By Thomas Tracy
With heavy hearts and tear-stained faces, thousands of residents turned out to mourn the lives of an aspiring basketball star and two little angels killed in last week’s tragic high-rise fire in Coney Island. Over 1,000 mourners turned out to pay their respects to 16-year-old Ricardo Clarke, and his two nieces, Jahyiria Sheffer, 9, and Jahnae O’Pharrow, age 3. All three perished in a horrifying Ocean Towers high-rise blaze that erupted inside 2960 West 24th Street. Officials from the NYFD Fire Marshal’s Department later determined that the blaze was sparked by a butane lighter, which, at the time, was in the hands of a seven-year-old boy. That boy managed to escape the blaze. The child’s teenage uncle and two cousins, Clarke, Sheffer and O’Pharrow, did not. Witnesses said that Clarke could have gotten out, but stayed behind to rescue his two little nieces. At the funeral service, held at Our Lady of Solace Church at 1717 Mermaid Avenue, no harsh words were spoken about the child who started the fire. Tears flowed, however, for Ricardo, Jahnae and Jahgiria, who everyone agreed were taken well before their time. “We’re never going to understand why Rico and his two nieces were taken at such a young age and in such a tragic way,” said Ricardo’s basketball coach, Marianne Doyle. “But believing God has a purpose in taking them is what faith is all about.” Among the mourners were the Abraham Lincoln High School JV and Varsity Basketball team. Everyone one talked to remembered how crazy Ricardo was about basketball and how he wanted to play for the junior varsity league one day. “I miss him so much, I miss him a lot,” a neighbor, Justin Daniely told reporters. “Every time I see him we talk. I talked to him how he got to keep his grades up and be positive and always be a good person. He wanted to play varsity; that was his dream.” “He was good, he had a good future,” he said. Ricardo, known as “Rico” to his friends, was considered a kind and gentle soul who was always found showing off on the basketball court to his friends. Ricardo said that he always wanted to become just like his idol Tracy “T-Mack” McGrady of the Houston Rockets or “the next NBA player out of Coney Island, just like Sebastian Telfair.” Rico leaves behind his mother Hilda, four sisters and one brother, as well as a host of aunts, uncles and cousins. Some mourners brought large stuffed animals to the funeral in honor of the two little wide-eyed girls. At the high rise, mourners spent the better part of a week attending to a makeshift memorial. Many of the handwritten notes were written in crayon, penned by Jahyiria and Jahnae’s friends. A student at P.S. 288, the Shirley Tanyhill School, Jahyiria was an avid stepper who loved to model and dance. When she wasn’t attending to her studies, she liked to spend her time watching “The Power Puff Girls” and “That’s so Raven,” said those close to her. Friends said that Jahyiria’s grandmother called her chicken because she loved her grandmother’s fried chicken. As the funeral procession passed P.S. 288, students lifted up bushel after bushel of white balloons, said Joelene-Lynette Cinard, the schools principal. On Wednesday, students in Jahyiria’s fourth-grade class celebrated the girl’s 10th birthday. Jahyiria’s mother Stephanie was in attendance. The grief everyone felt, however, was palpable. “Everybody’s coping,” said Cinard, who added that students have been offered time to talk to grief counselors if they need. Always toting behind her big sister where ever she went was little Jahnae, known as “Dora the Explorer” for her love of the show, as well as her personal love of exploring. Family members said that Jahnae was a road scholar in the making, never forgetting a face or a name wherever she went. Mourners said that nothing was more moving, however, than the scene at Our Lady of Solace Church when three small coffins were followed by open sobs and painful cries from the grief-stricken congregation. Questions, however, still arise as to the future of the Sheffer family, who lost everything in the fire. The Sheffers are still in Coney Island, but are staying with family members, said supporters. On Wednesday, members of City Councilmember Domenic Recchia’s office, who offered some words of encouragement at the funeral, was sending over food and other supplies over to the Sheffers to help them out in this time of need. With the help of Recchia and State Senator Diane Savino, a fund has been set up to help the Sheffers battle the mounting costs of funeral expenses and the destruction of their home and belongings. Contributions to the fund could be made to the Clark & Sheffer Children’s Fund, c/o Met Council, 80 Maiden Lane, 21st Floor, New York, NY 10038.
