Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Funeral for Jordan Neely to be held in Harlem on Friday
By
Samantha Max
Published May 18, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published May 18, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Family and friends will mourn Jordan Neely, who was killed aboard an F train, at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem on Friday.
The funeral is slated to begin with a private viewing in the morning, followed by a livestreamed ceremony. Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy.
Neely, 30, a Black homeless man, died earlier this month after Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old white former Marine, put Neely in a chokehold and kept squeezing his neck even after his body went limp. A video that showed Neely in a chokehold on the ground for several minutes went viral after an independent journalist who witnessed the killing posted it on Facebook. The footage also showed two other men, who have not been identified, helping to restrain Neely as other subway riders watched.
Many details surrounding the moments leading up to Neely’s death are still unclear, but the independent journalist, Juan Alberto Vazquez, has said that Neely was yelling that he was hungry and thirsty and didn’t care if he died or went to jail.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has charged Penny with manslaughter. Penny’s attorneys have said he didn’t intend to kill Neely and that he was acting to protect himself and other subway riders.
Many New Yorkers knew Neely as a Michael Jackson impersonator who danced at Times Square and on subway platforms and trains across the city. But family and friends have said that his mental health declined after his mother was strangled to death when he was 14 years old. Housing outreach workers told Gothamist that Neely had been staying in shelters and public spaces. He had also reportedly been arrested dozens of times.
The same pastor who presided over Neely’s mother’s funeral, Rev. Dr. Johnnie Melvin Green, Jr., will lead his funeral service.
Dozens of people have protested Neely’s killing, with some even jumping onto the subway tracks. Some have compared it to past cases of so-called “vigilante justice” in the subway system. The incident has also sparked calls for more affordable housing and mental health care. At the same time, conservative commentators and politicians, including Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, have called Penny a hero and a Good Samaritan. A crowdfunding page set up to support Penny’s legal defense fund had raised more than $2.6 million by Thursday afternoon.
Tagged
funeral
al sharpton
Jordan Neely
harlem
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani names re-entry specialist as chair of Rikers oversight board
Christopher Watler will help the department that a federal monitor says remains in crisis.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 6, 2026
NYC weighs expanding upstate reservoir following drought
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
NYC weighs expanding upstate reservoir following drought
The Delaware River Basin Commission is evaluating options to increase water storage, including expanding a reservoir in New York City.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Legionella found in Staten Island building's water system after 2 positive cases
By
Catalina Gonella
Legal 'loophole' helps NY Gov. Kathy Hochul, Bruce Blakeman raise millions
By
Jon Campbell
Police identify 2 men wanted for stabbing an off-duty NYPD officer
By
Ben Feuerherd
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .