Last week we witnessed an act of unusual heroism in nearby New York City. It is a tale worth retelling.

Its lessons are all the more important coming from a city whose slogan, after “I ♥^™ New York,” may well be “I’m not getting involved.” That’s a reputation that has clung to the city since March 13, 1964, when dozens of neighbors ignored the screams of Kitty Genovese when she was attacked and eventually killed by a knife-wielding assailant.

Prosperity and charismatic leadership helped transform the Big Apple’s cold-hearted reputation over the years, and the 9/11 attacks briefly led to a kinder, gentler city. But the communitarian spirit seemed short-lived.

Last week, we discovered that even in a place known for minding its own business, there are heroes waiting to come forward.

Wesley Autrey was such a hero.

While waiting for a train with his two young daughters at a subway station in Harlem, Autrey, a construction worker and Vietnam veteran, saw a 20-year-old student, Cameron Hollopeter, suffer an apparent seizure and fall down on the platform. Autrey rushed over to help him.

For a second it appeared that Hollopeter was okay. But then he stood up and fell backward, right onto the track.

This time, Autrey did the unbelievable. He jumped down on to the tracks, four feet below, to try to get Hollopeter up to higher ground. As fate would have it, the No. 1 train was rushing toward them.

With Hollopeter fighting him because of his seizure, and fearing that he would be killed by the train or have his arms and legs cut off, Autrey took a chance and pushed the student down into the foul drainage trough between the rails and lay down on top of him.

The train could not stop until two cars had passed over them.

At that point Autrey accomplished another unusual feat. He actually got an entire subway station full of people to shut up, so that he could yell to the people above, including his two terrified daughters, that he was just fine. In fact he was. Other than a scuff mark to his hat, Hollopeter’s guardian angel walked away. In fact, he literally walked upstairs, out of the station, and went to work.

Said the modest Autrey, “What I did is something that any and every New Yorker should do.”

Hollopeter himself suffered only minor scrapes and bruises.

I ride the subways every day, and I must say there is not a lot of space down there. We’re talking just inches, and varying depths at different stations. Luckily for Autrey and Hollopeter, this was one of the deeper ditches — about two feet.

According to Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht’s The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, Autrey only had a few choices. Climbing back up onto the station platform wasn’t an option. There wasn’t time to get across the tracks, especially with a struggling man and the risk of coming into contact with the 600-volt third rail. Frankly, he did just about the only thing he could do if he was not to run himself and save his own life at the risk of Hollopeter’s.

The obvious question is, would you have done the same thing? We would like to think we would have but honestly now, would you really have done that? We will never really know that answer, unless we ourselves are placed in a similar situation.

The next question is, Are we morally obligated to do what Autrey did, as citizens, or as Jews?

Jewish law, of course, considers saving the life of another a primary obligation, and even the laws of the Sabbath maybe superseded if it means saving a life. However, even there a line is drawn — heroism that sacrifices your own life is not required. If a man is drowning, many sources argue that you need not jump into the river yourself if you cannot swim, when that would expose you to the grave risk of drowning. Other sources say one indeed has to take a risk to save someone from death — and go on to disagree about how much risk is too much.

For his part, Autrey was modest about his accomplishments but took his 15 minutes of fame in stride. He was awarded a medal by the city; monetary rewards, including $10,000 from Donald Trump; a trip to Disney World; scholarships for two daughters who almost grew up without a father; and, oh yes, a year’s worth of free subway rides.

Fortunately, there are people like Autrey, who go above and beyond what the law demands and what religious traditions permit. That’s why they call them heroes.