kosher bakery owner found shot dead near Queens lake, police say homicide

A longtime Queens kosher bakery owner was found shot dead beside Kissena Lake, and the New York City Medical Examiner ruled the killing a homicide. Albert Itzkowitz, 75, of Flushing, was discovered at about 4:55 p.m. on Monday, May 18, in Kissena Park, with gunshot wounds to his neck and back.

Police said a shell casing was found near his body and no weapon was recovered. NYPD detectives have not made an arrest, have not released a suspect description and said they had no known motive in the case as of the latest reports.

Itzkowitz’s death hit hard in Queens Jewish circles because the man found in the park was not a stranger to the neighborhood. Local Jewish-community outlets identified him as a longtime kosher bakery owner, and in some reports as a former volunteer medic with Hatzalah. ABC7 New York described him as a husband and father of five. Friends said he had attended his synagogue for nearly 40 years.

Community members also said Itzkowitz’s wife died just three weeks earlier of natural causes, adding another layer of grief to a killing that unfolded in a public park known far more for quiet walks than for murder scenes. Kissena Park sits in Flushing as part of the city park system, with a history stretching back to the early 1900s, and Itzkowitz was found near the lake area at the center of the park.

Police have increased patrols in Kissena Park since the shooting and urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. With no arrest, no motive and no suspect in view, the killing of a familiar neighborhood figure has turned a familiar park into the center of an active homicide investigation.