A hearty welcome back to former 68th Precinct P.O. Daniel Rodriguez, who has gained national fame as America’s singing cop.

Rodriguez will perform as one of “The New York Tenors” on Sunday, March 12 at 4 p.m. at Our Lady of Angels, 7320 Fourth Ave. The extravaganza will include tenors Andy Cooney and Christopher Macchio plus the Big Apple Ensemble and Celtic vocalist Clara Fox. 

Ten years ago, after Superstorm Sandy, Rodriguez performed a sold-out benefit concert at Carnegie Hall that raised more than $1 million to help children affected by the storm and for the Sandy Educational Relief Fund.

Rodriguez has recorded more than 15 albums, sung at 9/11 memorial services and tributes for the Tunnel to Towers Stephen Siller Foundation, and appeared on many TV shows here and around the world. He was a close friend of the late NYPD detective and former Bay Ridge AARP President Peter Killen.

In his early days at Bay Ridge’s 68th Precinct, Rodriguez often drove a patrol car for then-Sgt. Eric Rodriguez (no relation), who later became the precinct commander. We later learned that he often sang arias while driving his boss.

Rodriguez was born and raised in Sunset Park and later became a Bay Ridge resident and a parishioner of St. Patrick’s Church. So for his return on March 12, please consider purchasing a ticket. Premium reserved seats are $50, reserved seats are $30 and there is a post-show reception for $50. Tickets may be purchased at events.ourladyofangels.church. For additional info, call 718-836-7200

***On Wednesday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m., the Bay Ridge Historical Society will host a presentation by Henry Stewart on Bay Ridge’s Barkaloo Revolutionary-era cemetery. Stewart is an author, historian and current first vice president of the BRHS. The free session will be broadcast via Zoom with sign-on passcodes published near March 15 on the society’s Facebook page.

With March almost upon us, celebrants are getting ready for two major St. Patrick’s parades in Brooklyn and, of course, the oldest and biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the country, in the Big Apple on Friday, March 17.

The 262nd annual NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. and moves along Fifth Avenue from 44th to 79th Street.

The grand marshal is Kevin J. Conway, vice chairman of the global private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier and Rice. One of his aides representing Kings County is Robert Cardinal J.E. Murphy, the longtime drum major of the Knights of Columbus Pipes and Drums, whom we’ll likely see at the Bay Ridge parade as well.

Next up is the 48th annual Brooklyn St. Patrick’s Parade at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 19. The route goes down to 15th Street, then along Seventh Avenue to Garfield Place, up to Prospect Park West and back to 15th Street.

The grand marshal is Mike Coyne, who serves on the financial committee of Holy Name of Jesus Parish and recently retired as associate executive director of Staten Island University Hospital. His aides are Anthony Caccamo, Cristin Carroll, Kevin T. Conlon, Joan Heaney, Mary F. Lennon, Donna McGuire, Paul Napoli, Martina O’Dowd and Claire Marie Hulton. This year’s parade marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

The 28th annual Bay Ridge St. Patrick’s Parade takes place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 26. It steps off from Marine Avenue and proceeds along Third Avenue to 67th Street.

The grand marshal is Kings County Supreme Court Justice Matthew J. D’Emic. His aides are Scott Lloyd, Jimmy Nealon, Robert Puglia, Jimmy Young, Maureen McHugh, Maureen Stramka, Megin Reilly, Maryann Wood and Patrick D’Emic. This year’s parade is dedicated to “all those lost to COVID-19, and to the hero frontline workers.” Justice D’Emic was also a grand marshal for the Ragamuffin Parade in 1997.

The elite Cathedral Club of Brooklyn, which was founded in 1900, held its 123rd Anniversary Dinner at the El Caribe Country Club catering hall on Strickland Avenue in Mill Basin.

This year’s keynote speaker was former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican Party’s 2022 nominee for governor. The guest of honor was Christopher H. McDonald, the executive director and head of facilities for JP Morgan Chase Bank. 

Veteran radio personality Jim Kerr, who does a morning show, once again served as master of ceremonies.

The Cathedral Club program started with a lively strut to the 14-seat dais to the swirl of bagpipes by young pipers and a drummer from Xaverian H.S.  

Among the luminaries on the dais were Brooklyn Bishop Robert Brennan, the club’s spiritual leader; Club President Antonio Biondi; Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello; U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis; and Justices Rosemary Montalbano, Angela Iannacci and Matt D’Emic. The NYPD Ceremonial Unit Honor Guard presented the colors and a female officer sang the national anthem.

The Cathedral Club is a lay organization with members from church parishes in Brooklyn and Queens. One of its key endeavors is providing scholarships to worthy high school students in the diocese.

The anniversary dinner remains the highlight of its social events. Some of the proceeds from the gala are donated to the Brooklyn bishop’s preferred charitable organization.

The co-chairs of this year’s dinner were past presidents Brian Long and Pat Russo. In addition to President Biondi, current officers are Vice President Brian Baslin, Financial Secretary Richard A. Re and Recording Secretary William Neri.

Some of the more prominent and noteworthy personalities who have been guests of honor or principal speakers have included Hubert Humphrey, Govs. Hugh Carey and George Pataki, U.S. Sens. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Lloyd Bentsen, Joseph Lieberman, John F. Kennedy and Al D’Amato; and Mayors John V. Lindsay, Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani.

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I know many share one of my pet peeves: too many commercials on TV and cable series, movies and shows. And when they switch to commercials the volume is set much higher than the regular broadcast media. If I recall, some time ago the FCC had promised to remedy this sound issue, but apparently they never followed through!

After a long absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of in-person meetings, President George Broadhead has announced that the Society of Old Brooklynites will return to Borough Hall for a monthly meeting on Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m.

The society was founded in 1880, when Brooklyn was an independent city – the third largest in the country – and Borough Hall was known as “City Hall.” The portrait of the society’s first president, John Ward Hunter, a former congressman and the 17th mayor of Brooklyn, still hangs in the building.

Other mayors who served as society presidents are Daniel Whitney and David Boody. Seth Low, a previous Brooklyn mayor and then a mayor of New York City, was a prominent member.

Current society officers are Bay Ridgeites First Vice President Theodore General, Second Vice President Michael Spinner and Treasurer Sherman Silverman. Former Flatbush resident Ellen Haywood is the secretary. Past presidents Ralph Perfetto, former ombudsman for the public advocate, and Ronald Schweiger, Brooklyn borough historian, still serve on the society’s board of directors.

At the meeting, preservationist and board member Rickie Tyrone James will show a film and discuss the history of the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument and the inhuman suffering and horrendous treatment of incarcerated patriots from the American Revolution aboard British prison ships in Wallabout Bay. 

The 149-foot-tall monument on the hilltop in Fort Greene Park has a large crypt below it with the remains of 11,500 sailors, soldiers and citizens. The society has held a public memorial ceremony every August since the monument was built in 1908. U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries was one of the speakers in 2014.

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Our good friend and fellow Ridgeite Ed Wilkinson, the now retired editor of Brooklyn Catholic diocesan newspaper The Tablet, is out with a new book, “Chasing the Church News.” He had his first book signing Jan. 29 in the auditorium of Our Lady of Angels Church. He will also sign copies at St. Andrew the Apostle Church, 6913 Ridge Blvd., on Feb. 5 after the 9 a.m. Mass.

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso gave his first “State of the Borough” speech Jan. 10 in the large auditorium at New York City College of Technology, 275 Jay St. He was introduced to the audience by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer.

As Reynoso ticked off a list of accomplishments and future plans, the energetic Beep rounded it all out by saying, “We’ll continue to boldly reject incrementalism and never stop pushing the envelope.”

At age 38 he was elected the 20th president of the Borough of Brooklyn. He is the youngest person to hold this office and the first Latino and Dominican.

We were seated about four rows center stage and saw his fellow borough presidents Donovan Richards (Queens), Vanessa Gibson (Bronx) and Mark Levine (Manhattan). While Staten Island BP Vito Fossella didn’t attend, Reynoso graciously gave him a shout-out. Also attending were Mayor Eric Adams, the former Brooklyn BP; City Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

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Jan. 17 to Feb. 12 is NYC Restaurant Week – but it actually runs about five weeks! Of the 49 Brooklyn restaurants offering discount and/or prix-fixe menus, only three in southwest Brooklyn are participating this year. They include Greenhouse Cafe, 7717 Third Ave.; Hunter’s Steak and Ale House, 9404 Fourth Ave., and Tanoreen, 7523 Third Ave.

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We previously mentioned two of the Democratic primary candidates running for the newly reconstituted 43rd City Council District. A third candidate who recently announced is Stanley Ng, a former member of the Community Education Council for District 20 and later the Citywide Education Council on High Schools. The primary will be held June 27.