A basketball tournament is being held in honor of a Hoboken resident who was tragically murdered last year. Christopher “Chris” Garcia was a Hoboken resident who was shot at a local Hoboken basketball court on Sunday, September 25th, 2022. To honor his contributions to the community, local clothing lines Vail Stones and Street Friends, as well as non-profit organization What Hoboken Sounds Like, are organizing a basketball tournament on Sunday, July 9th in the neighborhood where Chris tragically lost his life.
The 1-game elimination tournament will take place between 5th and 6th Streets on Marshall Avenue, and starts at 9AM. There will be free food and a live DJ. Per information sent to The Hoboken Girl, the event has already gained support from over 10 sponsors around Hoboken. You can find more information about the event here.
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Chris’ friends gathered to memorialize and honor him when the tragic event happened. Right after his passing in September, a crowd came together to place balloons and candles at his home on Jefferson Street.
Chris is remembered by his girlfriend, friends, family, parents, his sister, three brothers, and many more.
“He had this ability to do anything,” Chris’ best friend, Ric Selleck, said to ABC 7. “Whatever he wanted to commit to, he could do it. And whether it was doing T-shirts or leading community events or helping anybody out that he could help, and just bringing a smile, laughter, a fun personality that lit up a room. He was someone you wanted to be around.” Ric remembered Chris as a giving, compassionate person who would host community events to donate bikes and toys to children. Chris was also just starting his own businesses as a clothing designer.
“You wouldn’t know he was born with a hole in his heart, because his heart was big and the love he gave was real,” Chris’ girlfriend, Lynese Garcia, told ABC 7.
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla also Tweeted his condolences back in 2022.
“The entire community in Hoboken is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Chris Garcia last night,” he wrote. “Words cannot describe the suffering of a family from the loss of a young man in Chris.”
There was a GoFundMe page available in Chris’ memory lat year, started by neighbor and Barbes owner Lisa Hamrah Balouma.
“This young man was my neighbor and although I didn’t know him past a neighborly hello, he was very close to many special people in my life here in Hoboken,” the GoFundMe reads.
“Yet another promising young man taken by gun violence, this time right here in Hoboken. Chris was an intelligent entrepreneur and his loyalty to our Hoboken community ran deep as you may learn in the news videos. Chris’s family along with Lynese, will be hosting an event in the near future, selling the merchandise from his Street Friends Clothing Line Company to honor his greatness and legacy.”
