Steven Ercolino, in his usual plaid shirt and jeans, was a familiar and friendly presence in the neighborhood around the Empire State Building.
“He was so sweet and such a nice guy,” said Brooke Roman, 40, who works for an apparel company on W. 33rd St.
Ercolino, 41, worked up the street at Hazan Imports — and died Friday outside his company’s front door, gunned down by a deranged former co-worker.
The slain man’s family gathered in Warwick hours after the unspeakable tragedy.
“He was beautiful,” his tearful father told the Daily News.
Friends said Ercolino had a girlfriend, a son, and recently bought a house. They lived together in Hoboken, making for an easy commute to his job in midtown, friends said.
Ercolino’s relatives had been looking forward to meeting his girlfriend for the first time this fall.
“We were going to meet her at our family reunion this year, probably in Brooklyn,” said cousin Anne Flugmacher, 56. “It’s a devastation. He’s the last person on Earth who could ever deserve something like this.”
Ercolino graduated with a degree in business/fashion from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1992. He landed his first job in the clothing industry that same year with Jump Apparel, and arrived at the Hazan Import Corp. in December 2005 as its vice president of sales, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Photos on his MySpace page show Ercolino kissing his young nephew, Matthew.
He was walking back to work with a friend after grabbing breakfast when gunman Jeffrey Johnson opened fire. Hours later, pal Irene Timan was struggling with Ercolino’s horrible death.
“My thoughts and prayers are with Steve’s family and his girlfriend at this time,” she said in a statement. “It was a pleasure to have known him and to have had him in my life.”
Workers at Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant — unaware that the victim was Ercolino — rushed to the victim’s aid.
“He’s an absolute sweetheart, a really nice guy,” said waitress Kathie Ryan, 50.
She recalled him smiling when he spoke about his 8-year-old son. Ercolino dreamed of one day marrying his girlfriend.
“Always pleasant,” she said of the victim. “He was just a gentleman. I never heard a bad word come out of his mouth.” With Alison Barnwell and Corinne Lestch
[email protected]
“He was so sweet and such a nice guy,” said Brooke Roman, 40, who works for an apparel company on W. 33rd St.
Ercolino, 41, worked up the street at Hazan Imports — and died Friday outside his company’s front door, gunned down by a deranged former co-worker.
The slain man’s family gathered in Warwick hours after the unspeakable tragedy.
“He was beautiful,” his tearful father told the Daily News.
Friends said Ercolino had a girlfriend, a son, and recently bought a house. They lived together in Hoboken, making for an easy commute to his job in midtown, friends said.
Ercolino’s relatives had been looking forward to meeting his girlfriend for the first time this fall.
“We were going to meet her at our family reunion this year, probably in Brooklyn,” said cousin Anne Flugmacher, 56. “It’s a devastation. He’s the last person on Earth who could ever deserve something like this.”
Ercolino graduated with a degree in business/fashion from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1992. He landed his first job in the clothing industry that same year with Jump Apparel, and arrived at the Hazan Import Corp. in December 2005 as its vice president of sales, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Photos on his MySpace page show Ercolino kissing his young nephew, Matthew.
He was walking back to work with a friend after grabbing breakfast when gunman Jeffrey Johnson opened fire. Hours later, pal Irene Timan was struggling with Ercolino’s horrible death.
“My thoughts and prayers are with Steve’s family and his girlfriend at this time,” she said in a statement. “It was a pleasure to have known him and to have had him in my life.”
Workers at Foley’s NY Pub & Restaurant — unaware that the victim was Ercolino — rushed to the victim’s aid.
“He’s an absolute sweetheart, a really nice guy,” said waitress Kathie Ryan, 50.
She recalled him smiling when he spoke about his 8-year-old son. Ercolino dreamed of one day marrying his girlfriend.
“Always pleasant,” she said of the victim. “He was just a gentleman. I never heard a bad word come out of his mouth.” With Alison Barnwell and Corinne Lestch
[email protected]