Family Of Stabbing Victim Sues NYC Housing Authority
Image: NY Daily News
In an unsurprising, but notable, turn of events, the family of 6-year-old stabbing victim Prince “P.J.” Avitto has filed a suit against the New York City Housing Authority alleging that the organization’s negligence played a significant part in the death of their little boy.
P.J. Avitto’s family is seeking $281 million in a wrongful death suit filed this Wednesday, reports the Daily News. In the court papers, Avitto’s mother, Aricka McClinton, alleges that her son’s death was caused by “carelessness, recklessness, gross negligence and gross recklessness” on the part of NYCHA.
Avitto was stabbed to death on June 2 while riding an elevator with 7-year-old survivor Mikayla Capers in the Boulevard Houses in East New York. Less than a week later, the perpatrator was identified as 27-year-old Daniel St. Hubert, a mentally-ill parolee who had been released a few days prior to the incident, following a five-year sentence for attacking and nearly killing his mother.
The crime may have been prevented if cameras and locks were properly installed in the Boulevard Houses, says P.J.’s father, Nicholas Avitto. And to add insult to injury, in the week’s following P.J.’s death, it was revealed that NYCHA has been sitting on $27 million dollars specifically set aside for camera installation for a number of years and is only now putting the funds to use. In response, attorney Jack Yankowitz is asking for $27 million per wrongful death named in the case plus an additional $200 million.
There’s no word yet on when the case will go to trial.
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