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Bike-Riding Hofstra Music Professor Dies after Hit and Run


By

John Del Signore

Published Sep 6, 2010

Modified Sep 6, 2010


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Courtesy family of Bob Bowen

 


By

John Del Signore

Published Sep 6, 2010

Modified Sep 6, 2010


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Around 11 p.m. on August 26th, a 45-year-old father of two from Astoria was run over by a white truck hauling a flatbed trailer at Second Avenue and 59th Street. No arrests were made in the hit-and-run, which happened at a particularly treacherous part of Second Ave by the Queensboro Bridge. The man died the following Monday, and today Newsday identifies him as jazz bassist and Hofstra University music professor Robert Emmett Bowen III. One of his children has Down syndrome, and Bowen's devastated "soulmate" writes on her blog:

I cannot imagine anything sadder or harder to grasp. Bob Bowen, my soulmate, friend, and coparent was severely injured in a brutal hit-and-run incident while riding his bicycle in Manhattan on Thursday, August 26. Despite exceptional care at New York Presbyterian's Trauma Center, we lost him Monday night, August 30, just before midnight. He was loved by so many, and Bobby, Stella, and I are receiving so much love right now.

There was a private funeral service held in Astoria last week, but friends, students, and loved ones are planning public service to be held at the end of September or beginning of October. Ibeam music studio will present a concert of Bob’s music on Sept 16th to raise funds for the memorial.

Tagged

biking

cyclists

hit and run

hofstra

Robert Emmett Bowen


John Del Signore

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Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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