A 23-year-old New Jersey woman was found dead in Union Square Park yesterday, police said.
A Parks Department worker found Kayla Mitchell lying unconscious in a grassy part of the square at 7:30 a.m., sources said.
There is no criminality suspected, and cops are investigating whether she died of a drug overdose.
Mitchell had been a fixture in the local homeless community for about three years. She was known for her contagious smile and 8-month-old dog, Buster, Union Square denizens said.
“She was terrific,” said a distraught homeless friend, David Welsh, 30. “She had a gorgeous laugh.”
Another homeless man, Jay Kidd, 19, said he’s talking to police about keeping Buster — who had to be dragged away from his owner’s body.
Mitchell is from Newark but grew up in Hull, Mass., where she sang soprano in the Hull HS concert chorus, according to her Facebook page.