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Anthony Causi, New York Post photographer, dies of coronavirus

By Net Income
New York Post

Anthony Causi, a New York Post photographer who was a fixture at Nets games as well as other New York sporting events, died Sunday at North Shore University Hospital of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.

He was 48 years old and leaves his wife, Romina, and their children John, 5, and Mia, 2, as well as his parents, Lucille and John Causi, and sisters Maria Marangelli and Dianna Marotto.

Causi, who was Brooklyn born and raised, had been a Post sports photographer for a quarter century. He worked Nets games in both New Jersey and Brooklyn,..

The Nets beat writers who covered the team over the past reminisced about their co-worker and friend.

Fred Kerber, who worked with Causi on assignment for the Nets as well as the Mets and Knicks, said he was devastated Sunday night when he got word.

“Everything you heard and read about him was 100 percent true. He was a such a kind guy. If he took a picture of of you, you’d get it in an email. If you needed a picture, you got it. If he took a picture of a fan, the fan got it. A total professional.

“I have a picture of me and my son, Danny (a sports producer at WNBC) at a Mets’ game, that he took. He saw us together and said, ‘Let’s get a picture of two Kerbers.’”

Kerber, who’s retired and living in Rhode Island, said the horrific situation in the New York is no longer abstract, no longer numbers.

“Everything we see is numbers, numbers,” he noted, talking about coronavirus. “Now you see someone you know and It has a face for us now. “

Tim Bontemps also worked with Causi while with the Post. He’s now at ESPN.

“Ever since I met Causi (I don’t know a soul, except maybe his mother, who ever called him Anthony) 13 years ago, I’ve been fortunate to call him both a friend and a colleague.

“Whenever we were working together, no matter what the event was, he treated it like it was the most important one he’d ever covered. His attention to detail was impeccable, and his incredible work throughout the years is a testament to that,” said Bontemps.

“More importantly, though, he was a wonderful person, who made everyone in every room he ever walked into happier for his presence. Every time I would see him at a game, even in the years since I left The Post, I would smile the moment I saw him. Going to games in New York will never be the same without him.”

Brian Lewis, who currently covers the Nets for the Post, also emphasized Causi’s humanity.

“Usually when you call somebody one-of-a-kind, it’s just hyperbole. But in his case, it was real. He absolutely adored his family,” recalled Lewis. “And he had this big, warm, welcoming personality. And it wasn’t fake, or an act; he was just a caring guy. People have a BS radar, and the fact that he was universally-liked should tell you how genuine he was.”

Like Kerber, Lewis talked about how he would interact not just with players but fans as well.

“He was giving with people – he’d always be taking pictures for folks, and sending them these professional-grade photos just out of the kindness of his heart – and that was for virtual strangers. And he was as giving in his work (always conscientious about planning with you to make sure he got the perfect shot of the right subject) as he was personally (he’d share a tip on anything from a good slice in Brooklyn to a great vacation spot).”

Lewis also recalled that he was true Brooklynite, who took pride in the borough and its history. Causi last worked the Nets in their homestand in early March.

Others who have been around the Nets, including the team’s official site, took time to tweet out their remembrances.

Post columnist Mike Vaccaro wrote this of Causi Monday..

There are some people in our lives whose impact is so immediate, and so permanent, it’s all but impossible to remember a time when they weren’t a part of us. That was Anthony. If you worked at The Post, you were family. If you didn’t? That was just a detail. You were family, too.

Friends of Causi have set up a gofundme site for his young family called Snapshots from Heaven.

bontemps

I had the honor and privilege of being teammates with Anthony Causi for over 8 years. And every time I saw him at a game over the past 13 years, I couldn’t help but smile. He brought laughter and joy to every room he was in. New York won’t be nearly the same without him.

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