After guiding generations of students, Kingsbridge crossing guard Sharon Marquez retires

For nearly a quarter century, generations of children have crossed the busy intersection at West 231st Street and Kingsbridge Avenue under the watchful eye of Sharon Marquez.

This August, after 25 years as a New York City crossing guard, the 68-year-old Kingsbridge resident will lower her red stop sign for the last time. Until then, she will continue to man her post through the summer school season, taking her place on the same corner each weekday morning with a glowing grin.

“I’m not just out there for a paycheck,” Marquez said. “I’m out there to make sure children get to school safely, and also I help the elderly if they need crossing.”

Her path to becoming a crossing guard began long before she ever put on the blue uniform. Growing up in Brooklyn, Marquez recalled, she was known among her siblings as the one who naturally took charge whenever the family crossed busy streets.

“I was the one who always would stop the traffic, like, ‘Come on, come on, everyone,’” Marquez said with a chuckle. “So my sisters were saying you should get a job doing that.”

Years later, after spending a decade as a home health aide caring for an elderly woman on Manhattan’s east side, Marquez found herself looking for a new direction after her longtime client died. At the time, she noted, she was also faced with a lengthy recovery from a freak accident — while walking on a Manhattan street, Marquez recalled, she was struck in the back by debris that seemingly fell from a building above. The incident left her unable to work for nearly two years.

She later returned to caregiving, continuing the role for several more years. Still, the idea of becoming a crossing guard lingered.

“I knew a couple of crossing guards,” she said. “I was telling them, I’m interested in it. They said, ‘Go for it.’”

In 2001, she did go for it. After waiting nearly a year for an opening, she received the call that would begin the next chapter of her life. She went on to complete the required week-long training and joined the ranks of the New York City Police Department’s crossing guards.

Since then, she said, her assignment has become much more than a street corner. From her post at West 231st Street, Marquez watched generations of neighborhood families grow up. Children she once guided across the crosswalk now return years later after graduating, getting married and starting families of their own.

“They come with their children, and they tell their children, ‘She used to cross me,’” Marquez said.

Valerie Greaves, who has lived in the neighborhood for 35 years, said all four of her children crossed West 231st Street under Marquez’s watch before eventually heading off to college.

“She’s the best,” Greaves said. “She’s friendly. Safety is first with her. You can count on her to be here. Winter, spring, summer, fall.”

What Greaves expects to miss most isn’t simply knowing someone is watching the crosswalk. It’s the moment Marquez takes to meet her with a “Hi Val, how’s the family?”

“Not everybody asks that anymore,” she said. “She’ll stop and talk to you.”

However, protecting pedestrians has required more than simply following traffic signals.  After watching the timing of the intersection for years, Marquez learned to recognize the telltale signs of danger before others anticipate it, like a driver trying to beat a red light or a pedestrian eager to cross through a steady stream of traffic.

The work has also demanded endurance, she noted. Marquez recalled standing through blizzards, downpours and sweltering summer mornings, layering up in winter and carrying bottles of water through the hottest days of July.

Now, however, the physical demands have begun to outweigh the rewards. Increasing pain in her feet and knees have become a significant burden, with Marquez adding she usually takes Tylenol to ease the pain.

Last year, she decided this would be her final school year.  When she tells longtime parents and neighbors she’s retiring, she explained, the response is almost always the same.

“They’re saying, ‘No, no, what we’re going to do without you?’” she said.

But it’s not only pedestrians that will feel the loss. At 251 Sunshine Deli Grocery Corp., at the intersection of 231st and Kingsbridge Ave., owner Sami Abdullah said Marquez has become part of the neighborhood itself. In recent weeks, as word of her retirement has spread, he’s noticed families stopping to take in the final weeks with her before continuing on their way.

“People stop and take a picture with her,” Abdullah described. “That’s how much they love her. She deserves a lot of respect, and she respects you. It’s from the heart.”

Moving forward, Marquez said she hopes to relocate to Florida, where much of her family already lives, and enjoy a slower pace after decades spent looking out for everyone else.