Despite heading into what will be the most consequential week of their lives, Daniel Penny’s family is focusing on gratitude. “We’re blessed and grateful for everything we do have. We have each other,” Penny’s mother Gina Flaim-Penny told me on the eve of Thanksgiving.
On Thursday, Daniel gathered with his mother and his younger sister Taylor Penny, 24, at his maternal grandparents’ home. His two other sisters, Jackie Penny, 27, and Katie Penny, 22, who were in Miami and Texas respectively, planned to FaceTime so they could all eat “together.” In addition to traditional Thanksgiving fare, Flaim-Penny’s mother made her famous lasagna.
“I can’t make it as good as my mother and Danny said ‘Nonna’s is the best,’” she said, adding that her mother was happy to prepare her specialty for her grandson. “My parents love him so much. He always goes to visit them.
” Flaim-Penny and her three daughters say they would treat this Thanksgiving like it was any other family holiday – with games, jokes and of course, Nonna’s lasagna. But nothing is typical in their world. Their beloved “Danny” is facing second degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the chokehold that prosecutors have argued killed mentally disturbed homeless man Jordan Neely on the F train in May 2023.
After a month, the trial is nearing its end. On Monday both sides will deliver their closing statements and the 26-year-old Long Island native’s future will rest in th.