By Claire M. Regan | For the Staten Island Advance
He was a lineman for the New Dorp High School Centrals and later, a coach and referee, a sports writer and even a fitness equipment salesman. Above all, he was a passionate educator who touched the lives of thousands of children in Staten Island’s at-risk communities and mentored many of them through adulthood.
A sturdy man with an easy smile and enough confidence to fill a room, Lawrence (Larry) E. Ambrosino was the epitome of good health and unshakable optimism.
To learn that leukemia took his life at age 72 on Friday at home in Annadale after a valiant two-and-a-half-year struggle is difficult to accept, his grieving friends and family said.
The Mariners Harbor native spent much of his life championing the legacy of Rocco Laurie, a 23-year-old police officer who was ambushed, shot and killed along with his partner, Gregory Foster, in Manhattan’s East Village on Jan. 27, 1972.
Mr. Ambrosino strived to keep his childhood friend’s memory alive through a Rocco Laurie Scholarship Fund that has awarded more than $200,000 in helping young students further their educations, and with the annual Patrolman Rocco Laurie Scholarship Basketball Game.
He lobbied successfully to get Intermediate School 72 in New Springville named for the fallen officer and paid tribute to him just about every time he stepped up to a microphone.
“There are a lot of cops out there today like Rocco, doing their job every day, and not sure if they’re going to come home,” he told a reporter in 2016.
“Rocco took seven bullets, and lived a few hours,” Mr. Ambrosino said at a Blue Lives Matter rally the following year. “We’re never going to let Rocco’s name die, as long as I can breathe.”
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Born on May 20, 1948, Mr. Ambrosino grew up in the Mariners Harbor Houses with his mother, Marie G. Brown, and older brother, Vincent Matthew (Chip).
He graduated from PS 44 in Mariners Harbor, Markham Intermediate School in Graniteville, and started at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan before transferring to New Dorp High School, where he played on the football and basketball teams under legendary coaches Sal Somma and Artie Oken.
He continued playing football for Wagner College until he was sidelined by a back injury that required surgery. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in education from Wagner, he earned a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Kean University in Union, N.J.
His career in education spanned five decades, beginning in 1967 as a teacher at Vacation Day Camp 44, a summer program operated by the former Board of Education. Three years later, he began teaching at his alma mater, Markham Intermediate, where he was named dean of boys.
In 1978, he became assistant principal of Intermediate School 72 in New Springville and later spearheaded the renaming campaign in honor of Officer Rocco Laurie.
In 1980, at the age of 32, he was appointed principal of PS 57 in Clifton, becoming the youngest principal in New York City. Friends and colleagues agree his impact on the school and the community was immeasurable and the 18 years he spent at PS 57 were some of the most rewarding years of his education career.
“Larry never hesitated to knock on a door if a kid didn’t show up to school,” recalled Angelo (Butch) Aponte, a lifelong friend and retired educator who served on the Community School Board while Mr. Ambrosino was PS 57 principal. As a result, attendance rates improved dramatically at the school, he added.
In 1998, Mr. Ambrosino was named superintendent of schools for Shrewsbury, N.J., a post he held for 10 years.
In 2008, then-Borough President James Molinaro appointed Mr. Ambrosino to a new Department of Education middle school advisory committee, designed to create structural and instructional solutions to problems facing middle-school students.
“The choice was obvious,” Molinaro said at the time. “Through the years, his commitment to keeping children mentally and physically healthy has earned the respect of his colleagues and the love of his students. Larry knows what our students need to succeed, and I know he will bring a great deal of vision, enthusiasm and insight to the new committee as we work together to address the longstanding issues in the city’s middle schools.”
Mr. Ambrosino served for several years as executive director of SINY, a non-profit organization dedicated to lifting the borough’s image by promoting its cultural assets, and in 2012, he was tapped as division director of the Staten Island March of Dimes. Illness forced him to retire from the position just months after starting it.
SEIZED EVERY MOMENT
Always ready for a new adventure, “Ambro” rarely turned down an opportunity – including an unsuccessful Democratic bid for borough president in 1993 against incumbent Republican Guy V. Molinari.
In the 1970s and 1980s, he served as sports information director at Wagner College, hosted a sports show on Community Television and dabbled in journalism as a stringer for the Advance sports department.
His wife, the former Dorothy Buck, recalled joining him on an Advance assignment for one of their first dates – a boxing match at Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum.
“I thought it was a strange date. But when we got there, I didn’t want to leave. I was absolutely fascinated watching it right from the ring,” she said.
Mr. Ambrosino combined his athletic skills, business acumen and community connections to successfully operate a gym and health club, Total Fitness Center in Eltingville, for several years through 2001.
As a companion venture, he sold Total Gym fitness equipment for more than 30 years from his Annadale home and from Ambro Sports, a store on Clove Road in Grasmere. His wide range of customers included sports legends Mookie Wilson and Darryl Strawberry and celebrities Rosie Perez and James Woods.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Mr. Ambrosino’s extensive volunteer work illustrated his commitment to community. Whenever he was asked to join a board or lead a cause, especially if it benefitted children, his answer was always a resounding “Yes,” friends recalled.
“He knew more people on Staten Island than anyone and stayed connected to everybody,” said Lou Bergonzi, who spoke with his longtime friend just last week. “He was a unique individual who touched so many lives in so many areas. You name it and he was involved in it, or knew someone who was involved.”
Mr. Ambrosino served on the boards of the American Red Cross and Community Television and as president of the Staten Island Council of Boy Scouts. He was an Explorer Post adviser, citywide basketball coach, chairman of the Good Scout Committee, a coach for the Catholic Youth Organization and the Police Athletic League, and a member of the CYO executive board.
He was a founder and chairman of the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame, established in 1995 and located on the Mount Loretto grounds in Pleasant Plains, and founder and chairman of the Patrolman Rocco Laurie Memorial Scholarship Fund, established in 1972.
His honors included the 1995 Patrick Daly Award from then-Borough President Guy V. Molinari, the International Rotary Paul Harris Fellow designation, Good Scout and Silver Beaver awards from the Boy Scouts of America, the Richard Silverstein Award from the Staten Island Mental Health Society, and lifetime achievement and distinguished alumni awards from the CYO.
He was also inducted into the New Dorp High School Football Hall of Fame and the New Dorp High School Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was honored as a Wagner College Alumni Fellow.
SURVIVORS AND ARRANGEMENTS
The Ambrosinos celebrated their 44th anniversary on Aug. 1 while Mr. Ambrosino was undergoing treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.
In addition to his wife, survivors include a son, Larry (Taryn); two daughters, Lori Harkin and Lissa Loughlin (Mike); and six grandchildren, Larry John, London and Alfred Ambrosino; Jack and Annika Harkin, and Justin Loughlin. A seventh grandchild is expected in January.
Mr. Ambrosino was predeceased by his older brother, Vincent Matthew (Chip), in 2018, and an older sister, Marietta, who died at the age of 5.
A wake will be held on Monday and Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. at Casey Funeral Home, Castleton Corners. The funeral will take place Wednesday at 11 a.m. in New Dorp Moravian Church. Because of the ongoing public health crisis, seating will be limited and the service will be streamed lived on the church website.
Burial will follow in Ocean View Cemetery, Oakwood.
CONDOLENCES POUR IN
News of Mr. Ambrosino’s death inspired expressions of sympathy from across the Island.
Robert Scamardella, West Brighton attorney and friend: “My connection with Larry goes back generations. His grandfather and mine emigrated from Italy and settled on Staten Island where they were close friends. What will be most missed about Larry is his compassion, loyalty and community spirit. An excellent educator, Larry sought assignments in the more challenging schools where his profound interest in assisting at risk youth left an indelible mark on so many now successful adults. His loyalty to his friend, PO Rocco Laurie, had Larry chairing, for over 40 years, an annual basketball game, in his memory, that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Island youth. Larry was a good-natured, sentimental guy who was a devoted husband and father. He was proud of his upbringing in racially mixed Mariners Harbor and is surely the type of person so sorely needed in these divisive times. He’ll be missed on so many levels. In the end there is only one way to describe Larry Ambrosino. He was a good man.”
Randy Lee, longtime friend: “Larry is my hero. He was a giant. A good man, a better friend and always there when anyone needed help or support. Together with all of his friends and family, I will sorely miss him. Staten Island will be a lesser place without him.”
James Oddo, borough president: “Larry was just my type of guy. You could sit there and have a discussion with him on important and serious issues like education and the various challenges faced by Staten Island youth, but without missing a beat, lighten things up by talking baseball and every sport under the sun. He was real, he cared, he was fun and just enjoyable to be around.”
Mark Washington, student and then friend: “Larry was my teacher, mentor and friend. We had a long relationship, beginning as my summer coach at the Mariners Harbor Houses. He recruited the best – 99 percent from the neighborhood. As a coach, he was tough but fair. He told us, ‘Just because you’re from the Mariners Harbor Houses, don’t let them tell you that you can’t achieve anything.’ I loved Larry Ambrosino, as a friend and like a father. I would do anything and everything for him.”
Dr. Jerry Cammarata, educator and friend: “August 28, 2020 is a sad day for the student, faculty and administrative community of New Dorp High School. Our good friend, and classmate (Class of 1965), passed, leaving a robust family and a loving wife, Dorothy. Larry was a catalyst among all of us, keeping us attached, maintaining the New Dorp High School Cheer, even in our 70s. His self determination to be successful — embrace education, devote his life to being an educator, and to be a role model to his children and grandchildren – has been our success. Each of us would have to step up our game of doing good, and being involved in the community, because he was OUR role model. We will miss Larry, but never be void of his memory of good deeds.”
Jessica Jackson, principal of Police Officer Rocco Laurie Intermediate School: “Today our Rocco Laurie school community is deeply saddened by the loss of a giant. Larry was a childhood friend of Rocco Laurie and the reason our school is named after the fallen officer. Every year, Larry would organize a basketball game to raise money for the scholarship fund in Rocco Laurie’s name and made sure his legacy would never be forgotten. As he did for Rocco Laurie, we will do for him and continue to keep his spirit and mission alive.”
Alfred (Fred) Cerullo III, president and CEO of the Grand Central Partnership: “What started out as a relationship built on politics became a decades long friendship. Larry called me ‘the kid’ at one point in my early years as a councilman — and himself the ‘old man.’ It might have been true for me then — but never for him. He himself was the quintessential kid at heart. Always strong and youthful and energized. His love of Staten Island and those who call it home always came first — right after his family. His huge personality was only rivaled by his powerful presence, all wrapped in a kind soul. And he always knew how to get you to something no matter how crazy. One year on Halloween, he talked me into dressing as a cowboy and walking with him and his students through Park Hill. It was quite a sight and a moment that we never forgot and that we always laughed about. Larry touched and impacted so many lives, including mine, and I send my love and condolences to Dorothy and their entire family upon this incredible loss.”
Angelo (Butch) Aponte, lifelong friend and retired educator: “Larry and I grew up together in the Mariners Harbor Houses. We played basketball in the parks, and Faber Pool was our swimming hole. We were more than friends; we were like brothers, and that’s the way it’s been all our lives. That bond was sealed when we were 5 or 6 years old. Larry became a great mentor to many kids in Mariners Harbor when they got older. ”
Joseph Panepinto, former CYO county coordinator: “Larry was like a brother to me. It’s been heartbreaking to see what he’s gone through in the last few years — and yet, he was always positive, always there with a smile. ‘I’m going to get over this, and then we’ll go to the Shore,’ he’d tell me. He loved life. He loved his family, especially his grandchildren. That’s what kept him going. With CYO, he was always there for the kids, for families in need. He never said ‘no’ to anybody. He was one of the legends. He made me a better person and I will never forget that.”
