Brooklyn street co-named in honor of Vincentian-American youth fatally knifed two days before Christmas in December 2020

Community members on Saturday, Aug. 24 joined elected and other officials, and families and friends in the co-naming of East 8th Street in the Kensington section of Brooklyn as Tyler Kobe Nichols Way.

Nichols, whose parents hail from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was 21, when he was inexplicably fatally killed on Dec. 23, 2020 by what his aunt, Carlene Chambers, a registered nurse, described as reported knife-wielding members of the Crisps gang.

Chambers said Nichols and his brother, Shane, then 24, had gone to a Barbour shop a few blocks from their home in Kensington, when they were attacked by about five youths reportedly from the gang.

“The guys jumped them,” Chambers told Caribbean Life at the time. “They made some gang slang, and five others showed up.

“They also stabbed Tyler in the back,” she added. “They (medical personnel) pronounced him dead at Methodist Hospital.

City Council Member Rita Joseph, the Haitian-born representative of the 40th Council District in Brooklyn, and Tyron Stearns, community coordinator for the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, popularly known as The GodSquad, presided over the ceremony.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States Rondy “Luta” McIntosh, left, with Raymond Otis Lewis, chairperson of the Brooklyn-based Vincy Day USA Committee. Photo by Nelson A. King

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States Rondy “Luta” McIntosh was also among attendees.

Ashley Duverneau, Nichols’s girlfriend, who was born in Brooklyn to Haitian parents, said they met 10 years ago.

“We made so many memories – playing basketball,” she told the ceremony. “He had 21 years of memories on this block.

“Mommy, when it comes to Tyler, we’re not going to stop,” said Duverneau, turning to Nichols’s mother, Sherma Chambers. “They are going to know his name forever. We appreciate all of you guys (community members) every single day. Long live King Kobe!”

Sherma Chambers addresses ceremony, with her mother Elizabeth “Betty” Nichols seated in wheelchair. Photo by Nelson A. King

She later told Caribbean Life: “It’s a lot of feelings. It’s really overwhelming. It’s a bitter-sweet moment. We put a lot of our pain in purpose.”

Spencer Ostrander said he was honored to co-author the book, “Long Live King Kobe, on Nichols with Paul Auster.

“Sherma has devoted her life to fighting violence,” he said.

Angel Guadalupe, known as “Mr. G”, an assistant basketball coach at Erasmus High School in Brooklyn, said: “God is good, and he’s going to hold all of us all the time.”

Natasha Christopher – the Trinidadian-born president of Akeal Christopher Community Center, Inc., named in honor of her son, by that name, said Akeal was shot 12 years ago in the Bushwick, Brooklyn.

“He was shot on June 27, survived for 15 days; and, on his 15th birthday, he died on July 12, 2012,” Christopher told Caribbean Life.

Unveiling the Tyler Kobe Nichols Way signage. Photo by Nelson A. King

During the unveiling ceremony, she described Sherma Chambers as a “caring” person.

“I want to say, ‘I’m so proud of you,’” she told Sherma, flanked by community members who have lost loved ones through senseless violence. “I love Sherma’s family. I’m sending my love to the family. Long live King Kobe!”

Afterwards Stearns sang, in part, “I was Born by the River” acapella style: “It’s been a long time coming, but a change is gonna (going to) come.”

Shane said the ceremony “meant a lot” to him, adding: “It makes me feel appreciated.”

Sherma – flanked by her mother Elizabeth “Betty” Chambers, family and community members, and Joseph – expressed gratitude to all.

“The family is the reason when we started a foundation in Tyler’s honor,” she told the ceremony. “We’re going to spread love. All I can say, ‘thank you, thank you.’”

McIntosh told Caribbean Life afterwards: “At the end of our life, we must ask ourselves, ‘What would our legacy be, who will honor and celebrate our memories, and who will take up our torch to shine the light on violence that took the life of Tyler Kobe Nichols?’

“I’m also here because it’s important to be in the community to experience the pain and grief that some are going through to get a better appreciation of how we, as officials, can help to ease their burden and pain,” he added.

“The co-naming of the street is one significant way of honoring the life of our loves ones,” McIntosh continued. “Long live Kobe, and I wish the family all the best with life after Kobe.”