Tzvi Yonie Itzkowitz Reflects on His Father’s Legacy, Murder and the Ongoing Investigation

Um, well, it's been over a month. It was back on May the 18th that the 75-year-old Orthodox Jewish baker and Mashki, someone very well known in the community of Rammyitz was shot and killed while sitting in a quiet park adjacent to his home in Queens, right next to the Queen's massive Orthodox Jewish community. With investigators light on leads of Ramy's family and community continue to grapple with his sudden violent death while asking a critical question in a city that saw a 70% increase in anti-semitic hate crimes in May of 2026. Was the attack motivated by that same hate? Uhiowitz is with us live via telephones of Ramy's youngest son and we'll discuss with him this terrible situation that his family is going through at the moment. Uh, Tony, a pleasure to welcome you to JM in the AM. >> Thank you so much for having me. >> Well, well, people >> Yeah, I'm sorry. Go ahead, please. >> My dad was a listener for for many years. >> Oh, wow. >> And I very I appreciate you taking the time. And, you know, when you when you move to digital media, there's a little bit beyond his technical technological abilities. Uh, but I'm sure he would also very much appreciate taking the time to >> Well, I thank you and I I appreciate you mentioning that, makes it even more meaningful. Um, and we should also mention that if if I have the the progression of events correct, if I have everything right, it was shortly before your father was killed that your mother had passed away. Am I right that that was the timeline? And it's been a very very very even more difficult time than we think for your family. >> Yes. My mom passed on April 30th, just a few weeks before my death. Um, she was diagnosed with a rare form of very aggressive cancer in in January. >> Very sorry. What more can I say? All of us, of course, I'm sure the listeners join me in offering condolences and uh uh hoping that your family can get through this very difficult time. So, literally, he's sitting or or strolling in a park uh in daylight on a Monday afternoon, right? Because more accurately, it was during the day, right? It was like 5:00 on a Monday afternoon. And and and all of a sudden, the the police and the family is informed that somebody had shot him. I mean, is that is that how it actually happened? >> Well, they they found him at around 5:00. They think it may have happened somewhere in the 3 or 330 range. The park was very close to his home. It was very close to the nursing home where he worked for the last 20 years. He was there on a regular basis, someplace that we all thought was safe. >> And someone discovers his body, obviously calls the police, and you're and and I don't even know up until this point if you could still believe the news that you heard. No, it's it's it's shocking. It's devastating and it's still very fresh on our minds and very raw. >> And I'd have to assume I mean we know something about the um steadfastness of the NYPD. I have to assume that they are doing their due diligence, I hope I'm right, to try to figure out what happened here. I mean, h has the police department of New York and in Queens specifically been cooperative? Are they giving you the impression that they're trying their hardest to get to the bottom of this? >> Yes, they've they've been they've been sympathetic and kind and they're they've ensured us that they're working diligently on the case. We've been in constant contact with both the NYPD and the DA's office. And the family feels, like you mentioned earlier, that the family feels a visibly orthodox man with his yam and his beard killed in broad daylight. The family feels this could very well be a motivated by anti-semitism. >> Right. >> And we we feel that if if the city would look at this case through that lens and could dedicate more resources and more manpower to this case, maybe would have more information out. and and I don't know what you're allowed to discuss publicly because I don't know what the police ask you to keep, you know, under wraps, but I mean, are there any leads, any clues, any anything uh that's been brought to the forefront? I know that uh you know, today an era where cameras are everywhere nonetheless in open parks might be the last area uh that still needs to get uh regular security camera presence. Uh is there anything that they're going on at this point? At this point, we really don't have any more information now than than we did the day of, unfortunately. And like you mentioned, the the park itself doesn't have cameras within the park. It only has cameras in the surrounding areas, which the police are working on and and canvasing the area >> in the hopes, I guess, of finding someone who walked into the park area that they would be on camera and they'd be able to investigate if that person deserves to be a suspect or not. Um, >> exactly. It's a it's a very large park. They they estimate that there could have been two 300 people at the park at any given time at the time of of the murder. And we ask that if anyone was there, if anyone saw something, heard something, or has any information at all to please come forward. >> Who was the last person to see him alive? meaning you know family or friend that that you know was was aware of his presence and actually either spoke to him or interacted with him that afternoon. U my sister um my sister my parent once my mom got sick my parents moved into my par into my sister's house and the morning of um to speak a little bit to who my father was the morning that he was murdered he went to two Shiva houses to pay shiva calls one of them with me having still still grieving my mom his his life. We think that could very well have been his last mission. He he he did that day. >> Wow. >> Pay paid a silver call in two houses in the community. >> And then he went off to work, I'm assuming. >> Yeah. It was just a regular Monday afternoon. He he enjoyed going to the park on his lunch break. And one of the reasons that so many people reacted, I mean in general, you know how it is in the from community, people are going to react from all over the world when one of the uh community members uh experiences an episode like this. But one of the reasons that um so many people were taken by this uh incident is because uh uh anybody who's familiar with GNI Kosher Bakery Main Street in Queens, this was a bakery actually founded by his parents. Correct. Your grandparents. >> Correct. Correct. My dad grew up for a couple of years on a farm in in New Jersey. And my my grandfather was making egg deliveries and he was also delivering for for Bles. And somebody must have told my grandparents about a a new Orthodox community starving at Qardon Hills and they were amongst the earlier uh moveins and opened a commission shop uh in in around 1962 and then just a year or two later went to full in-house baking. >> Uh and how long did they have the bakery? Because like I said, for a lot of people it's it's a legendary piece of their childhood or of their uh community experience. How long do they have it? >> Uh it opened around 1962 and my dad there were always two storefronts amongst um the family and my dad left the business around 2000. Uh my uncle stayed on for a few years after that and so you know I I was eight eight around eight years old at the time. So, I still do have memories of growing up in the in the bakery and eating icing straight out of a piping straight in the bag on the countertops. >> I'm telling you, there are people who would who would argue that the GNI had the best of everything, you know, certainly in certain categories of pastry. We're speaking with Fioniitz, the unfortunate episode uh the murder of his father of Rummy back on the um 18th of May and asking for anybody who might have any notion about anything having to do uh with Casino Park in Queens, especially if you are aware possibly of cameras around the park, maybe from a proprietorship or some or a house. Uh if you don't have any cameras, all of this would be helpful uh to the police as they continue to investigate all of this. So uh whatever help you can give, please do so. And the family plus Crimestoppers has actually uh put out a reward for all this, right? For information leading to an arrest. >> Yes, Crimestoppers has has increased its reward to $10,000 and our family is matching that to bring the grand total to $20,000 for for credible information. leading to an arrest. >> So again, anybody who can come forward with any information, anything can be helpful. And really, I would say uh uh at this point, the um that that might be the best thing is if somebody uh in the area knows of a house or a proprietorship uh that in fact has cameras that go back to May the 18th or whatever they can give the police in terms of that would be very very helpful. And I mentioned to you that um I have somebody who told me that they literally dabbed with your father the shabas before this happened. And I mentioned that because people need to know that not only was it the bakery business uh but he was somebody who was a serious community figure. A lot of people knew who he was. Did a lot of volunteer work. Obviously a real shoo goer as we've described in this conversation. uh raised you and your siblings and you know uh an amazing family and that he has to uh leave us in this way is just terrible and at least something a sense of justice. Um I'm I'm sure you want uh you want justice. You want to make sure that whoever it is is locked away forever. Um hopefully that's what's going to happen as this investigation continues. And um what can I say? Um the it I I I think I think the description of somebody who um lived a true religious life and raised a family he could be very proud of. That would be an apt description of your father. >> 100%. And he the sweetest, kindest man. And he didn't deserve this. And and nobody deserves this. And we'd like anyone who has any information at all to to come forward and help bring us some semblance of of closure. >> Um, I truly hope that this has been helpful and that there's somebody out there that could lend some type of information, contribute some type of information to help in this investigation. Um, we remember Albert Arammyskowitz shot and killed May the 18th in Queens in a quiet park next to his home. Why? We don't know. Could be a hate crime. Could have been um we don't we just don't know. Anybody who has any information, come forward to the police as soon as possible. Uh, Tioniitz, I thank you for joining us and uh my best to you and your siblings and I'm hoping that uh that something in this case breaks. Usually when the NYPD, especially in this era, when they put, you know, um when they put a uh voluminous amount of uh of resources into a case, usually you get a break at some point. I really hope and pray it happens here. >> Exactly. We feel that if this could be labeled as a hate crime, and that's what we feel that it is, it could lead to more resources and more manpower put on this case in the city. >> Understood. Thanks so much for joining us. >> Thank you so much for taking the time. Appreciate it. >> It we remember his father of Ry. And again, if anybody on any ch by any chance has any information, anything regarding the cameras in the area that might be helpful, please come forward.