A beloved Italian churchgoer who was ruthlessly beaten to death outside a Brooklyn subway station was remembered for his kindness, cheerful laugh and unwavering faith, as more than 100 family members and friends gathered Friday night to honor his life.
Nicola Tanzi, 64, was killed on Oct. 7 when a recidivist psycho savagely attacked him for no reason as the devout Catholic held a door open at the Jay Street-MetroTech Station – near where he had worked as a security guard for 15 years.
“Just a wonderful, caring, human being,” David Tanzi said of his uncle during a somber wake held at Andrew Torregrossa & Sons Funeral Home in Brooklyn.
“[He] would do anything for anybody and his faith. He had an infectious laugh. I think if you asked anybody that had met him, that would remind anybody of him now.”
The Italian-born victim moved to New York City decades ago, living a quiet and simple life in Bensonhurst — without a cell phone or email — working as a MetroTech public safety officer and volunteering at his local churches.
A devoted parishioner at St. Dominic’s Church who was also active at Sacred Hearts of Mary and Jesus & St. Stephen Roman Catholic Church in Carroll Gardens, Tanzi is survived by his five brothers.
“He was a simple guy,” Tanzi’s devastated younger brother Anthony told The Post, noting that his slain sibling had planned to retire in June and relocate to Long Island.
“He never had an email, he never had a cell phone. That’s the way he liked it. He was involved in a lot of things…a lot more things than I’d ever do. He decided he was going to retire…to come out to Long Island and do all the things we used to do as kids. He never go the chance. He was robbed.”
Tanzi was cremated before the solemn wake, with his urn placed at the front of the chapel, surrounded by a sea of flowers and photos.
Richard Ravaloi, who met Tanzi in junior high when they were both 15, sobbed as he described one of his closest friends — a “nice guy” who he said didn’t deserve the “senseless” beatdown that ended his life.
“Nicky was always in a good mood, laughing and joking,” Ravaloi said.
“He was just a nice guy, you know. He’d never hurt anybody. He was just nice to be around. He was never in a bad mood. He went to work, and back everyday from that subway station. To have something like that happen, and the way that it did, he didn’t deserve that.”
David Mazariegos, 25, was charged with first-degree murder for the merciless attack.
Prosecutors said the brute, who has five open criminal cases, sucker-punched the Italian immigrant twice in the face, knocking him to the floor, before reportedly kicking his face and body even after Tanzi was completely unconscious.
Tanzi — who died hours later — suffered a skull fracture, a crushed nasal bone, and multiple other facial injuries.
The crazed attacker allegedly confessed that he resented having a door held open for him, boasting to police that he took Tanzi’s “spirit” because he didn’t like the way he looked at him, prosecutors said.
Mazariegos is being held at Rikers Island without bail.
