A Brooklyn movie location for a TV crime program deleted from the headlines became the scene of murder early Tuesday when a man who was enforcing parking restrictions related to the production was shot dead while sitting in a car, police said.
The murder took place on North Henry Street, near Norman Avenue, in the Greenpoint neighborhood, while a team working on the crime show, “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” was preparing to film in the island, according to police and leaflets posted there.
Police identified the victim as Johnny Pizarro, 31, of Queens.
Mr. Pizarro, whose mission was to make sure the street was clear so that vehicles affiliated with the show could park, was sitting in a car when a lone assailant approached the vehicle, opened the door and shoot him in the head and neck, police said. He was taken to Woodhull Hospital Center in Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
No arrests had been made or established on Tuesday afternoon, police said. A short, thin man in a black hooded sweatshirt and dark pants was seen running from where the shooting took place, police said.
The murder of a man who worked in the service of a high-profile industry in a relatively safe neighborhood occurred at a time of growing unrest in some sectors that, despite the shootings and murders have gone down in what year on year, New York City is becoming insecure.
Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain who ran as a crime fighter and continues to make public safety a priority, has helped fuel that perception at times, saying, for example, that “I had never witnessed a crime at this level “. (Police data undermine this characterization.)
Fabien Levy, spokesman for Mr. Adams said in a statement that police authorities “will work diligently to bring the suspect to justice.”
“The safety of all New Yorkers is our top priority,” Mr. Levy. “No shot accepted”.
Arriving at his home in Puerto Rico, Mr. Pizarro, who shares Johnny’s name with his son, said he was “surprised” when his daughter called to tell him about the murder.
“Without words,” said Mr. Pizarro, describing how his son had come to visit him two months ago when the men “were trying to unite our relationship.”
“This is a tragedy,” he added.
“Law & Order: Organized Crime,” which airs on NBC and stars Christopher Meloni, is set in New York City and is inspired by the crimes committed in the city.
The show is the latest iteration of the enduring criminal prosecution franchise created by producer Dick Wolf. It is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment, and is filming its third season.
“We are very saddened and surprised to learn that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime this morning and has died as a result,” an NBC and Universal Television spokeswoman said in a statement. “We are working with local law enforcement while they continue to investigate.”
The block where the murder took place is surrounded by large trees and mostly three-story houses inhabited by a mix of longtime residents and newcomers. Msgr. McGolrick Park, a shady, dog-friendly oasis, is nearby. Monthly rentals for some refurbished units range from $ 3,500 to $ 5,000, according to online listings.
The area is located in precinct 94, where serious crimes are generally uncommon, according to police statistics. There had been no murders on the premises this year until Sunday and towards last year nor in 2020, the data show.
Janus Czuj, a 35-year-old resident of the neighborhood who lives just around the corner from the shooting site, said violent crime was really rare in the area.
“Every night I walk around here,” Mr. Czuj, 60, added that “there was never a problem” in the neighborhood and “never a madness like this.”
He said his truck had been parked Monday evening at the block where the murder took place and that a man he believed to be Mr Pizarro had asked him to move it.
“I saw him yesterday,” Mr. Czuj said. He added: “He was so energetic.”
Gabrielle Van den Berg, who lives across the street from where the shooting took place, said her husband had gone outside after hearing gunshots, and then went back inside after not notice nothing wrong.
“It was very strong,” Ms Van den Berg said of the shooting. “I’m pretty sure it was three shots.”
Productions like the one that Mr. Pizarro was working contributing significantly to New York City’s economy. A study published by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment last August found that the film and television industry supported about 185,000 jobs, $ 18.1 billion in wages and $ 81.6 billion in total economic production in 2019.
Eighty television series, a record number, were shot in the city during the 2018-19 season, according to the study. And even though the industry stopped operating for several months in 2020 in the midst of the initial phase of the pandemic, it has begun to recover. There are now about 35 series being filmed in the five districts, officials said.
The frequent presence of filming equipment in certain neighborhoods can be a controversial issue for residents who are forced to give up coveted parking spaces to make way for production-related vehicles.
Filming crews usually post notices on light poles warning residents about when to move their cars and when filming will begin. Workers affiliated with a production, such as Mr. Pizarro, they sit up all night to make sure the streets are empty.
In the case of the production of “Law and Order: Organized Crime”, the flyers indicated that the cars had to be moved out of the block before 22:00 on Monday and that filming had to start at 6 on Tuesday morning, about an hour after Mr. Pizarro fos. dead.
The shooting caused production to stop during the day. Shortly after 4 p.m., the last police investigators left the area, as well as a crane that pulled down what was presumably Mr. Pizarro’s car when he was shot.
The friends of Mr. Pizarro in Bushwick was described as an idiot of good character who liked to have fun. They said he had long aspired to work in the entertainment business and was happy to have finally achieved his goal.
Olivia Bensimon, Chelsea Rose Marcius and Anushka Patil contributed to the report. Kirsten Noyes contributed to the research.