Alfi’s Uniforms owner honored for decades of service to first responders

Robert “Bobby” McKnight’s New Windsor uniform shop was honored this week for more than a single award. The recognition from the Law Enforcement Retirees underscored how Alfi’s Uniforms became a dependable stop for police, EMS, fire and military personnel across Orange County and beyond.

McKnight has spent 54 years in the business, and the shop’s origin came from a practical need that still sounds local enough to fit Orange County’s public-safety culture. While working as a tailor for his uncle, McKnight met a police officer looking for help getting uniforms fitted nearby. That conversation led McKnight and his uncle into the uniform trade, and the business grew into a long-running institution on Windsor Highway.

Today, Alfi’s Uniforms operates from 152 Windsor Highway in New Windsor and serves police, fire, EMS and security customers across Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster counties. The company’s website says it offers tailoring, uniform customization and accessories. The site says the business opened in 1985, while state corporate records show Alfi’s Uniforms, Inc. was filed in New York on Nov. 6, 1989, a paper trail that reflects how long McKnight has been tied to the trade even before the current filing.

The ceremony drew a wide public-safety and municipal turnout. Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta and Undersheriff Will Garcia attended, along with Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey and Councilman Robert McLymore. Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus joined by livestream from overseas, where he was deployed, to make sure McKnight received a county certificate of appreciation. Plattekill Police Chief Oscar Lopez and Deputy Chief William Smith also presented an award, and Town of New Windsor Councilman Charles Broe recognized McKnight on behalf of the town.

Retired Detective Sergeant Margaret Gaydos delivered certificates from the Town of Newburgh and the State of New York for officials who could not attend. The breadth of the recognition matched the breadth of the customer base McKnight has built over decades, with a small business becoming part of the everyday infrastructure of local public safety.

That institutional role helps explain why the honor landed so strongly in New Windsor. The town has a deep awards culture of its own, including the New Windsor Police Department’s 39th annual awards ceremony, where 29 recipients received 55 awards during National Police Week and National Peace Officers Memorial Day. In that setting, McKnight’s recognition fit a larger Orange County pattern: the people and businesses that support first responders often become part of the story themselves.