A beaming Bill Bratton said so long to New York’s Finest on Friday, walking out of police headquarters for the final time as top cop.
Hundreds of NYPD officers lined up outside of 1 Police Plaza to bid the commissioner farewell just after 3 p.m. with handshakes, salutes and loud applause.
Bratton and his wife, Rikki Klieman, embraced Mayor de Blasio and shook hands with James O’Neill, the man who will fill his shoes, before hopping into a green 1930 Mack police truck.
“For the record, I am now the commissioner,” O’Neill told a gaggle of reporters as Bratton’s car pulled away.
Earlier in the day, Bratton, who led the department for the past two and a half years, released his resignation letter.
“As I tender this resignation I also tender my thanks,” Bratton, 68, wrote in the Sept. 14 letter to de Blasio.
“From equipment, to training, to technology, to policy, to the first substantive headcount expansion in more than a decade, you have stood by the NYPD and made much of what we have accomplished possible.”
Bratton’s retirement goes into effect midnight Sunday. His next job will be at the consulting company Teneo Holdings.