When Paul and Monica Shay were gunned down July 2 in their country home in Montgomery County, Pa., it quickly became clear to those who knew the couple that their loss would be felt especially deep in the East Village.
What longtime friends remember most about the Shays — who lived on East 10th Street — is their roles as leaders in the fight for housing, which in the 1980’s and 90’s included frequent clashes with the police during demonstrations for the rights of squatters in and around Tompkins Square Park.
“There’s a short list of people who when they say, ‘let’s do something,’ they mean they’re going to do it,” said Seth Tobocman, an activist artist and friend of the Shays.
“Kathryn and Paul were always on that list,” he continued, referring to Ms. Shay by her nickname.
Since the shooting, crowds of friends and neighbors have twice gathered publicly to remember the Shays, most recently July 9 in Tompkins Square Park.
Ms. Shay died July 7, while Mr. Shay remains hospitalized and in critical condition. Three other victims include Mr. Shay’s nephew Joseph Shay, the younger Mr. Shay’s girlfriend Kathryn Erdmann, and her 2-year-old son Gregory Erdmann. Ms. Erdmann and the elder Mr. Shay are the lone survivors.
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Monica Shay, 58, a resident of East 10th Street, died today after being shot in the head last weekend at her country home in Bechtelsville, Pa. The authorities said that Richard Geisenheyner — who was later killed in a standoff with the police — shot Mrs. Shay, her husband Paul, her nephew, Joseph Shay, Joseph Shay’s girlfriend Kathryn Erdmann, and Ms. Erdmann’s 2-year-old son Gregory; Joseph Shay and the toddler died before help arrived. Neighbors and friends held a vigil Tuesday outside Mrs. Shay’s home at 263 East 10th Street hoping for her recovery.
— Chelsia Rose Marcius
Chelsia Rose Marcius Nicholas Heyward, 54, of Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, a member of the October 22nd Coailition to Stop Police Brutality.Old friends, neighbors and passersby gathered by the front stoop of 263 East 10th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A for an evening vigil at the house of Monica and Paul Shay, the East Village couple who were both shot in the head Saturday night at their country house in Bechtelsville, Pa.
“If he had the chance to talk first, he probably would have talked” — the gunman — “out of it,” said friend Paul DeRienzo, 55, of the Lower East Side, who said Mr. Shay always found a way to temper a dispute and help warring parties make peace.
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