Bronx man stabbed to death over apparent parking dispute in NYC's 1st homicide of 2023
NEW YORK - New York City marked its first homicide of 2023 only a few hours into the new year.
A 63-year-old man was stabbed to death outside an apartment building in Claremont Village, the Bronx.
Friends and family gathered Monday to remember Sergio Garcia, better known as "Bido," releasing balloons at a vigil. Many there played basketball with Garcia in the Dominican Republic and in the city, where they became more like family.
"He was like a brother to me. He was like an older brother, you know, always joking around," friend Rodolfo Peguero said.
"A really good father and really nice person," friend Eddy Ramirez said. "He means a lot to me."
The group gathered on College Avenue, where Garcia and a 38-year-old woman were stabbed before 4 a.m. New Year's Day.
"To be the first death of the year, especially our friend, our brother, it's too much for us. We're all hurt," Peguero said.
Police say this was a dispute over parking, but neighbors feel video tells a different story.
It shows a woman getting dropped off at the apartment building. A man exits and they approach a parked van. It seems he gets in the van, while she remains outside and the two appear to argue. At some point, a group on the sidewalk gets involved, a fight breaks out, and the man who was at the van, believed to be Garcia, joins in.
At the end of the video, he appears hurt. The pair get back into the car and drive off.
"When they come knocking on my door saying, 'Your neighbor has been killed' ... When I went out there and I saw all that blood out there, it hit like if he was family," neighbor Marta Roman said.
Roman says her neighbor always took care of her.
"He helped anyone that knocked on his door, anyone," she said. "I got diagnosed with cancer, he always made sure I had food. If I needed somewhere to go, made sure I got there."
She said she last saw him hours before he was killed, and he continued to show his generosity.
"When the ball dropped, he knocked on my door. He told me, 'Happy New Year,' and he said, 'Open your hand,' and the man put some money in my hand. And I was like, 'No!' And he said, 'No, here, happy New Year,'" she said.
So far, no arrests have been made, but friends say with all the cameras in the area, they're confident the NYPD will catch whoever is responsible.
Police say the victims got to the hospital by private means, and the woman who was stabbed is Garcia's ex-girlfriend. Friends tell us she is now home from the hospital.
Anyone with information about the stabbing or the suspect is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
