Vincent LeVien is the one who thinks out of the box in a crisis.
While most of us worry about our own well-being and can do little but pray for the safety of our first responders, LeVien is there to make sure the frontline workers are getting what they need to do their jobs, and are protected while they’re doing it.
His usual day job is director of government and community affairs for the DeSales Media Group, the communications arm for of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. Nowadays he spends most of his time running the group’s COVID-19 Emergency Task Force (ETF), one that he formed and makes sure first responders have PPEs and the support they need as they work the front lines keeping us safe.
“The ETF was formed in the onslaught on Covid-19,” he explained to longisland.com in a recent phone interview. The conversation was punctuated by the sounds of sirens. He apologized for the interruption without making excuses for them. “I’m with a police escort,” he explained.
Fielding calls, advocating for the work that police and firefighters do, while taking meetings with government officials is all part of the day-to-day routine for him now. LeVien was there for them as they battled back against man and nature - during 9/11 and Superstorm Sandy. He is here for them now during a very different kind of crisis against an invisible invader.
Perhaps LeVien’s dedication comes from his faith, he is an active parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Malverne in addition to his work as at the diocese, or his family history.
His brother is a colonel in the U.S. Army and his dad was Douglas LeVien, an undercover NYPD detective who helped to get convictions for New York mobsters in the early 70s by infiltrating their ranks. In a New York Times obituary, Detective LeVien was heralded for his street smarts and uncanny ability to get the criminals he was investigating to believe in him.
LeVien has also been on the board of the Silver Shield Foundation for the last ten years, a non-profit that was started by late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and Steinbrenner’s friend, athlete and businessman, James E. Fuchs. The charity provide educational scholarships for the children of first responders who have died in the line of duty. (As the story goes, Steinbrenner said Fuchs was so shaken by the sight of an American flag being given to the child of a fallen police officer that they were moved to help and launched the foundation.)
Photo: President James McDermott (left) accepts a generous donation of PPE from Vinnie LeVien and Rob Lynch of the Brooklyn Diocese’s Emergency Task Force. Nassau County PBA.
Through his work with the Silver Shield Foundation, LeVien has direct connections with top brass at the local Police Benevolent Associations. He used those connections to get much-need protective masks into the hands of local police officers.
In all, LeVien estimates that the ETF has been able to donate over 11,000 masks plus other items to various police departments so far, including the Nassau County PBA (2,000), Suffolk County PBA (2,000), New York State Troopers (2,000), and NYPD (5,000).
Along with other organizations, like hospitals, the ETF has donated more than 123,000 masks to date.
Through their efforts, aside from the masks, they have acquired and distributed thousands sanitizers, gloves, face shields, and other vital protective equipment. They estimate that more than 91,000 bottles of hand sanitizer have been distributed.
In a statement, the diocese also said that LeVien and his team are responsible for facilitating the delivery of over 9,000 pizzas to over 40 hospitals and medical centers, and many NYPD police precincts and FDNY station houses throughout the city, working in partnership with Sauce Pizzeria.
“We would like to thank Vincent LeVien and the Silver Shield Foundation for their generous donation of 2,000 masks and hand-sanitizers to the Suffolk County PBA,” the police organization said in a statement on its website. “The PBA will be distributing these masks to our members prioritizing those who have fallen ill and need to isolate from their families.”
In Nassau County, where LeVien currently lives, he pointed out that the Diocese of Brooklyn has strong ties to that area of Long Island.
“Many people who grew up in the Diocese of Brooklyn now call their homes in Nassau County, myself included,” he said in a statement. “I’m honored to bring this donation to those putting their lives on the line every day.”
