The city removed a makeshift memorial to two people killed in a motorcycle accident at the corner of East 38th Street and Quentin Road last week after the shrine had grown out of control.
The sidewalk at the Marine Park intersection was transformed into a graffiti-scarred tribute to 22-year-old Carl Fuschetto of Bensonhurst and 21-year-old Pamela Cohen of Florida, who were killed when their Kawasaki collided with a Nissan Altima early on June 25. According to police, Cohen was riding on the back of Fuschetto’s motorcycle, which was travelling eastbound on Quentin Road when it struck the Altima heading northbound on East 38th Street.
After the incident, which police declared an accident, grieving friends and family visited the intersection daily to leave flowers and other items, such as Newport cigarettes and Heineken bottles, and write goodbye messages on the street and sidewalk. Scrawls such as, “RIP Carl,” cover the East 38th Street road sign, crosswalk lines and stop signs.
Residents of the block said that they sympathize with the mourners, but did not want their streets defaced.
“They wrote on the street signs and the sidewalk, which is just too much,” said an East 38th Street resident who requested anonymity. “We feel their pain, but they can’t destroy our block.”
The victims’ friends defended the memorial, saying it’s a way for them to cope with a terrible loss.
“People want to show respect,” said John Noble. “They were really good people and had a lot of friends. People really miss them.”
Noble criticized the Sanitation Department for removing the memorial.
“It’s messed up that they took it down,” he said. “I don’t know why they can’t just let people mourn.”
All that remains are the farewell messages on the ground, which were written with markers and will soon be scrubbed off, cops say.
“Residents are understanding but they, of course, don’t want this to be permanent and it can’t be,” said Capt. Michael Deddo, commanding officer of the 63rd Precinct.
The memorial is gone for now, but Noble predicted that it would be back.
“It will probably be up again at the one-year anniversary,” he said.