The family of a Queens grandfather killed by a stray bullet Monday remembered him as a generous, hardworking man — as they lashed out against the city’s gun violence for “destroying families.”
Gabriella Alcindor said her father William Alcindor pushed her to do great things, but lamented that the tragedy means he won’t see her succeed.
“A whole part of my identity is gone because of the way I looked up to my father, the way he pushed me,” Gabriella Alcindor told The Post at a vigil in St. Albans for her 66-year-old father, who was stricken with a bullet as he drove through a busy intersection nearby.
“My dad has been telling me since I was a kid to go as high as I can,” said the 25-year-old social worker and NYU graduate student. “I remember having conversations with him all the time saying, ‘Go be a lawyer, go be a doctor, go be somebody.’ Work hard, go to school, focus.’”
But even if she realizes her own dreams, her biggest cheerleader won’t be there to see it.
Not when she graduates from NYU next year.
Not when she gets married, not when she has children.
“I will never have the chance for him to be there for me in the hospital room during labor, he will never walk me down the aisle,” the grief-stricken daughter said through tears. “He’s not going to see me graduate.
‘He won’t see me do anything. He’s the one who brought me here, and he can’t even see it.
Police say William Alcindor was driving a 2014 Nissan on Baisley Boulevard — and was about to turn onto Farmers Boulevard — just before 5 p.m. Monday when a bullet struck him in the head.
The fatally injured man lost control of the small SUV, which then crashed into a 23-year-old woman who was walking by, police said.
Alcindor – who lived about two miles away in Cambria Heights – was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.
The family said he was survived by his 96-year-old mother, three children, three grandchildren and about 30 nieces and nephews.
The pedestrian was taken to the same hospital in stable condition, police said.
‘She’s getting better. She is not out of the hospital yet, but she is going to recover,” said Greogy Opont, Alcindor’s cousin. “No broken bones, but lots of bruises. Thank God. Her mother told me that she had been sent by car. Everyone who was there – wrong place, wrong time.
Alcindor’s heartbroken family described the Haitian immigrant as a kind, hardworking, reserved man who came to America in 1983 and whose life revolved around his children, his community and his work.
“He was almost dichotomous because my dad knew everyone – I mean everyone,” Gabriella said.
“He had that calm nature – he was a trustworthy person who you could always lean on for support or advice,” she continued. ‘He loved God. He loved his family. He really enjoyed working hard and making money.”
Opont, a 39-year-old DJ, said Alcindor was always working and working long hours all his life so he could succeed in America.
But he always found time to give his nieces and nephews some money for the ice cream truck when it passed by, he recalled.
“We didn’t have much, but he was always a giver,” Opont said. “He always gave us pretty much everything he had. It didn’t matter if there were five of us here or ten, he always gave us his last bit of money when he had money.
“He was a loving man,” he continued. “It was a tough pill to swallow. We are especially in distress and disbelief. Everything still feels like a dream… we cried all day. It’s still hard to figure all this out, like why? Just make sure it makes sense.”
The NYPD released a photo of the suspected shooter on Tuesday, describing him as a black-haired man with a medium complexion and a slim build, weighing approximately 150 pounds.
He was last seen wearing a black shirt, black pants, white sneakers and a black surgical mask, police said.
Investigators believe the shooter was with at least two others.
His motive remains unclear, although police suspect the bullet was not intended for Alcindor.
The family said investigators and prosecutors told them they had someone in custody but provided few other details.
“She [need to] pay the full consequences of their actions,” Gabriella Alcindor said of the shooter. ‘The people or individuals responsible for my father’s death must bear the full consequences. And to be accountable.”
Opont echoed her comments, saying that if the shooter was a minor, as they suspect, he should be tried as an adult.
“We really need to prosecute because there is no room for guns in this city,” Opont said. “There is no room for people who shoot in this city.
“Like reckless shooting – that’s a busy intersection,” he continued. “Anyone could have been hit. You are destroying families.”
But he said even if the shooter is collared and convicted, it won’t bring back his beloved uncle.
“Yes, it feels good to have some kind of closure,” he said. “But it still leaves a void. Do you understand what I’m saying? He was so crucial to our family, it leaves a void.”
