Firefighter Vincent Princiotta
Ladder 7

Laid to Rest
on December 31, 2001

The Essence of Cool First there was the blue van with the surfboard strapped to the roof. Then there were the bright Hawaiian shirts, the flowing hair, the perpetual tan. Soon there was no doubt: Vincent A. Princiotta was cool. Starting in the late 1970's, Mr. Princiotta, a firefighter with Ladder Company 7 in Manhattan, led a band of surfers from their landlocked Bronxwood Avenue neighborhood into the big waves off Gilgo Beach.
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