A 23-year-old man who was on a date at a sushi restaurant when it was destroyed by Thursday’s massive East Village explosion has been reported missing, his family said.
The woman whom he was with, who survived and was hospitalized, was so dazed by the blast that she had trouble recalling what she had been doing and didn’t tell authorities for hours that he was gone.
Nicholas Figueroa, from Harlem, was on a second date with a lady friend at Sushi Park on Second Avenue when the eatery was struck by the blast, his brother said.
“We’ve been to all the hospitals and now we’re here at the shelter trying to find out anything we can,” said the brother, Tyler Figueroa, 21.
“He was on a date with a girl. She managed to get out but apparently he didn’t.”
Nicholas’ date suffered a broken nose and was recovering at Bellevue Hospital Center.
She was apparently so dazed that she forgot that she had been dining with Figueroa until hours later.
“She was delirious and couldn’t even remember who she was hanging out with this afternoon,” Figueroa’s cousin said.
“Later she came to her senses and remembered she was out having sushi with Nicholas.”
“Did he disappear with the blast? Did he fall down a hole? All I have are questions. I’ve gone to all the hospitals with the police and still nothing. . . . I just want to find my son.”
The father questioned why his son vanished and the woman had only a broken nose. But police sources said the woman told officials the last thing she remembered was the missing man getting up from the table to pay the check. Then the explosion happened and the next thing she remembered, she was in the hospital, sources said.
His brother Tyler recalled that his fun-loving brother didn’t even like sushi.
“Nicholas is a happy-go-lucky guy. He loves to experience adventures and go on crazy adventures. He’s got the biggest, brightest smile, too. I don’t even know why he was at a sushi restaurant. I thought he was a vegetarian.”
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