Street renamed in East Harlem for slain Burger King employee Kristal Bayron-Nieves
NEW YORK -- A street has officially been named after the teen who was killed while working the night shift at an East Harlem Burger King almost exactly a year ago.
CBS2 spoke to her grieving family on Sunday.
It was a struggle for Kristie Nieves to get the words out when talking about her daughter, Kristal Bayron-Nieves.
"She wants her baby to forever be remembered," City Councilwoman Diana Ayala said, translating.
And Bayron-Nieves will be, on the corner of 116th Street and Lexington Avenue, not far from the Burger King, where the 19-year old-worked on Jan. 9, 2022, when she was shot and killed during a robbery while working the night shift.
"Let this be the last time that we have to come together to remember a young child taken from us in this horrible fashion," Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said.
"This should not be the norm we want and I want to continue to dedicate my life so that we don't have Kristals," Mayor Eric Adams added.
Family, friends, and city leaders released purple balloons in Bayron-Nieves' memory.
The native of Puerto Rico native had only been in New York for about two years and had plans to attend nursing school when she was killed. She took the job at Burger King to save up and help her family.
Winston Glynn, 30, was charged with murdering the teen. Police say he was a former employee and knew the restaurant well. They say he stole $100 from the cash register and demanded the Bayron-Nieves get money from the safe before shooting her.
"She didn't present any resistance, no resistance, and still her life was taken from us," Rep. Adriano Espaillat said.
In March, Glynn pleaded not guilty to several charges, including murder and robbery.
Nonprofit S.A.V.E. East Harlem reflected on the effectiveness of its daily outreach to at-risk individuals over the past year since the shooting.
"We've come a long way and we have work to do, but, yeah, I think we're a little safer than where we were," said Omar Jackson, the group's chief advocacy officer.
Bayron-Nieves' family attorney also said the manager who was on shift the night of the shooting is still recovering from a traumatic brain injury after allegedly getting pistol whipped by the suspect before he opened fire.