Bronze Medallion (New York City award)

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The Bronze Medallion is the highest award conferred upon civilians by New York City.

The medal is presented by the Mayor to those individuals who have demonstrated, "exceptional citizenship and outstanding achievement". The recipients come from a wide range of backgrounds. including ordinary citizens, foreign dignitaries, athletes, and film stars.

[edit] Description

The medallion is two and three quarter inches in diameter and was designed by the late Michael Lantz, best known for his 1938 sculpture in front of the Federal Trade Commission building in Washington, DC.

[edit] Recipients

General Douglas MacArthur, United States Army General
Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights activist
Muhammad Ali, heavyweight boxing champion
Willie Mays, baseball player
Wesley Autrey, on January 5, 2007, for heroism for saving the life of a fellow commuter by throwing himself over his body in the face of an oncoming train
Lewis Rudin, for lifetime contributions as a property developer
Felix Vasquez, for heroism for saving the life of a one-month-old baby during a fire in the Bronx - 16 December 2006
Fred Wilpon, for a lifetime of service to the City
Robert Tisch, co-owner of the New York Giants, for renovating 43 New York City school fields (posthumous)
Philip Johnson, architect
Lionel Hampton, in 1978, jazz vibraphonist and bandleader
The Dessoff Choirs, in 1975, for contributing to the musical life and culture of New York City for fifty years
Richard Groller, Joseph G. Greer, John P. Walsh and Daniel Gross, for heroism in 1974, for pulling an unconscious man out of the path of an oncoming BMT train