Carl Pelleck, 84

Woodmere resident and long-time influential reporter for the New York Post, Carl Pelleck, died from esophageal cancer at his home on Nov. 9. He was 84.

After growing up on the Lower East Side, Pelleck began working in the early 1950s as a copy boy, or newsroom helper, for the New York Post. From that role, he moved up within the organization and went on to become the chief police reporter, chief crime reporter, city editor and columnist, his daughter, Robin Pelleck, said.

He wrote a column entitled “Mr. Fix It,” in which he provided “out of the box fixes for almost any issue,” Robin said. Her dad was beyond handy and offered tips that most people would not usually consider, she added.

But it was his crime reporting that brought him to prominence. In an article about him by the Post on Nov. 11, Philip Messing, the writer, detailed two noteworthy stories Pelleck covered: his Aug. 11, 1977 front-page story following the arrest of David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam” killer, and three years later when he quickly confirmed with a police source that John Lennon was fatally shot on Dec. 8, 1980.

“It was all larger than life, but to us it was just normal,” Robin said, of her dad’s exciting life as he was covering and breaking some of the most significant stories throughout more than 40 years in the newspaper business.

Pelleck retired from the Post in 1993 and worked as a freelance writer for multiple outlets. He then went on to work for the New York City Housing Authority Office of Public Information until he retired in 2004.

“I always thought he had stepped through a time warp — out of a bygone era in both tabloid journalism and the life of New York City — to teach and to guide, to share a tip or a drink, but also to wise-crack and leaven with humor,” Doug Feiden, a friend, mentee and colleague of Pelleck’s, said. “No one could better explain the street than Carl Pelleck, and no one could better teach a young reporter how to read the street.”

Pelleck is survived by his wife, Rochelle, they were married for 56 years; a daughter, Robin, son, Marc; and his sister, Paula. A graveside funeral was held at the New Montefiore Cemetery in Farmingdale on Nov. 13.

New York Post sports columnist Phil Mushnick honored Pelleck in his Nov. 12 article by describing him as “a crime reporter who either broke stories or chased them until he got in front of them.”