Bruno’s final homage at stadium namesake
“The Joe” an example of the impact Brunswick legislator had as an elected official
Funeral procession, escorted by police, drives twice around “The Joe” as a tribute./
On opening day of each new Tri-city Valleycats baseball season, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno would take the mound to throw the ceremonial first pitch in the stadium nicknamed in his honor as “The Joe.”
Friday, Bruno’s funeral procession, escorted by police cars from departments in his old Senate district, drove twice around the field as final homage to the legislator who died at 91 Tuesday and who was known for his dedication to his home district
Bruno, the former New York state senate majority leader, died Tuesday at age 91.
For the first time since the stadium opened in 2002, Bruno was unable to throw out the first pitch in the ballpark this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“He was a great man. He did a lot for this ballpark. I have a lot of happy memories out here,” said Madelyn Carroll of Troy, who never met Bruno, a Brunswick Republican.
“I was always here when he threw out the first pitch. I wanted to say goodbye,” said Carroll, who was among the crowd of about 100 people who watched the procession slowly circle the field as an honor guard from the Rensselaer County Sheriff ’s Office and the Troy Police Department stood at attention.
From the voters to the elected officials he worked alongside, this was a quiet moment to reflect on one of the Capital Region’s most influential poli
ticians — one of the Capitol’s three men in room, along with the governor and Assembly speaker, who determined the state’s future every year during budget negotiations.
“He did a lot for the people,” said Barry Foster of Brunswick, who worked some games as an usher at The Joe on the Hudson Valley Community College campus.
The HVCC baseball team stood in the stands behind home plate holding a large sign reading, “Thank you, Senator Bruno.”
“I’ll miss hearing his voice,” said Rensselaer County Executive Steve Mclaughlin, recalling his days as an assemblyman when the state Senate majority leader would call him.
“He was the balance on the scale of the three men in the room,” Mclaughlin said about the state budget negotiations. Bruno never lost sight contact with his district, Mclaughlin said. “He was very much a man of the people.”
“It was the little things he did that made him popular with the little guy,” said Rensselaer County Legislature Chairman Michael Stammel, R-rensselaer.
Peter Kowalczyk of North Greenbush never knew Bruno but respected him for bringing the stadium to town. “He was one of the few politicians that got things done.”
Nassau Supervisor David Fleming recalled being a student at Tamarac Elementary School when Bruno, early in his political career, visited to plant a tree at the school. Fleming didn’t expect he’d one day be working with the senator on projects in Nassau.
A funeral Mass for Bruno was celebrated at St. Pius X in Loudonville after the stadium procession and streamed live on the St. Pius X website.