H’way named for NYPD’s McDonald

ALBANY — A stretch of the Southern State Parkway on Long Island will now honor the late hero NYPD Detective Steven McDonald.

Gov. Cuomo announced Thursday he signed into law legislation naming a portion of the parkway after McDonald (photo inset), who died in January.

McDonald was a secondyear rookie in 1986 when he was left paralyzed from the neck down after a 15-year-old boy shot him three times as he patrolled Central Park.

Despite being in a wheelchair the rest of his life, McDonald publicly forgave his shooter.

“As both a member of New York City Police and an advocate for the disabled, Detective Steven McDonald demonstrated the bravery and compassion that exemplified the very best of New York,” Cuomo said. “This honor will help ensure that his sacrifice, service and advocacy will never be forgotten.” The new law designates a portion of the highway beginning at the interchange of the Belt Parkway and Cross Island Parkway and ending at Exit 22, in Nassau County, as the “Detective Steven McDonald Memorial Highway.”