Mom sues NYC over son’s stabbing death in Brooklyn public housing
May 8, 2015 By Jennifer Peltz Associated Press
In this June, 2014 file photo, Aricka McClinton, left, and Nicholas Avitto, center, release white doves in tribute to their son Prince Joshua Avitto, after his funeral in Brooklyn. McClinton sued the city on Thursday, saying officials let blatant security risks linger before the attack on her son and a 7-year-old friend. Prince and his friend, Mikayla Capers, were attacked in a building at the Boulevard Houses complex in Brooklyn in June. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File
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The mother of a 6-year-old who was stabbed to death in a public housing complex elevator sued the city Thursday, saying officials let blatant security risks linger before the attack on her son and a 7-year-old friend.
A broken front door wasn’t fixed despite complaints, surveillance cameras weren’t installed although there was money to do so and officials let a volunteer tenant patrol lapse in an area with a history of crime, Prince Joshua “P.J.” Avitto’s mother said in the lawsuit.
“It’s as if (the residents) are forgotten people,” said Jack Yankowitz, the attorney representing the boy’s mother, Aricka McClinton. Her Brooklyn state court lawsuit seeks unspecified damages; a first-step legal document filed last summer sought $281 million.