Tunnel to Towers Foundation Unveils Smart Home Renovations for Injured NYPD Officer

Officer William McNamara was shot in the line of duty in 1978

NEW YORK, NEW YORK [August 12, 2024] — On August 1, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation gathered in Manhattan, to welcome former NYPD Police Officer William McNamara back into his renovated apartment. Tunnel to Towers installed smart technology throughout his home and remodeled the bathroom and kitchen to make them ADA-accessible. 

Officer McNamara joined the NYPD in 1973 and served in Brooklyn and Manhattan. He was a highly respected officer and earned a NYPD Medal of Honor. 

On June 10, 1978, Officer McNamara was shot twice in the line of duty by a man who was high on angel dust. He suffered a T12 spinal injury leaving him confined to a wheelchair. 

After leaving rehab and the NYPD, McNamara attended graduate school and worked for 30 years as a procurement director with a pharmaceutical company. 

Officer McNamara works part-time as an employee and volunteer with Junior Achievement, teaching financial literacy to grades K-12. He is also an active member of his local parish and the Police Self Support Group, where he is an advocate for improved treatment for disabled and over 63-year-old police officers.

Tunnel to Towers welcomed him back into his apartment with his friends, former NYPD partner, and family. For Officer McNamara, the renovations and smart appliances will make his day-to-day life easier. 

“I can easily get into the kitchen and the bathroom. The smart lights were a big selling point for me…not having to bend down to use the oven and the sink access has improved dramatically with the cut-out underneath, that’s a big deal as well.” 

Officer McNamara knows these renovations will make a difference for him and his daughter Esmeralda, “Tunnel to Towers made me realize it’s not just about me. When you help someone, you help the whole family. You are taking a lot of the load off that family. Giving me back my independence gives everyone in my family back some independence.” 

Tunnel to Towers Vice President and retired NYPD Detective John Huvane, who hosted the ceremony, thanked Officer McNamara for his service to his city, for his continued work in his community, and made a promise that he would always be a part of the Tunnel to Towers family. 

The Tunnel to Towers Smart Home Program builds specially adapted, smart homes to help our most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders live more independently.

In Officer McNamara’s apartment, the Foundation installed new flooring to make it more accessible, with zero thresholds, and a motorized door that opens and closes automatically to make it easier for him to get into and out of his house in his wheelchair. 

The home’s lights can be controlled remotely via a smartphone app. The master bathroom was completely renovated with an ADA-accessible vanity and roll-in shower. The renovations and smart technology will combine to give Officer McNamara back some of the independence he lost in the line of duty more than 30 years ago. 

For more on the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, go to T2T.org. There you can join us on our mission to provide homes for these heroes by donating $11 per month.