A man killed last week in New York City after being pushed down a flight of stairs at a subway station was a Jessup native.
At about 3:30 p.m. on May 7, Ross Falzone was at the top of the subway steps when Rhamell Burke, recently released from psychiatric hold at Bellevue Hospital, pushed him down the stairs and left him to die, New York City police say.
Falzone, 76, suffered a fractured spine, traumatic brain injury and a broken rib. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead early the next morning.
Burke, 32, was caught on surveillance video walking away from the scene at 18th Street and Seventh Avenue, motioning cars to stop so he could cross the street. He was arrested the next day by police in the subway at Penn Station, officials said.
Burke was homeless at the time of the incident. He was charged with murder. Burke is being held without bail at Rikers Island, according to court records. He is scheduled to return to court Thursday.
Rhamell Burke is pictured in police custody leaving the NYPD’s 13th Precinct stationhouse in Manhattan on Friday, May 8, 2026. Burke is accused of shoving Ross Falzone (inset), 76, down subway stairs to his death in Chelsea. (Kerry Burke / New York Daily News)
Joe Sylvester, Falzone’s cousin and also a Jessup native, is devastated by his death, which he believes could have been prevented.
Sylvester, a longtime journalist who previously worked for The Times-Tribune, grew up in Jessup and spent time with the Falzone family, often on Sunday afternoons. Falzone was about six years his senior, so they hadn’t been extremely close as children, but kept in touch.
In 2017, when Sylvester began visiting New York City regularly, he contacted Falzone and the two spent time together several times a year.
Sylvester remembers asking Falzone if he felt safe in New York City; he always responded he felt as safe as he did in Jessup.
When Falzone concluded his career as a special education teacher, he began tutoring special education students across the city, often jumping into a cab or taking the subway to get to a destination, Sylvester said. A true “New Yorker,” Falzone gave advice about restaurants, activities and the theater.
In the late 1990s, while attending a Broadway show, Falzone realized he was sitting next to actor Tony Randall. Randall, who was then in his late 70s, had two children and was interested in education. When he found out Falzone was a teacher, the two struck up a conversation.
It was just like Falzone to get out into the community, meet new people and make friends, Sylvester said.
Sylvester hopes the tragic event puts a spotlight on mental health care in New York City and across the country.
“Perhaps this incident will lead to some change,” he said. “Maybe it will make a difference.”
It wasn’t the first time Burke had attempted to hurt others. He was arrested four times in the city in the last three months alone, most recently for assaulting a woman on April 2 inside the West Fourth Street subway station. He allegedly shoved the back of a 23-year-old woman’s head following an argument inside the West Village station, causing bruises. He pleaded not guilty in that case and was granted supervised release.
Jessup roots
Falzone graduated from St. Patrick’s High School in 1967. He continued to visit his family home on Cherry Street, Jessup, until the death of his mother, June, in 2019.
Falzone went on to graduate from Bloomsburg University with a bachelor’s degree in education and from Marywood University with a master’s degree. He also earned credits toward his doctorate at Columbia University.
His father, Rosar Falzone, died in 1988. His sister Donna Falzone of Moscow visited her brother in New York frequently.