Funeral held for Willis Moore, longtime manager killed in NYC parking garage collapse
NEW YORK -- A funeral was held Friday for the man killed when a parking garage collapsed last week in the Financial District.
The funeral for Willis Moore at the Mount Vernon Seventh-Day Adventist Church service was attended by police officers and Mayor Eric Adams.
The 59-year-old parking garage manager was killed when his workplace partially collapsed April 19.
He is survived by a fiancée and six children, including his daughter NYPD Officer Brittany Moore, who is pregnant.
Moore said even though her daughter can never meet him, she "will know who her grandfather was," and she said to her father, "I will continue to make you proud."
"It is shocking. It breaks my heart a lot," said David Anokye, a friend of Willis Moore's.
"It's very tragedy, so we just gotta continue to pray," said friend Trevor Worghs.
Willis Moore was born in Jamaica and came to New York City when he was 18. He was a mechanic and then worked at the parking business for more than 30 years.
In the '90s, Moore hired Garfield Panton and they became close friends. Panton spoke to CBS2 about the condition of the garage.
"We always had to patch up the building, take down concrete and patch it back up. Pieces of the building was falling down, but we'd just patch it back up," he said.
As Moore's loved ones grieve and remember him, they also demand answers.
"If we could prevent this, it would be so good," Worghs said.
Demolition continues on the garage at 57 Ann St., and four buildings adjacent to the collapsed garage remain evacuated.
One of those evacuated buildings -- another garage at 27 Beekman St. -- allowed dozens of drivers to retrieve their cars Thursday night.
Moore's loved ones promise he won't be forgotten.
"Honor my Jamaican brother as a good brother that came here. Just thought he would've lived longer to enjoy his life," Panton said.
Owners of the garage says they are cooperating with the investigation.
