Brilliant, Courageous: Former Nyack Resident Slain in NYC Shelter

Deven Black, the former Nyack resident and former teacher brutally murdered in a New York City homeless shelter, was memorialized Sunday at a service at Congregation Sons of Israel in Nyack, according to the New York Daily News.

“Deven was a brilliant, courageous, kind and humble man; now, his life is over,” his son Jonas Black said at the service, the Daily News reported. “Now, it is our responsibility to take that knowledge and use it to help. There is a stigma attached to mental illness, a shame and fear that prevents those who are sick from getting the help they need.”

Black had been at Boulevard Homeless Shelter in East Harlem when he died, nearly beheaded in a gruesome killing. Police are searching for his roommate, Anthony White, 21.

His ex-wife, Jill Rovitzky Black‎, told the paper that Black had a rare form of dementia.

Read the entire article on nydailynews.com.

She posted this on Black’s Facebook page:

For those of you moved to make donations in Deven’s memory, the list below reflects some of his interests, passions, and needs.

--Nyack Public Library

http://www.nyacklibrary.org/support-the-library.html

--Donors Choose

http://www.donorschoose.org/home.html?

--Coalition for the Homeless

http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/

--ALS and dementia research:

ALS Association

www.ALSA.org

OR:

Dr. Bradford Dickerson’s Dementias Research Fund at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Checks can be sent to (please place “Dr. Dickerson Dementia Research” on comment line):

MGH Development Office

165 Cambridge Street, Suite 600

Boston, MA 02114

Donations may also be made online by following these procedures:

1. Go to this MGH website:

https://giving.massgeneral.org

2. Click on “Donate Now”

3. Select amount, and click on Designation and select “Other” then enter “Dickerson Dementia Research Fund” then enter details below and submit

In comment line, write:

Direct the donation to Dr. Dickerson’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research Fund

--WFUV Public Radio

www.wfuv.org

New York state officials formally required New York City to bolster the security presence at the shelter. The New York City Department of Homeless Services was also told to conduct an assessment into the adequacy of security protocols at the facility and detail any necessary improvements; determine the average ratio of security officer to residents, as well as the number of DHS Peace Officers present per shift; and provide copies of pertinent reports relating to the killing.