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Cuomo Aide Shot Before J'Ouvert Taken Off Life Support
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 17, 2015
Modified Sep 13, 2018
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NY Governor's Office
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 17, 2015
Modified Sep 13, 2018
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, the lawyer in Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration who was critically wounded in a shooting in Brooklyn just prior to the J'Ouvert street festival this month, has died. A family friend told the NY Times that Gabay, 43, was taken off of life support after being declared brain dead on Tuesday.
"It is with profound sadness that we learn of the passing of Carey Gabay," Governor Cuomo said in a statement released this morning. "Carey was the epitome of an outstanding public servant. He held a tremendous commitment to his community, and he chose to use his many talents to better the lives of others. New York is undeniably a better place today because of his service. He was also a friend and role model to the many people who were blessed to have known him, and he will be greatly missed.
"Today, the State of New York has lost one of its finest young men. I thank the doctors, nurses and medical professionals who did everything they could to care for Carey. I also am incredibly appreciative to the men and women of the NYPD who stood watch over Carey and his family day in and day out since his shooting.
"I ask that all New Yorkers please join me in keeping Carey’s family in their thoughts and prayers—especially his wife Trenelle Gabay, his mother and stepfather Audrey and Rupert McNaughton, his sisters Crystal Gabay Nurse and Stephanie Gabay Smith, his brother Aaron McNaughton, and his mother-in-law Rosemarrie Campbell. No one should have to experience the pain of losing someone they love to random gun violence, and his family is in our thoughts during this incredibly difficult time."
No arrests have been made. Police say as many as 30 shots were fired by rival gangs around 3:45 a.m. in Crown Heights on September 7th. Gabay was shot in the head while trying to duck between two parked cars on Bedford Avenue near Sullivan Place. Investigators do not believe he was the intended target.
Police have released a sketch of one suspect, and a video of two possible suspects can be viewed here.
Gabay was appointed as the first deputy general counsel at Empire State Development earlier this year and had formerly been an assistant counsel to the governor. From the Times:
Mr. Gabay, the son of Jamaican immigrants, grew up in the Boston Secor Houses, a Bronx public-housing project. He graduated from Harvard, where he studied government, and in his senior year was elected president of the undergraduate council, the main body of student government.
He attended Harvard Law School and worked at several firms in New York, specializing in corporate finance law. In 2011, he became an assistant counsel for Mr. Cuomo.
Mr. Gabay and his wife, Trenelle, a hair and makeup artist, married in 2012 at the Dyker Beach Golf Course in Brooklyn. They lived in the borough’s Clinton Hill neighborhood and worshiped at the Emmanuel Baptist Church.
Mr. Gabay celebrated his Jamaican heritage by going every year to J’ouvert, a festival where bands play West Indian music and revelers dance in the streets.
"Many have come to know Carey through professional life, but he is also a kindhearted and selfless soul who has touched the spirit of everyone he’s met," Gabay's family said in a statement released yesterday.
Tagged
brooklyn
carey gabay
Crown Heights
HOMICIDE
jouvert
nypd
shooting
John Del Signore
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
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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