Denise Romano, a former writer for the Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator, has died at age 38.
Since 2018, Romano had been a communications specialist for the Transport Workers Union in Washington, D.C. The union announced her death on social media Nov. 27.
“It is with deep sorrow that we inform you of the passing of our friend and colleague TWU Communications Director Denise Romano,” the union said. “We ask that you keep Denise’s family in your thoughts and prayers during this extraordinarily difficult time.”
Denise Romano in 2012 Eagle Urban Media/File Photo
Romano, a Brooklyn College graduate, joined the Home Reporter and Spectator in early 2011 after a stint at the New York Daily News. Her beats included crime, education, politics and dining, among others. She relocated to Washington, D.C., in late 2013.
Among her many assignments, she wrote extensively about serial killer Salvatore Perrone, who murdered three Brooklyn shopkeepers in 2012. She also covered the 2013 retirement of Madeleine Brennan, the longtime principal of Dyker Heights I.S. 201.
In 2013, Romano, Alex Hajjar and Thomas Nocera won Honorable Mention for Best News or Feature Series from the New York Press Association for their coverage of the gas shortage after Superstorm Sandy.