A balloon rising vigil was held in Hoboken for the late Damon “Nunu” Murray near the housing authority building where the 21-year-old was fatally shot on Sunday.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla was joined by 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo, 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, as well as Council members-at-large Emily Jabbour and Joe Quintero outside 770 Grand St.
“We’re here as one community for a single purpose, one young man we lost. That’s one young man too many. We lost one of the good ones. This was a man who was in the school system. We wanted to hire him as a firefighter. He had a career of public service ahead of him,” Bhalla declared.
“It’s all gone to gun violence, it’s all gone to violence. I’m responsible for that, we’re responsible for that. We’re all responsible for that. As your mayor, I take ownership of what happened because the buck stops with me. So I’ve gotta figure out how to do better … We just gotta let love conquer hate and good conquer evil. But it’s not easy.”
Bhalla continued that it has to be a community effort that has the government and residents working together.
“Thank you guys for coming out. I can see that Damon was loved. Anybody that knew him knew he always kept a smile on his face. Thank you again,” Carolyn Murray, Damon’s mother, stated. Bhalla then invited others to speak.
“This is my little cousin, but really like my little brother. I appreciate everybody for coming out. Nunu kept a smile on his face. He was always happy. I love him. He can hear,” one woman who did not give her name remarked.
“Hoboken housing needs to be fixed. Hoboken housing is broken. It’s not fair for people to live the way they live. We lost a good one,” Cathy, who declined to give her last name, stated.
Hoboken Housing Authority Chair Barbara Reyes said she is also a resident of the area.
“I’m here on a personal level. I knew of Nunu, but my little guy loved Nunu. That was his best friend. I remember Nunu cheering my son on after every game. These are the role models we need for our kids today. You guys gotta continue what he was doing,” she exclaimed.
“If we want to stop the violence, you have to be a part of it. It makes me sick to my stomach the comments I’ve read. People think because it’s the projects, it’s supposed to happen. It’s not supposed to happen! It’s up to us to change it! Please keep Damon’s memory up.”
A man named Eli, who said he was a close friend of Murray, reflected spending time together last weekend just before tragedy struck.
“Nunu, that’s my man. Last weekend we was outside, talking. All he wanted to do was chill around the females and get money. We gotta come together as one. This affects others. Nunu, he was working in the schools with the kids,” Eli said.
“He just had that gift where he could connect with the kids and all of us. Y’all know that smile on his face. He wouldn’t even want us crying right now.”
Another friend who didn’t identify himself referred to Murray as his brother who he wished he could’ve helped more, also emphasizing that he was never part of “that street life.”
A woman then cried out briefly before being shouted down by the crowd.
“We not doing this. We came here to show love for my son. Y’all see he was loved, so let’s share that amongst each other. If he was here, he would have wanted that,” Carolyn Murray interjected.
She added he got his friendly personality from her southern hospitality.
“Don’t paint my cousin as a bad kid. Nunu would give his life for anybody. He didn’t do no wrong. Do not remember him as just a kid from the projects,” a woman who didn’t identify herself said.
The large crowd then released many balloons into the air to honor his memory.
