This is better than a 300 game.
Giovanni Cucuzza didn’t expect to become a hero when he saved the life of a total stranger who had suddenly dropped to the ground at a bowling alley.
Without thinking, the NYPD officer rushed to the man’s aid and put his skills to use until the man was once again breathing — even though he was technically off-duty for the night.
“Saving someone’s life is always the greatest feeling — knowing that someone can extend their life and be able to continue enjoying their families,” Cucuzza told The Post in an exclusive interview Friday moments after he was promoted to the rank of detective.
The nine-year department veteran was one of 177 civilian and uniformed members of the force who were honored with raised ranks Friday, including 34 of whom turned in their batons for detective status.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch applauded the hundreds of heroes as the “department’s future.”
With nearly a decade under his belt, Cucuzza, 34, pointed to the bowling alley rescue as a defining career moment that led him down the path to becoming a detective within the Intelligence Bureau.
He and his friends were enjoying a Sunday at a bowling alley in 2019 when they heard “a commotion going on” and watched a stranger drop to the ground.
“Obviously, the police officer thinks of helping people and wanting to help people. And why we take on this job, it’s because of incidents like that. We went over and saw that he wasn’t breathing, so immediately we started CPR. We were able to get a defibrillator at the bowling alley at the moment, able to use it. Luckily, you were able to get a pulse back, and he was able to make a full recovery,” Cucuzza recounted.
The proud father of a newborn boy, Cucuzza said being a member of the force is a family affair. His brother is a lieutenant, his cousin a sergeant and he grew up watching other members who were part of the department.
“I feel like this was the spot to do it. And obviously they call us the Finest for a reason, right?” Cucuzza said.
His promotion is nothing short of an honor, he continued: “I continue to look forward to protecting the city, working with people and making sure everyone’s safe.”
Michelle White also celebrated a promotion Friday — after 12 years on the force, she achieved her dream of becoming a detective within the Housing Bureau.
A major turning point in her career was back in 2018, when she was alerted to a missing Brooklyn mom and her infant daughter.
The woman was acting erratically, sent out a number of alarming texts to her mother, cleared out her bank account and vanished — leading White, 39, to suspect the woman was planning to buy a gun.
“They had a family home in Pennsylvania, so we found we had a summons on a red light camera and we were able to find their car. We saw it going over the Verrazzano. I called a few gunshops on the way, on the route to the home,” White recalled.
“The first one I actually called, I gave him a complete description. And two minutes later, the shop owner called me and said, ‘Yes, we have someone meeting that description.’ She was with her baby and going out the door.”
Thanks to White’s quick thinking, the woman was stopped from hurting herself or her child, who was around 6 months old at the time: “I was shaking because I knew that we had intercepted something huge.”
Years later, White gained a new layer of understanding of the situation after giving birth to her own baby boy.
“Just looking back as a new mom now, looking back, postpartum is a serious thing,” she said.
Mark Landi expressed excitement at his promotion within the NYPD’s Harbor Unit — marking a perfect marriage of his family history in the department and in the maritime industry.
The Throgs Neck, Bronx native said the many summers he spent on City Island served as his “inspiration” for setting his sights on the Harbor Unit, which he was accepted into in 2014 after a decade on the job.
New York City’s seas can be rough — and the dangerous conditions set the scene for one of Landi’s most gripping recused, he told The Post.
“We saved a family on a stricken sailboat East River one time. It was a husband and wife with two little infants. They ran out of gas, which doesn’t sound too dangerous, but the river [had a] pretty strong current at that particular time, and their sailboat was out of control. They couldn’t make way, and they were at the will of the river,” Landi, 44, said of the summer of 2017 experience.
“As we got the call, we were able to run up, and they were spinning in circles. We were able to maneuver the boat, pull up alongside, grab control of their sailboat, take them and remove them to safety before danger came in,” he continued.
“The wife was quite upset with the husband.”
Landi has exceeded his expectations as a harbor officer — last summer, he was involved with the NYPD Harbor Unit’s mentoring program for high school students.
“We are a maritime city. We have 576 miles of coastline, and introducing them to the marine world themselves on top of it — new possibilities for them,” he said.
After 21 years on the job, Landi expressed that he was nothing short of grateful for the opportunity to serve.
“I’m proud of my unit. I’m proud of what I do. I like going to work every day, especially in situations like that with the sailboat plus various other rescues and whatnot,” he explained.
“It’s very rewarding. We are police officers, and we do our fair share of enforcement, but on top of that, we do probably more rescues, so it’s more rewarding factor.”
