Inspector Pilecki compared Ms. Hodge, who grew up in the Bronx, dropped out of college when her son was born, but eventually went on to earn a B.

WSJ: Urban Gardner: Rewarding New York City's Public-Service Stars

There is growing interest in war heroes like Witold Pilecki, who infiltrated Auschwitz to spy on what was happening there (he was jailed and executed by the communists after the war).

ECONOMIST: New thinking and old wounds around the Auschwitz death camp

"I could listen on the radio to Hodge deploying people at the scene of various emergencies frozen zones, explosive devices making clear, decisive decisions, " Inspector Michael Pilecki, her commanding officer, explained to an audience that included dozens of blue-shirted traffic enforcement officers.

WSJ: Urban Gardner: Rewarding New York City's Public-Service Stars