Anniversary of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero's slaying in Patchogue is marked

Joselo Lucero knelt and lit a candle Sunday next to a white wooden post in front of a house in Patchogue, the spot where his brother, Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero, was fatally stabbed seven years ago.

"This is the spot of a tragedy. This is also the spot where we have started a movement," Lucero told about 85 people, who had walked together a third of a mile past newly built town houses from a nearby theater. "This is a movement of peace, a movement of tolerance."

Students, activists and religious leaders gathered to mark the anniversary of the 2008 slaying of Marcelo Lucero, 37, who was attacked by seven youths.

A packed and diverse audience at the Plaza Cinema and Media Arts Center in Patchogue listened as students read essays, sang songs and screened short films about diversity and immigration. The students came from the Patchogue-Medford and Longwood school districts, a mosque in Selden and B'nai Israel Reform Temple in Oakdale.

The attack helped raise public awareness about the treatment of immigrants in Patchogue and Suffolk County, leaders of the memorial event said.

Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri said he remembers sitting in his backyard, reading the newspaper seven years ago, when he got the call about the attack on Lucero.

"I look at how this has affected the community," he said. The mayor added it unfortunately took Lucero's death "to bring us together."

Lucero was walking with a friend near the Patchogue train station when he was attacked by seven teens looking to assault Hispanic immigrants.

One attacker, Jeffrey Conroy, stabbed Lucero, killing him. Conroy is serving a 25-year prison sentence after being convicted by a jury of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime. The other six defendants were sentenced from 5 to 8 years.

The memorial is organized by an informal group of people who met in the wake of the attack.

Lisa Votino-Tarrant, who first covered the story as a blogger, said on every anniversary, she wakes up and worries no one will show.

"But we have a full house," she noted.

She said she will continue to help organize the event "as long as people care."

Milton Yanza, an immigrant who lives in Patchogue, went to school with Marcelo in Ecuador. He said the attack marked a turning point for the Suffolk village.

"After that, the community changed. There are more events like this, with people talking about peace," he said.