Eastchester’s 30th Annual Pasta Night Honors Fallen Officer, Supports Scholarships

Eastchester’s 30th annual Pasta Night once again showed how a neighborhood dinner can carry the weight of memory and the force of a real civic mission. The fundraiser, held Saturday, honored fallen Eastchester police Officer Michael Frey while supporting scholarships for local students headed to college.

Frey was 29 when he was killed in the line of duty on March 21, 1996. He had served six years with the Eastchester Police Department and was shot by a sniper while responding to a shots-fired call before he had even exited his patrol car. His partner was also wounded in the attack, and the suspect later died by suicide.

That history has kept Pasta Night grounded in something deeper than a meal. The event benefits the Michael Frey Scholarship Foundation, part of The Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe, which says the award has honored Frey for nearly 30 years. Guidance professionals at Bronxville High School, Eastchester High School and Tuckahoe High School nominate seniors for the scholarship each year.

The fundraising has become substantial enough to matter well beyond symbolism. Organizers said last year’s Pasta Night brought in about $75,000, a figure that shows how much support the event can generate for students and the families behind them. The Community Fund reported awarding $9,000 in Michael Frey Scholarships in one recent year, and its 2024 annual report said it provided more than 400 volunteer hours and more than $500,000 in ongoing support across the Bronxville-Eastchester-Tuckahoe community.

Eastchester Town Supervisor Anthony Colavita, who has served in that post since 2004, said the event serves several purposes at once: remembering a lost brother, honoring families, and recognizing the work of officers still on duty. That mix of mourning, gratitude and support has helped keep Pasta Night alive for three decades.

The dinner’s staying power also reflects the way it ties food to community identity. What began as a memorial gathering has become a lasting local institution, one that continues to fund college help for graduating seniors while keeping Michael Frey’s name central in Eastchester’s public life. Thirty years on, Pasta Night still carries both the memory of a fallen officer and the promise of opportunity for the next class of students.