $50,000 and supplied condolences to the household and FDNY.
Russo-Elling had thought of retirement however opted to maintain working as a result of she liked toiling in Astoria, the place she was stationed in April 2021 after numerous different assignments all through Queens over time, her neighbor and good friend stated.
“She talked about retirement, and he or she went and checked out her pension, which was fairly good, too. She wished to get 25 years in,” Gardiner stated. “However then she acquired stationed in Astoria and liked Astoria. She liked Greek music, and he or she liked Greek meals, and he or she simply liked being in Astoria. And the world was very good the place she was in.”
The FDNY paramedic had referred to as her good friend proper earlier than the homicide to say she was going to Greenback Tree after which to get a chunk to eat at Lidl’s.
“I’m nonetheless in shock. I’m going to interrupt down any minute,” Gardiner stated.
Russo-Elling lived alone in a home in Huntington together with her canine Bailey, a mutt, her good friend stated. Along with her daughter, the sufferer is survived by her mother and father and brother, who all nonetheless dwell on Lengthy Island, Gardiner added.
Russo, who joined the FDNY in March 1998 and have become a paramedic lieutenant in 2016, was an all the time energetic outdoor fanatic who lately took up golf and loved watersports and going to concert events, her good friend stated.
“She stated, ‘What am I going to do?’ She wasn’t married. She couldn’t sit nonetheless,” Gardiner stated. “Even in my home, she couldn’t sit nonetheless. I virtually felt like giving her a mop and broom generally.”
Gardiner stated Russo-Elling had been positive she would dwell to 100.
“She stated to me, ‘My grandmother lived to virtually 100. I’m similar to my grandmother, so I’m positive I’m going to be residing until 100, additionally,’ ” her good friend stated. “So she labored a lot extra time on a regular basis. She wished to have some huge cash to journey and do a variety of issues.”
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