The long arm of the law gets a big embrace.
Thousands of New York’s Finest packed Madison Square Garden Saturday night for a free, star-studded concert honoring their service in a spirited push to boost morale across the force – an inaugural event set to become an annual tradition.
The “Thank You, NYPD” concert – spearheaded by MSG Entertainment CEO and executive chairman James Dolan – welcomed over 15,000 police officers and civilian employees, along with their families, to be entertained by comedians, Grammy Award-winning legends, and blue-backing actors.
“I’m absolutely excited,” Officer Andy Guo, of the 60th Precinct, told The Post ahead of the concert, noting he was most excited to see Cyndi Lauper perform.
“I think [the concert] just highlights the importance of what my brothers and sisters do on a daily basis.”
The event raised $500,000 for the New York City Police Foundation.
“The donation was made possible with the support of MSG Entertainment and other New York City businesses and leaders, including Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, who matched every dollar donated up to $250,000,” the Garden said in a press release.
In addition to the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” crooner, singer John Fogerty and rapper Fat Joe took the stage and belted their hit tunes, while headlining comedians Chris Distefano and Sam Morril had the energetic crowd roaring with laughter.
Officer Christopher De Sciora, also of the 60th Precinct and a huge fan of Fat Joe and Distefano, credited MSG for hosting the event while sharing his pride in the force.
“Being able to help our community day in and day out, you know, it’s what we love to do,” he said.
“It’s why we put on the uniform everyday.”
Throughout the event, Hollywood stars and athletes, including Tracy Morgan, Rosie Perez and former Knicks player Stephon Marbury, also took the stage to express their appreciation for the NYPD.
Thank-you clips from the public, along with messages from heavyweights such as Jerry Seinfeld and Darryl Strawberry, were also played during the event. As part of Dolan’s initiative, people were encouraged to thank police officers directly or submit a video featured at the concert.
Dolan, who footed production and operating costs and offered The Garden rent-free, previously told The Post he wanted to stage the gratitude event to show Big Apple cops how much they’re valued amid rhetoric that often condemns the police.
“We think that in your and my world, where there’s so much cynicism and negativity, that this was an opportunity to do something really positive for New York,” the New York Knicks owner said.
“And the NYPD is a really big piece of New York. Administrations come, administrations go. The NYPD is always there. We’re really just focused on them, I hope we can all agree that we should be grateful for the efforts of the NYPD.”
MSG Networks told The Post Saturday that it plans to continue the goodwill campaign throughout the year, with the concert becoming an annual event for the force, which has about 33,000 officers and 15,000 civilian employees.
Madison Square Garden has a history of rallying New Yorkers for big civic events, such as “The Concert for New York City” following the 9/11 attacks, “From the Big Apple to the Big Easy” after Hurricane Katrina and “12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief” following Super Storm Sandy.
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