Brendan Finn was born in a typical Irish American Democratic household, but he’s always had a bit of the Republican in him.
“My father told me to be discreet about it, but I was raised to understand which side was right,” he said during a lunchtime discussion that started with the Troubles.
“He never discussed American politics, but when it came to Ireland he was a staunch Republican."
After coffee we discussed his emergence as a leader of the Long Beach, Long Island branch of the Grand Old Party.
Finn, a second-generation New York City police officer, will be sworn in as a member of the Long Beach City Council on January 1. It will be the first time City Hall will be run by Republicans since the 1970s.
“It’s about time,” said the neophyte politician who was the top vote getter in November vying for three open spots on the council, handily besting incumbent Democrats, along with his running mates Chris Fiumara and Mike Reinhart, who also won.
The upset in Long Island’s City by the Sea was the latest strong showing for the resurgent Nassau Republicans who toppled Democratic incumbents for top county posts in 2021 and snatched the south shore congressional seat in 2022 that had been occupied by Democrats for 25 years.
“We have the right message,” Finn said. “People are looking for a change.”
Finn’s Irish roots run deep, his mother’s family hails from Kilconly, County Kerry, his father’s from Ballypatrick, County Tipperary.
Much of his adult exposure to Irish Republicanism came as a member of the NYPD Pipes and Drums band, including welcoming then Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams to New York at the start of the peace process and later playing his snare drum, marching the streets of Bundoran, County Donegal beside Martin McGuinness in 1991.
“There’s an old saying that to be a New York City cop is to have a front row seat to the greatest show on earth,” said the retired detective. “To be in the band was like having a backstage pass.”
Finn was born in Manhattan and moved to Long Beach at age four to a house on Grand Boulevard where he still lives today. He and his wife, Patricia (nee Joyce) purchased the home from his mother, keeping it in the family. In 2007, the Finns adopted a pair of Ukrainian brothers, Denis and Vlad.
Finn graduated from Xavier High School and Fordham University and holds a master’s degree in history from Queens College.
He joined the NYPD as a patrol officer in 1984, walking a beat in Crown Heights. He rose through ranks with a detectives’ gold shield working in such elite commands as narcotics, organized crime, the Firearms Task Force and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.
His blue eyes twinkled as he recounted a number of his big busts including taking down a Colombo family capo and a Pakistani terrorist who is still serving a life sentence. In his “spare time” Finn wrote "A Flashpoint in a Melting Pot," an academic study of the 1991 Crown Heights Riots. He taught in the police science department of John Jay College for 17 years.
Finn is expected to become the president of the Long Beach City Council, becoming the key vote to replace the current acting City Manager. Among his government priorities he has pledged to reinvigorate planning and zoning oversight as the city’s shoreline is filling up with luxury high rise apartments buildings.
“With all these buildings, some of our streets could become dark canyons,” he said. “My parents moved us out of Manhattan for the fresh air. The way things are going, many of us are going to have trouble seeing the beach in a couple of years.”
He declined to reveal details of his plans in the days ahead, twirling his prodigious mustache with a sly grin.
