Memorial Grows Outside Upper East Side Deli, Workplace Of Man Killed By Taxi

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Flowers, candles and written tributes adorned the storefront of Super-Del Market on York Avenue between East 78th and 79th streets days after its manager, 51-year-old Manikam Srymanean, was killed by a taxi driver while crossing a nearby intersection.

"To lose a humble man like you is heartbreaking," read a message posted to the front door of Super-Del Market. "You will always be in our hearts."

Srymanean, known as "Mano" to his friends and regular customers, was remembered for his kindness and generosity, customers said. Srymanean's deli, located just one block from PS 158 and Yorkville East Middle school, was a popular place for after-school snacks. A poster signed by Yorkville East students hung in the store's window reading, "Arizona and butter rolls will never be the same."

Fabiola Ormeno-Schacht, 30, lit two candles and placed them in front of the deli Tuesday afternoon. Ormeno-Schacht went to school at PS 158 and knew Mano for 25 years, she told Patch.

"It's so sad," Ormeno-Schacht said. "He always had the biggest smile, and knew everybody by their name."

Ormeno-Schacht told Patch that even after she moved out of the Upper East Side she would visit Super-Del Market whenever she visited the neighborhood, and that Mano always remembered her.

Srymanean was walking in the intersection of East 78th Street and York Avenue on Saturday night when he was struck and killed by a yellow cab, an NYPD spokesman told Patch. Srymanean had the right of way, police said.

Srymanean was transported to New York Presbyterian hospital where he was pronounced dead around 9:30 p.m., police said.

The cab driver stayed on the scene of the collision and has not been charged with any crimes, police told Patch. The passenger inside the cab that struck Manikkam told CBS2 that the collision was "terrible."

"You could feel him going under the wheel of the car, which makes you feel more involved than you’d like to — even as a witness," the man, who only gave his first name of Thomas, told CBS2.

In addition to becoming a beloved figure on the Upper East Side, Srymanean himself was a resident of the neighborhood. He lived just blocks away from Super-Del Market on East 79th Street, police told Patch.

Since 2009, two people have been killed and six people have been injured at the intersection of East 78th Street and York Avenue, according to city Vision Zero data. The intersection has been tagged as a frequent location for speeding on the Vision Zero input map.

Photos by Patch