Authorities say Jacolia James was found on the floor of her apartment at the Woodson Houses on Powell Street in the Brownsville section just before midnight Tuesday.
She was discovered beaten to death with trauma to her head and torso.
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Those who knew her were shocked.
"She was a devout Christian," neighbor Sylvia Keith said. "She gave me a palm on Palm Sunday. I can't believe this was a homicide. Jackie was a lovely lady."
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James' murder is the second in the building in the last year and residents say they feel very unsafe.
"This building has never been safe and I've been coming here 15 years," one resident said.
So far the city has failed to install any cameras in the NYCHA building.
"We don't have any and I've been fighting and pushing from the governor's office down to our elected officials to get these cameras," tenant advocate Diane Johnson said. "Senior communities are very vulnerable and these are our trailblazers and they're being bumped off and robbed, mugged and we can't help the police because cameras would help them."
Anyone with information in regard to the identity of the males is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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