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When Paul Fortini went on dates with his girlfriend, he didn’t want her roommate to have to stay home alone. So sometimes, he’d take her out too — pull up an extra chair, hold both of their hands and talk about the state of modern love. They called them “triple dates.”
Fortini, a 19-year-old CAS sophomore from Duxbury, Mass., was killed in Brooklyn late Friday after a night out with friends. He was hit by two cars while he walked along the side of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Williamsburg, according to his parents and published reports. But yesterday, as his friends mourned and remembered his life, they mostly recalled a selfless, dedicated friend, who checked in on them nightly and was there when they were lonely, or in trouble, or just needed to talk.
That was the kind of guy he was, they said: there for them, always.
“With each person, he would really make an effort and it showed,” said LSP sophomore Melanie Wallner, the third in Fortini’s triple dates. “He really cared about all his friends.”
Fortini’s parents, Kathy and Ken Fortini, flew to New York from Boston after learning that their son was missing. Members of his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, spent much of Friday evening and early Saturday morning searching for him before learning he had been killed.
Though the police have not officially determined through dental records that the body is Fortini’s, his mother says it was him.
“I went down to the morgue to identify the body, and I can tell you that it was my boy,” she said.
Last night, sitting in Fortini’s apartment in Gramercy Green residence hall, his parents sat surrounded by some of his closest friends at NYU. The mood was somber, but there were no tears; the group sat laughing, remembering Fortini fondly.
“He was a blond guy with wicked blue eyes,” his mother said. “He naturally fit in so many places.”
Fortini was fascinated by Asian culture. He was a talented trumpet player, and in high school, he performed in Radio City Music Hall, Disney World and San Francisco. He was a good cook and loved making meals for friends.
He read voraciously; his mother recalled Nietzche and The Communist Manifesto as recent choices.
“He found a volume of short stories by Ernest Hemingway and came home glowing,” added CAS sophomore Michael Bolton, his roommate and fraternity brother.
Fortini joined the fraternity last spring, where he quickly became a model member.
“It was guys like Paul that reminded you why you joined the fraternity,” said Josh Terrill, the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter adviser, who graduated in May.
Sigma Phi Epsilon president and Steinhardt senior Eric Lum said Fortini embodied the fraternity’s philosophy.
“We usually refer to that prototypical, all-around great guy as a stud,” he said. “Paul was definitely a stud.”
But most of all, he was remembered as a man of many friends.
“He had so many different groups of friends,” LSP sophomore Mina Kaneko said. “Socially, he crossed several spheres.”
Kathy Fortini said she was shocked to learn that her son was walking along the notoriously busy Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. But when she drove to the scene with NYU Public Safety officers yesterday, she saw the area was located off the busy highway, with trees and grass. It could have happened to anyone, she said.
Ken Fortini, her husband, said he wants students to understand how crucial it is to call Public Safety officers when facing dangers such as those that killed his son.
“Kids in college don’t realize that they can call for help,” he said. “They think it’s a sign of weakness. If you are in trouble in the city, call NYU Public Safety. That’s what us parents are paying for.”
He added: “Unfortunately, lapses of judgment happen because of your ages. It’s due to a lack of living long enough to deal with your experiences and the belief that you’re invincible.”
The Inter-Greek Council will be holding a candlelit tribute for Fortini tonight at 10; the group will meet in the Kimmel Center and then proceed toWashington Square Park.
Share your stories and memories of CAS sophomore Paul Fortini.
Additional reporting by Amanda Sakuma. Chris James is city/state editor. Ariel Siegel is campus editor. E-mail them at campus@nyunews.com.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story spelled Fortini's father's name incorrectly; he is Ken Fortini. Additionally, the story misspelled the name of Fortini's hometown; it is Duxbury, Mass. The story also incorrectly quoted Josh Terrill; he said "fraternity," not "frat." WSN regrets the errors.
