26th Annual
Polar Bear
Plunge
Last Man Standing
West New York Local’s Barrera culminates the splash party
Approximately 25 minutes had passed since the 1 p.m.
horn sent thousands into the 2019 Polar Bear Plunge. Ap-
proximately 24 minutes earlier, most of those plungers had
exited the ocean, rushing to towels, sweatshirts and other
mechanisms to get warm.
But West New York Local 361 member Marco Barrera still
stood in the water, splashing like he was taking a swim on a
summer day and waving the Local flag. Each year on a Feb-
ruary Saturday, Barrera seems to make the Atlantic his own
personal hot tub.
Members of other PBA Locals try to hang with Barrera –
State Corrections Local 105, West Windsor Township Local
271 and Rahway Local 31 to name a few. But inevitably he is
the last plunger to saunter back onto the shore and accen-
tuate the vehemence that law enforcement officers bring to
this charitable foray.
“It’s not over until Marco comes out,” Barrera agreed.
“We’re here for the honor of our department and for a great
fundraiser. We do it for the Special Olympics.”
Barrera has been part of the “Last Man Standing” sweep-
stakes at the plunge for so many years now that he is an ex-
pert at preparation. And he has learned how to stare down
the Atlantic and feel no pain.
“It gets warmer every year,” he boasts.
Well, maybe not no pain. Having worked 20 years with
62
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2019
West New York, he knows time might be starting to catch up
with him. He knew that his extended swim would take a toll
the next day. Or even before then.
“I will feel it later today,” he joked.