Route 25A street name to honor firefighter
Charles Varese, a volunteer firefighter with the Northport Fire Department, was riding his motorcycle to work on the morning of April 15, 2008, when a car swerved over the double yellow line, striking and killing Varese. Credit: Handout
A portion of Route 25A in Centerport will be named in memory of a firefighter who was killed while riding his motorcycle by a driver who was high on drugs.
A bill sponsored by state Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) and Assemb. Andrew Raia (R-East Northport) was signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Aug. 3, designating a stretch of Route 25A near Stony Hollow Road as the Charles Varese Memorial Highway.
Varese, 25, a volunteer firefighter with the Northport Fire Department, was riding his motorcycle to work on the morning of April 15, 2008, when a car driven by Jason R. Curry of Stony Brook swerved over the double yellow line, striking Varese.
Varese's brother William, also a Northport firefighter, responded to the scene, not knowing who was in the accident until he recognized his brother's 2004 Yamaha.
Charles Varese died at the scene, and Curry later pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and driving while ability impaired by drugs, for which he received a minimum sentence of 4 years and 6 months in prison.
Varese's mother, Lorri Acker-Varese of Northport, said she was thrilled to hear the news about the governor's signature. A dedication ceremony is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 20.
"Chuck was my heart and soul. I never met a kid like him. Nobody ever did," she said. "This is something that's going to be forever for him."
Raia said he got the idea to designate the road after running into Acker-Varese at a fundraiser and hearing about the difficulty she had in maintaining a small memorial roadside garden at the spot where Varese was killed.
"This way, the street will bear Charles' name and everybody will know that a great young man's life was cut short in that area," Raia said.
Varese's father, Robert "Beefy" Varese, said the most important thing for him is that his son not be forgotten.
"It's a really nice idea, it really is," he said. "Maybe for a small child or somebody to drive by and see a sign with his name on it, and say, 'Hey Mom, Dad -- who's Chuck Varese?' "
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