Jordan Neely will be mourned at funeral in Harlem

Jordan Neely spent the last weeks of his life in the subways of New York, hungry, desperate and alone.

At his funeral on Friday, which will be held at 11 a.m. at Mount Neboh Baptist Church in Harlem, friends and family members will gather to mourn him. The Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy.

The May 1 killing of Mr Neely, who police said had behaved in a “hostile and erratic manner” on an F train before another subway driver put him in a stranglehold for several minutes, quickly divided political leaders and led to protests around the city.

It has sparked debate across the country between those who believe the man who killed Mr. Neely, Daniel Penny, responded with violent vigilance to a person needing help, and those who believe he acted because he attempted a threat to stop. And it raises questions about subway safety and care for the homeless and mentally ill living in the city.

Mr. Penny has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. His lawyers have said he was trying to protect himself and others on the train when Mr Neely boarded the train and started yelling at passengers. An online fundraiser for his legal defense collected more than $2.6 million in donations after being promoted by conservative politicians.

The chokehold was captured in a four-minute video, but many questions remain about what happened before the video began. Witnesses told police that Mr. Neely had shouted that he was hungry, thirsty and “ready to die”. There is no evidence that he physically assaulted anyone.

In his teens and early 20s, Mr. Neely was a Times Square and subway fixture, posing as Michael Jackson in a red and black leather jacket and pants reminiscent of the singer’s Thriller era.

Friends remembered him as a talented dancer who loved performing for subway riders and bewildered tourists.

But in recent years, his family said, he’s struggled with mental illness and addiction, issues sparked by the murder of his mother, Christie Neely, when he was 14.

He was living with his mother and her boyfriend in an apartment in Bayonne, NJ, when she disappeared in 2007. Her body was later found in a suitcase in the Bronx. She had been strangled; her boyfriend was charged with murder and Mr. Neely was called to testify at his trial.

He dropped out of Washington Irving High School in Manhattan. He remained close to his aunt, Carolyn Neely, who urged him to move to upstate New York with her when she left the city earlier this year.

He refused, his family’s lawyers said.

According to a member of the Bowery Residents’ Committee, a non-profit organization that does such outreach, Mr. Neely became well known among the social work teams that reach homeless people on the subway.

He was arrested dozens of times, mostly for offenses such as jumping a turnstile or trespassing. But at least four arrests were on charges of beating people, including in the subway system.

Mr. Neely was placed on what outreach workers call the “Top 50” list – a list maintained by the city of homeless people who officials say need help and treatment most urgently.

His funeral on Friday will be officiated by Reverend Dr. Johnnie Green, who presided over Mr Neely’s mother’s funeral in 2007.