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A neighborhood fixture dies on the street
After some erroneous reports from official sources about a gun shot wound, it now seems clear that the homeless man who spent most of his days in front of Target and most of his nights on Murray Street was not the victim of a crime. Yet he died here on our streets in his sleeping bag, and police have confirmed his name: Charles Daly, 43.
The medical examiner has yet to determine a cause or manner of death; I will update this post when they have their report finalized, which may take a couple of weeks for additional study.
In the meantime, neighbors have assembled several shrines in his honor: in front of Target, at the place where he was found dead by police last night, and a bit farther down Murray Street. He used the nickname Chuck, and if you scroll through comments here on Instagram or Sunday’s post, you will see that many neighbors had developed relationships with him over the years.
“Chuck was such a kind man,” wrote one commenter. “We used to talk all the time and he was able to share his unfortunate story of the losses that ultimately brought him to homelessness. He wrote me the most beautiful note about the kindness of strangers. I’m heartbroken.”
He was an accomplished tattoo artist who worked at Brooklyn Ink at one time, and from what I can tell on Instagram, he was originally from Jersey City. He hated winter and loved cats — one named Billie has a prominent spot in his photos. The photo above was taken in 2016 by his brother, not long before his Instagram posts abruptly end in 2017.
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So long old friend. You will be missed very much but your struggles are over and your energy can once again flourish. RIP Chuck Dalyđź’”
Last night I stopped at the Memorial on Murray along with a few people expressing their sadness on his loss. A little girl put a hand written crayon card among the memorial. It was such a sweet touching moment.
Thank you so much for covering this, and sharing his story. He was a wonderful man.
I, for sure, know that I will be making a concerted effort to continue to speak with our neighbors on the streets; they are all individuals with their own stories – a brother, sister, mother, father. Bundling them into the category of “homeless” and not knowing their names desensitizes us from them being a human, a person with the same needs as our own. Conversation, food, water, shelter – basic needs, that for whatever the reason, they’re struggling to fill.
They each have their own story and the only way we know that story is to speak with them. Your hello, or gift of time shared with them, may be the only time that day that they get to speak with someone.
They are vulnerable, needing of help, and if we pass them daily let’s say hello, as we would with another face you pass daily. It won’t take long to discern who is a safer person to speak with and who is not. That “hello” could make their entire day.
I completely agree. Look them in the eye, say hello, talk to them, help them. They are us….but minus the resources and networks…RIP Chuck Daly.
A GoFundMe has been set up to raise funds for Chuck’s funeral. Any funds received beyond the target goal will be donated to a mental health charity.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/chuck-daly-forever
There is a gofundme set up for Chuck and a memorial being setup later on.
For more information: https://www.gofundme.com/f/chuck-daly-forever?utm_campaign=p_cp%20share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&fbclid=IwAR1AeNDuC5BsLJMHsfIRkAKxJtYv9w5r1tZ5-H8qpr65YBwdXNnzedgG9sU
Rest easy, Chuck. You are deeply missed and loved.
I miss him so much. I constantly think of him and all he had to offer. I don’t want to be disrespectful and pry too much on such a private matter but I still am very confused about what actually happened to him and from what I can tell many people are in the same boat. There was suspicion of a shooting but that was ruled out. He had so much artistic talent. He’s one of those people that can just do anything he wants to on a higher level than most.