Overview
- Albert Itzkowitz, 75, was found shot near the shoreline of Kissena Lake on May 18 and the city medical examiner has ruled the death a homicide.
- Police say Itzkowitz was shot multiple times, including wounds to his back and neck, and investigators estimate hundreds of people were in the park at the time.
- The Itzkowitz family matched a $10,000 NYPD Crime Stoppers offer to bring the publicly announced reward to $20,000 and held a park press event with local officials to urge tips.
- The family says they fear the killing may have been an anti‑Semitic attack, but the NYPD has not classified the case as a hate crime and said the victim’s clothing showed no clear religious identifiers.
- Itzkowitz was a longtime Queens resident, a former Hatzalah volunteer and local kosher baker, and the unsolved daytime killing has heightened community concern and calls for witnesses as investigators continue canvassing, distributing flyers and searching the lake.