After the tragic death of NYPD officer Brian Moore, 14 Catholic schools and academies within the Diocese of Brooklyn teamed up with the 105th Precinct to raise funds and build a Memorial Garden in his honor.

The garden dedication ceremony, street naming, and 105th precinct presentation will take place on Saturday, June 20th, from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. at Saint Gregory the Great School, 244-44 87th Avenue in Bellerose, New York. The ceremony was planned in conjunction with the 36th Annual Gregorian Summer Festival run by Saint Gregory the Great parish and school.

“Our festival runs for eleven nights, and this is a very large area so security is a major concern. Police Officer Moore was a frequent contributor towards the security effort here, and he was well known to the people of our community,” said Msgr. Edward Ryan, pastor at Saint Gregory the Great.

Saint Gregory the Great School students were eager to create a vegetable garden for Police Officer Moore and to raise money with a blue dress down day to show solidarity for his family and brothers in blue. Facebook posts about it went viral and 13 other Catholic schools jumped on board to support them. Team Depot of the Elmont Home Depot also chipped in providing their expertise, materials, and labor to build the garden.

“At the dedication, we are going to write a check in the name of all of the schools for the NYC Policemen’s Benevolent Association Widows’ and Children’s Fund,” said Lynn Alaimo, Principal at Saint Gregory the Great School. The other schools are Ave Maria Catholic Academy (C.A), Holy Angels C.A., Notre Dame C.A., Our Lady of Grace School, Our Lady of Guadalupe School, Our Lady of the Snows School, Saint Anselm C.A., St. Brigid C.A., St. Elizabeth C.A., St. Ephrem School, St. Margaret School, St. Pancras School, and St. Thomas the Apostle C.A.

“We are so grateful to the community as a whole and to St. Gregory’s. This is awesome and we cannot wait until the ceremony,” said Detective Javoda Cooper of the 105th Precinct.

St. Gregory the Great R.C. Church in Bellerose was established in 1936 and opened the school in 1953. Saint Gregory the Great School currently educates 350 students from Pre-K to Grade 8. For more information, visit www.saintgregorythegreat.com. Details regarding their Annual Gregorian Festival—eleven nights of live entertainment, food, rides, games, and prizes— can be found at www.sgtgfestival.com.