Paul Cartier; A Long Islander We All Can Be Proud Of!

Most citizens are law abiding people.  Now and then, we come across a person who contributes more to society than the average citizen.  One of those people is Paul Cartier.

Paul Cartier

Paul has been the organist for the New York Yankees since 2004.  He replaced longtime organist Eddie Layton after his retirement.  If you've been to a live Yankees game since then, you have heard Paul play,"Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch.
             Paul started his organ playing when he was only nine years old.  His aunt had purchased him a Magnus chord organ.  By the time Paul was 11, he played his first Catholic mass at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Roosevelt, New York.  For the past 25 years, Paul has been playing at Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Church in Carle Place, New York.  He recently received an award for 35 years of service with the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
             When Paul was 12, he wrote to the Shea Stadium organist, Jane Jarvis.  She graciously sent him a "First Edition" Mets songbook.  At age 15, Paul boldly applied for the organist job of the New York Islanders.  The director of music for the Nassau Coliseum responded with laughter.  That did not stop Paul.  He attended the University of Dayton in Ohio and worked hard learning how to play classical organ.  He spent long hours in a 12 X 12 room practicing on a pipe organ.  After his freshman year at Dayton, Paul transferd to Hofstra University and was offered a job playing at Saint Martha's Roman Catholic Church in Uniondale.
             As luck would have it, Paul had Dr. Fred Mendelson as his professor for piano 101 at Hofstra.  Professor Mendelson was also the organist at the Nassau Coliseum for the New York Islanders.  He invited Paul to come down to the coliseum for a visit.  During the intermission, Professor Mendelson asked Paul to play!  Soon after, the New York Arrows Indoor Soccer team started playing at the coliseum and needed an organist.  After only four years from the time of being laughed at, Paul, at age 19, was hired as an organist at the coliseum. Professor Mendelson soon retired a few years later and Paul filled his shoes as organist for the Islanders.
              In 2003 the organist for the New York Yankees had announced his retirement after 37 years.  The New York Yankees Director of Scoreboard Operations, Michael Bonner, offered the job to Paul. Then, in 2004, Paul's career with the New York Yankees began. He knows how lucky he is. On News 12, Paul told a reporter, “I have to pinch myself often and not take it for granted”.
             If all that wasn't enough, Paul has been a volunteer firefighter/EMT for the past 33 years.  He also has been Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the South Hempstead Fire District for the past 13 years.  Believe it or not, Paul has also been an FAA air traffic controller since 1987.  He is responsible for thousands of lives that fly over New York everyday.
             Paul was born on January 4, 1959 in Yonkers, New York.  He now lives in South Hempstead with his wife Janmarie.  He has a stepson, Kevin, who is 23 years old and a graduate of Hofstra University with a bachelors in psychology.  Paul and Janmarie's daughter, Katherine Lynn, 21, joined the South Hempstead Volunteer Fire Department in 2010.
       If you live on Long Island, there is a good chance that Paul's work has benefited you in some way.  Whether it be a response to a 911 call, a safe landing of an airplane, or the beautiful sound of organ music, Paul's many years of hard work has contributed to the high living standards we enjoy here on Long Island.