A Note from Christina Vaccarino
My name is Christina Vaccarino and I have been a member of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence for nearly 25 years. In the early days of NYAGV, when we were all volunteers, we packed thousands of sneakers, shoes, and boots into cardboard boxes, transported them to Washington D.C., and placed them around the Capitol's reflecting pool. Tied to each pair of the thousands of shoes was a photo with the name and age of a victim of violence. Two of the victims memorialized were my sons, Glenn and Edward Iscoe.
During those times I was quite fragile. However, with the support and kindness of NYAGV's founders, I poured my grief into meaningful actions to raise awareness and fight for change. Over 25 years later, I am so proud of what NYAGV has accomplished in New York State through policy reform and education, and am especially thrilled to celebrate the growth of ReACTION, NYAGV's school-based gun violence prevention program.
Glenn Iscoe
Glenn, my first child and oldest son, loved watching and reading about sports. His goal was to become a sportswriter. He was a year ahead in school, and graduated from Holy Cross High School, later attending Queens College.
Glenn was generous in spirit and kind beyond belief. If he saw a homeless person, he would give them what little he might have in his pocket. One morning as I was practicing yoga in the living room, I heard the shower running and I wondered why Glenn was not at work. He was a student at Queens College and while not attending classes was employed as a livery cab driver. After a while the bathroom door opened and out stepped a young woman I had never seen before. We looked at each other, speechless for the moment until she said, “You must be wondering what I'm doing here,” and I said yes. She said, “Your son brought me here.” It turned out that she had flown into LaGuardia and taken a cab to meet her boyfriend and be his guest, but he never showed up. She had no money left, and relayed her story to Glenn, who told her “My Mom wouldn't mind if you stay at our house.” I asked her how she could trust someone she had just met to go to his house. She replied that he had an honest face.
One early morning while working, he stopped at a bagel shop for coffee. While there, a fellow with a gun came in and demanded money from the clerk. He appeared very jittery and both Glenn and the clerk feared that he would shoot them. At that point, Glenn, who was very strong, tried to disarm the man, but he slipped on something on the floor and the robber shot him in the head. He died later at the hospital.
This was just another instance of one too many guns in the wrong person's hands—a far too common occurrence that NYAGV has been working to prevent through stronger legislation. That is why we have supported NYAGV almost since its founding, even before the violence became personal to us, and we continue to do so, now in memory of our sons.
Edward Iscoe
Edward, our middle son, was quite extroverted, humorous, charming, and said what was on his mind. He was impossible to discipline or stay angry with because he would say something funny and I would end up laughing. He loved playing roller hockey but was a poor loser; when he got home after a game, I could tell by his body language whether his team had won or lost.
Edward had difficulty reading. I did not understand why he wouldn't read and thought he just wasn't interested. With the information I have since learned, I believe he probably was dyslexic. Despite his reading difficulty, Edward graduated from Aviation High School, took all the tests for the NYC Fire Department and was on the list to be called when he was killed.
While waiting to be called by the Fire Department, Edward took a temporary job in the city. One night on the way home, he decided to stop by to see his old friends in Astoria where he used to work at a movie theater. There was a fist fight involving some of his friends going on, and he intervened to try to stop it. It was then that a young man, apparently on drugs, stabbed him. A friend drove him to the hospital, but he died on the way there. To this day, he is sorely missed, and we think of how he might have married and had beautiful children.
This was just one instance of senseless violence, too much of which occurs nowadays, especially with the mass shootings of innocent victims. That is why we are long-time members of NYAGV. We are very thrilled that they have such a well-developed anti-violence program in the schools, and support all the work they have done and continue to do.
To donate by mail, please send your contribution to:
NYAGV Ed Fund, P.O. Box 3354, New York, NY 10163