YONKERS - The downtown waterfront got its latest piece of public art yesterday in the shape of a 15-foot metal fish.
Business, police and elected officials gathered at the waterfront's esplanade to unveil a whimsical bike rack that will also serve as a memorial to Yonkers Police Officer John Barsi, 40, who died in 2005 after a long illness.
The Yonkers Downtown/Waterfront Business Improvement District put the $3,000 sculpture on the esplanade because on May 10, 2005, Barsi jumped off the esplanade and swam 150 feet to rescue a distraught woman who had jumped into the water. The woman told Barsi that she wanted to die.
"John was one of those people that epitomized caring," said Mayor Phil Amicone of Barsi, a Yonkers native.
The business district built a bike rack because Barsi patrolled downtown on bicycle. He could often be seen pedaling through Getty Square with a smile on his face.
"He was professional, but with a soft touch and a sense of humor," said Joan Jennings, the business district's assistant executive director.
Jennings said Barsi was popular with many of the downtown merchants.
Pelham Manor resident Donna Ferrara, 47, Barsi's first cousin, said the bike rack's design made a fitting memorial to her relative because Barsi loved fishing.
The 5 1/2 -foot tall, sky blue and yellow fish was designed by the Dero Bike Rack Co. in Minneapolis. The fish joins another whimsical bike rack featuring Spiderman near the waterfront next to the Yonkers Public Library.
