Jordan Neely's father sues Long Island native Daniel Penny in subway chokehold death of his son, court papers show

The father of Jordan Neely filed suit on Wednesday against Long Island native Daniel Penny for causing the chokehold death of his son on a city subway train last year, court papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court show.

Andre Zachery, who had been estranged from Neely at the time of his death, accused Penny of causing his son’s death through "negligence, carelessness and recklessness," the suit states. The father also accused Penny of assault and battery of Neely.

Zachery is seeking damages in the case, but no dollar amount was specified.

His lawyer Donte Mills would not immediately comment.

Penny, 26, a West Islip native, is on trial for second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the chokehold death of Neely, 30, a homeless man with mental health problems. A jury in the case started its third day of deliberations Thursday.

Steven Raiser, Penny's defense attorney in the criminal case, said, "The timing is unfortunate as Danny is awaiting a verdict from the jury where the potential consequences are far greater than any civil suit could threaten. We will not be distracted by this attempt to attack Danny while he under such tremendous stress."

According to witness testimony during the seven-week trial, Neely burst onto the Queens-bound F train about 2:30 p.m. on May 1, 2023, threw his jacket on the floor and began screaming and lunging at passengers.

"He was shouting in people’s faces, ‘I don’t have water, I don't have food, I don’t have a home. I want to hurt people, I want to go to Rikers,'" according to Lori Sitro, who was riding the train with her 5-year-old son.

She testified that she tried to use her son’s stroller as a barrier between Neely and her child.

"He was lunging at people in different directions, it was very erratic and unpredictable," she said.

Neely grew up between Newark and the city and began busking as a Michael Jackson impersonator in the city subway system. When he was a teen, his mother was murdered by her boyfriend in the apartment they shared in New Jersey. Neely testified against the man, who was convicted of the crime. His mental health began to decline as he turned to synthetic marijuana to self-medicate for his schizophrenia, prominent Nassau County forensic psychiatrist Alexander Bardey testified during the trial.

"He volunteered that Tupac Shakur has used him to change the world," according to a 2015 Bellevue Hospital record for Neely. "When asked to elaborate, he rambled about people switching their hairstyles and giving out free food."

Bardey said Neely had been hospitalized about a dozen times over six years, ending in 2021.

There was an open warrant at the time of his death, according to testimony, and he had a lengthy arrest record — information that has been withheld from the jury at trial.

Manhattan prosecutor Dafna Yoran pointed out at trial that none of the witnesses were physically attacked or even touched by Neely on the train before Penny put him in a headlock.

Penny, who spent four years in the Marine Corps before moving to the city to study architecture, became a cause célèbre for a backlash to political correctness. An online crowdsourcing site raised more than $3 million for his legal defense.