A day after police arrested the man accused of killing two people and badly injuring two others in a stabbing spree, elected officials and community groups will hold a vigil for the victims on Monday afternoon in Inwood.
Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa and a group of other city and state officials will gather at 3 p.m. this afternoon outside the 207th Street A train station to honor the victims, all four of whom were experiencing homelessness. The alleged killer, Rigoberto Lopez, was homeless as well.
"The homelessness crisis in the city continues to rise and in the midst of a global public health crisis, displacement and loss of income are an ongoing threat to our housing stock," De La Rosa's office wrote Sunday in a press release announcing the vigil. "Our community stands against violence of any kind and in this moment of sorrow, we acknowledge the many intersectional issues that lead to homelessness."
The unprovoked string of attacks began Friday and extended into Saturday. One unidentified man was fatally stabbed on a subway bench around 11:20 p.m. on Friday in Far Rockaway and a 44-year-old woman, Claudine Roberts, was found dead at the 207th Street station in Inwood. Two others were injured in stabbings at the Fort Washington-181st Street station.
By Saturday night, Lopez, who is 21 years old, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. His sister, 27-year-old Lisbeth Astwood, told the NY Post her brother's charges were a "surprise."
The violence has fueled demands for more police offices in the subway system. Police deployed 500 officers to all 472 subway stations over the weekend. MTA officials have asked Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea for another 1,000 cops to patrol subways and buses. Asked about the MTA's request, de Blasio spokesperson Avery Cohen said the city is "immediately surging 500 officers" who will work with existing police and outreach workers.
Advocates and lawmakers say the violence underscores the homelessness crisis and the need for guaranteed housing and adequate shelter to all.
VOCAL-NY, an organization fighting to end homelessness, mass incarceration, and the war on drugs, said the solutions to violence must be "rooted in providing housing, services and care; not more police."
"Homeless New Yorkers have historically suffered due to police violence, and this current shutdown is no exception. Increased policing does nothing to keep those who are unhoused safe," the group's housing campaign coordinator, Joe Loonam, said in a statement on Saturday.
In October 2019, four homeless men were beaten to death in Chinatown in a violent episode that shook the lower Manhattan neighborhood.
Between July 2019 and June 2020, 613 homeless New Yorkers had died, a 52% rise compared to the year prior. The spike highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the dangers of being homeless. COVID-19 and drug overdoses were among the top reasons people experiencing homelessness died in 2020.
Various northern Manhattan local organizations are joining the vigil on Monday, including The Uptown Collective, Altagracia Faith and Justice Works, Uptown Wagon, and others. Elected officials to join include: De La Rosa, Rep Adriano Espaillat, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Robert Jackson, Assembly Member Al Taylor, Councilmembers Ydanis Rodriguez and Mark Levine.
