‘Pioneering’ police Det. Mary ‘Mae’ Foley honored with NYC street renaming

A fearless female detective who investigated killers and helped lock up famed mobster Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano has been immortalized on the streets of Queens.

Officials and family gathered Saturday afternoon for the unveiling of Detective Mary “Mae” Foley Way in Long Island City in honor of the pioneering female police officer who patrolled the Big Apple in the 1920s and 1930s.

The street sign was erected at 5th Street and 50th Avenue in front of Foley’s grandson, Bob Carr, other family members, residents and police officers.  

Deputy Chief Raymond Porteus spoke to the crowd and called Foley a “true pioneer and trail blazer.” 

“When Mae first raised her right hand in 1923 and took the oath, she stepped into unchartered territory,” said Porteus, a Brooklyn chief who previously served in Queens. “In an era where few police women wore the badge she chose not only to wear it but to wear it with honor, determination and grace.”

Foley started her NYPD training in 1923 and joined the “Masher Squad,” a unit dedicated to protecting women from the unwanted attention of predatory men.

She eventually became a detective in the homicide division in Queens, investigating killers.

“Mae did deescalation before there was even a word in the dictionary, and when necessary she could defend herself,” Porteus said. “Make one mistake and you might find yourself in a kimura, a jiu-jitsu move.”

Later in her career, she was instrumental in the successful conviction of Italian-born gangster Luciano and in exposing the secrets of the pro-Nazi organization, the German American Bund, while working with Manhattan District Attorney Thomas Dewey, according to the 2023 book “The Girls Who Fought Crime: The Untold True Story of the Country’s First Female Investigator and Her Crime Fighting Squad.”

Even after her 1941 retirement, Foley dedicated her life to the police, becoming an advocate for officers and their families, fighting for better pay and benefits. 

Foley had two daughters and a husband.

“She proved that strength and compassion aren’t opposites,” said Porteus, who led the effort to erect the sign after reading a book about Foley. “They are partners.”