A beloved Michael Jackson impersonator named Jordan Neely was murdered on the northbound F train in New York City earlier this week, and the incident has renewed the dialogue on how the unhoused are treated by the city.
Jordan Neely was put in a chokehold by a former U.S. Marine and died by compression of the neck, per the city’s medical examiner. The incident was ruled a homicide on Wednesday and the news has sparked protests and indignation throughout the city.
Neely was a common sight on the trains in the last decade, but he stopped showing up about a year and a half ago, per a Twitter thread by journalist Talia Jane. Check out Neely in action:
He was reportedly seen over the weekend on the subway mumbling that he was thirsty and needed shelter. He went through the train asking for help, and people caught that on tape as well.
The New York Times is reporting that Neely was yelling at other passengers when the former marine put him in a chokehold and held him until he went limp.
“As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records,” the district attorney’s spokesman said in a statement released to media. “This investigation is being handled by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share.”
The alleged killer has not been identified, although the murder was caught on an almost four-minute-video that shows other people on the train pinning down Neely and others simply watching it happen. That fact, Gov. Kathy Hochul told the Times, was “deeply disturbing.”
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also spoke out about the incident, saying that Neel was “murdered,” “houseless and crying for food” while the city raises rents and demonizes the poor. “It’s disgusting,” she said.
“It is appalling how so many take advantage of headlines re: crime for an obsolete “tough on crime” political, media, & budgetary gain, but when a public murder happens that reinforces existing power structures, those same forces rush to exonerate&look the other way. We shouldn’t,” she said in a follow up tweet.
The issue is exacerbating an effort by Mayor Eric Adams to assign officers to patrol train cars for the unhoused as well as directing them to sweep and clear homeless encampments. Homeless advocates in the city call the actions a “war on the poor,” said Jane.
Jane goes on to say that Neely “threw his jacket on the ground and yelled for help. He was a threat to no one. A man tackled him from behind and held him in a chokehold for 15 minutes.”
His refrain was “I need to survive,” she said. People in the city have also been blocking traffic in protests about the murder.
We’ll keep you updated on any developments.
