Help us Build a Memorial to Connor in Central Park
Donation protected
For Connor - The Only “One”
Hello loved ones and friends, you know me as Connor's twin sister, Logan. We grew up side by side with two military parents moving from continent to continent; North America, Asia, and Europe before the age of four. As Connor said, we were each other’s only “constant”. We never had the first day jitters or the cafeteria seating anguish in school because we always had each other. Connor was my cute, sensitive and shy, mathematically and scientifically inclined, constantly-innovating co-conspirator. In contrast, I was boisterous and much better in Language arts. My parents knew they eventually had to separate us in preparation for the future. So when college time came, he moved away to North Carolina State University, while I stayed local. My parents were right because this is when the worldly and wise, funny, curious, interested, kind, knowledgeable, talkative, spontaneous, and energetic side of Connor began to erupt.
He developed a taste for discovery and tall, historic buildings, so he soon transferred to Northeastern University in Boston. This is where he met many of his lifelong friends and where he further developed his sense of self. He quickly knew every corner of Boston and especially loved walking through the historical neighborhood of Beacon Hill across the Boston Common and over to the Prudential Center. Connor could often be found playing trivia with “Geeks who Drink” in a dive bar close to his college, winning twenty-dollar gift certificates as a weekly allowance. When he wasn’t walking or playing, he was “co-oping” for Arbella and Harvard. The years flew by and he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 2015.
At this point, we were both graduated and had been spending our summers walking New York City (where my mom now lived because of Connor). He would browse the Skyscraper City forum for the latest city projects which would give us a trajectory for the day. He dreamt of working for one of his favorite architecture firms one day: Snøhetta, Bjarke Ingels Group, or SHoP. We would carefully choose our shoes for the day to avoid blistering and we were off. We would be out all day and come to know all of the public bathrooms, dollar pizza shops, and spots for cheap entertainment. We would wait in line for hours to hear free concerts, get to the club early to avoid the entry fee, and ride the free fairies to get the best city views. The twins were back at it; traversing our world together. It was cathartic and we finally felt home. New York was where we placed our roots and where our adult lives really began.
Connor found a good job with the Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Company where he worked for two years. He loved his commutes from our Upper East Side apartment to the 58th street location by electric skateboard through Central Park. He would listen to his latest Spotify playlist amalgamation (usually including Lauv and Post Malone) while drinking a cold brew (Triple Shot La Colombe). He loved giving tours of his office space after hours to show us and his friends the unobstructed view of Central Park. After work, he would meet with friends and somehow seamlessly juggled work and play. Thankfully, many of his friends from Boston moved to NYC as well.
Connor thrived on new experiences and living somewhere new and unfamiliar. He took after our dad who also had this relentless need to have “boots on the ground”, moving constantly. Connor would be known as “the walker”; avoiding buses, cars, subways if at all possible. On September 27th 2020, Connor walked all five boroughs in one day. He would take solo trips; once to Iceland to ride on ATVs and go dog sledding; another time to Argentina where he went deep sea SCUBA diving. He also took a month-long backpacking trip in Eastern Europe with his Northeastern friend, James. In 2018, Connor decided to work on acquiring his EU citizenship as a proud Hungarian and wanted to make use of this by living in Europe for a while. He became really adept at creating opportunities for himself and accepted a full academic scholarship to Aalto University in Finland to study Real Estate Economics. His new obsession would become polar plunges and sauna recovery sessions.
While his time in Finland graced him more new lifelong friends and memories, he learned about an exchange (Erasmus) program in Valencia, Spain to study technical architecture. It would also offer a warmer climate, a year to learn Spanish, and a chance to attend the same school as Santiago Calatrava (one of his favorite architects). Connor was off once again! In October 2019, I spent a week in the life of my twin; going to classes, meeting his friends, walking the streets sipping horchata, snacking on pintxos, and getting our first tattoos together. His last months in Spain were difficult on him, however. The pandemic lockdown was strict in Spain, and he survived COVID alone. But he worked through it and he would call me to video chat for hours showing me his latest streetwear clothing finds. He also perfected his paella recipe and eventually finished his 90-page thesis. In May of 2020, he received his Master’s Degree and was excited to start looking for Urban Planning positions in NYC.
Through all of his travels, NYC was still his favorite and he had two tattoos to prove it. He would bask in the abundance of innovation and design concentrated on a twenty-three square mile island. Most recently, Connor’s NYC tour included the new Hudson Yards project and the Vessel, the High Line, always the historic Woolworth building, Chelsea Market, Washington Square Park, and ending with a hike through Central Park. The park was just three blocks from our apartment. We used to walk with our mom to the Time Warner Center on the south end of the park, pick up Tikka Masala at Whole Foods, and enjoy it on the rocks at Hernshead while Connor talked about every detail of the buildings around us. In 2010, a wicked blizzard whipped through NYC, leaving the city streets and parks desolate. Connor and I grabbed some cardboard and went sledding down the steps of Bethesda Terrace, played football in three feet of snow, and threw snowballs down the middle of Fifth avenue. In 2011, we found a perch alongside Central Park West to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Most summers, we would wait hours in line to enjoy free concerts in the park. We celebrated the coming of the 2013 New Year with friends and marathon runners. We would always love finding new paths and waterfalls in the Ramble. Connor was a lover of nature with a near equal affinity for tall and innovative structures. Again, with tattoos dedicated to both.
My family and I, including his girlfriend Paulina were so happy to have him home in New York, even if only for a little while. We gave up trying to hold him down and knew that we could always count on his return during the holidays. But, alas, this year it was time for my mom to move out of her Upper East Side 86th street apartment in the city of 10+ years and into her new home upstate. Although sad to say goodbye to our home base in NYC, Connor was happy to help my mom establish a new one. He helped her decorate with MoMA fixtures and eclectic West Elm pieces, to care for her new puppy, and buy a new car with all of the latest safety features. Our Christmas day was beautiful with stockings full of yummy treats, a thoughtful gift exchange, a delicious Connor-made Mexican dinner of tacos Al Pastor, and a hilarious game of Battle of the Sexes. At the end of the night, he announced that it was time to pack for his next journey – a road trip with a friend to visit Austin, Texas with a couple of exciting stops along the way. He had been talking about visiting Austin for a while and was excited for one last trip before beginning his new career. In the early morning of December 26th 2020, he left with his bags, some leftover ribs, and his drone. He was messaging and posting online throughout the day letting us know how cold it was in the Midwest and that he was thinking about us. The morning of the 27th, I received a knock on my door to let my know that my twin and favorite person in the world had been killed at 11:28pm in a head on collision with a woman driving on the wrong side of the interstate.
Connor was planning to return from his trip and live with his beautiful girlfriend, Paulina, in Brooklyn. He dreamt of becoming an Urban Planner working for Bjarke Ingels in NYC. He sent out tens of applications hoping to have an answer upon his return and start a new professional life. He had even started talking with Paulina about having a family with three kids. And all in an instant, his future and the future as we had all imagined it was erased.
Connor always encouraged people to enjoy life and keep traveling. To stop going to the same vacation spots and to try a new one. He told us to travel to Peru and see Machu Picchu, which we did last summer. He would entice us with the meals he would make for us from ingredients he found during his travels. He loved making Spanish paella and salmorejo, Hungarian gulyas and cucumber salad, Mexican tacos al pastor, and began experimenting with Thai curries. He wanted to share his experiences with us and to send the message that life is short and that there is no need to live by someone else’s standards. He refused to waste a minute. He would say “be good and keep moving”.
My mom and dad, my husband, Connor’s girlfriend and Connor’s remaining close family and friends are asking for your help in creating a memorial in his honor. Our family loved Central Park in part because Connor loved it so much. Connor wanted to become an integral part of New York City and we know that the best way to do that now is to have a plaque placed in his honor. Not only will this be a memorial to him, but it will also serve as a place for friends and family to visit from around the world and to enjoy the very spot that he enjoyed on many occasions. The plaque would be placed at Hernshead, a site where you can sit on large rocks along The Lake in Central Park enjoying the view of the midtown skyline while simultaneously being surrounded by nature.
I am in discussion with the Central Park Conservancy, a non-profit organization that operates to protect the park and conserve its beauty. This organization is currently asking for money raised to function as an endowment to the park which will secure Connor’s plaque on his favorite rock in his favorite park in his favorite city.
I thank you for your help and for loving Connor and our Reisenbigler-Krikava family.
With the deepest love and appreciation,
Logan Reisenbigler
Connor Julien Reisenbigler’s Incredibly Proud Twin Sister
Please discover the depths of my brother's heart and mind by following the links below:
A tribute video showing his places people and bravery
Connor called this video collage Loving Life as he rides through Central Park and travels the world
Connors public travel diary
Connors facebook for posting milestones
An interview between my brother and his friend with cool mentions
Connors old Domino Tower YouTube Channel
Connors Second YouTube Channel with old friend Nick
Connors Professional Profile
My brother's message [verbatim] to his friend Javi about how to see NYC. Please use his well-trotted guide on your next trip:
"Hey guys, just a quick list of sites you should definitely visit, in order of north to south, so you can plan as you walk down.
- Central Park (obviously)
- Strawberry Fields (in central park)
- Bethesda Terrace (in central park)
- Columbus Circle and time warner center (inside, near central park)
- If you like opera, you can look into a show at Lincoln Center, world famous center of Opera
- Fifth Avenue starting at 59th street
- Rockefeller Center
- I really recommend walking down fifth to maybe 42nd street, and then cutting over to times square, as fifth avenue is the prettiest
- Grand Central Station
- Times Square (visit Juniors for delicious cheesecake)
- HUDSON YARDS (Great to visit on a rainy day, get tickets for vessel for free, and eat at the Mercado Little Spain)
- Walk the highline park
Perhaps an alternate day, do these, as they are more central, in manhattan, far from highline park:
- Madison Square Park
- Union Square
- Washington Square Park
- When done with highline, walk to river along hudson river park, or cut into west village and walk down Bleeker street, one of the nicest streets in NYC
-Walk around Soho, especially Broadway and West Broadway
- Lower East Side - if you want hipster new york, head here, and go to the Market Line, a brand new underground market with good food
- Fancy place to eat in this are is Beauty and Essex, classy and trendy, with amazing food, highly recommend, very NYC experience
- BEEKMAN HOTEL (A must visit, a trip to 1870s NYC, its gorgeous in a building from that period recently renovated)
- Tribeca
- Duane Park is nicest part of Tribeca, very cozy
- World Trade Center (oculus, museum, observation deck), on a rainy day good to do all three. Then if you want head to le district for great french food.
- Stone Street, another good place to eat, cobblestone street reminiscent of old europe
- Pier 17 - cool rooftop with ice skating, and amazing views
- Seaport district for old NYC, oldest preserved part of NYC/ manhattan
- If you want amazing authentic chinese food, go to Spicy Village, it is cheap, grungy, and just perfect authentic NYC. Cash only
- Prince street pizza for some of best pizza in NYC
- Little Italy
BROOKLYN:
- Williamsburg for hipster New york
- Park slope for classy, mature NYC
- Some of nicest ares in NYC are in brooklyn for strolling, I recommend Brooklyn Heights and carroll Gardens
- Brooklyn bridge park is simply a must visit, exquisite views and beautiful park, masterfully redone recently.
- Juliana´s often considered best pizza in NYC and it is in that area, go there.
- Cool shopping market on a rainy day is City Point, go there for awesome food and cool vibes. Also great movie theater.
Hello loved ones and friends, you know me as Connor's twin sister, Logan. We grew up side by side with two military parents moving from continent to continent; North America, Asia, and Europe before the age of four. As Connor said, we were each other’s only “constant”. We never had the first day jitters or the cafeteria seating anguish in school because we always had each other. Connor was my cute, sensitive and shy, mathematically and scientifically inclined, constantly-innovating co-conspirator. In contrast, I was boisterous and much better in Language arts. My parents knew they eventually had to separate us in preparation for the future. So when college time came, he moved away to North Carolina State University, while I stayed local. My parents were right because this is when the worldly and wise, funny, curious, interested, kind, knowledgeable, talkative, spontaneous, and energetic side of Connor began to erupt.
He developed a taste for discovery and tall, historic buildings, so he soon transferred to Northeastern University in Boston. This is where he met many of his lifelong friends and where he further developed his sense of self. He quickly knew every corner of Boston and especially loved walking through the historical neighborhood of Beacon Hill across the Boston Common and over to the Prudential Center. Connor could often be found playing trivia with “Geeks who Drink” in a dive bar close to his college, winning twenty-dollar gift certificates as a weekly allowance. When he wasn’t walking or playing, he was “co-oping” for Arbella and Harvard. The years flew by and he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 2015.
At this point, we were both graduated and had been spending our summers walking New York City (where my mom now lived because of Connor). He would browse the Skyscraper City forum for the latest city projects which would give us a trajectory for the day. He dreamt of working for one of his favorite architecture firms one day: Snøhetta, Bjarke Ingels Group, or SHoP. We would carefully choose our shoes for the day to avoid blistering and we were off. We would be out all day and come to know all of the public bathrooms, dollar pizza shops, and spots for cheap entertainment. We would wait in line for hours to hear free concerts, get to the club early to avoid the entry fee, and ride the free fairies to get the best city views. The twins were back at it; traversing our world together. It was cathartic and we finally felt home. New York was where we placed our roots and where our adult lives really began.
Connor found a good job with the Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Company where he worked for two years. He loved his commutes from our Upper East Side apartment to the 58th street location by electric skateboard through Central Park. He would listen to his latest Spotify playlist amalgamation (usually including Lauv and Post Malone) while drinking a cold brew (Triple Shot La Colombe). He loved giving tours of his office space after hours to show us and his friends the unobstructed view of Central Park. After work, he would meet with friends and somehow seamlessly juggled work and play. Thankfully, many of his friends from Boston moved to NYC as well.
Connor thrived on new experiences and living somewhere new and unfamiliar. He took after our dad who also had this relentless need to have “boots on the ground”, moving constantly. Connor would be known as “the walker”; avoiding buses, cars, subways if at all possible. On September 27th 2020, Connor walked all five boroughs in one day. He would take solo trips; once to Iceland to ride on ATVs and go dog sledding; another time to Argentina where he went deep sea SCUBA diving. He also took a month-long backpacking trip in Eastern Europe with his Northeastern friend, James. In 2018, Connor decided to work on acquiring his EU citizenship as a proud Hungarian and wanted to make use of this by living in Europe for a while. He became really adept at creating opportunities for himself and accepted a full academic scholarship to Aalto University in Finland to study Real Estate Economics. His new obsession would become polar plunges and sauna recovery sessions.
While his time in Finland graced him more new lifelong friends and memories, he learned about an exchange (Erasmus) program in Valencia, Spain to study technical architecture. It would also offer a warmer climate, a year to learn Spanish, and a chance to attend the same school as Santiago Calatrava (one of his favorite architects). Connor was off once again! In October 2019, I spent a week in the life of my twin; going to classes, meeting his friends, walking the streets sipping horchata, snacking on pintxos, and getting our first tattoos together. His last months in Spain were difficult on him, however. The pandemic lockdown was strict in Spain, and he survived COVID alone. But he worked through it and he would call me to video chat for hours showing me his latest streetwear clothing finds. He also perfected his paella recipe and eventually finished his 90-page thesis. In May of 2020, he received his Master’s Degree and was excited to start looking for Urban Planning positions in NYC.
Through all of his travels, NYC was still his favorite and he had two tattoos to prove it. He would bask in the abundance of innovation and design concentrated on a twenty-three square mile island. Most recently, Connor’s NYC tour included the new Hudson Yards project and the Vessel, the High Line, always the historic Woolworth building, Chelsea Market, Washington Square Park, and ending with a hike through Central Park. The park was just three blocks from our apartment. We used to walk with our mom to the Time Warner Center on the south end of the park, pick up Tikka Masala at Whole Foods, and enjoy it on the rocks at Hernshead while Connor talked about every detail of the buildings around us. In 2010, a wicked blizzard whipped through NYC, leaving the city streets and parks desolate. Connor and I grabbed some cardboard and went sledding down the steps of Bethesda Terrace, played football in three feet of snow, and threw snowballs down the middle of Fifth avenue. In 2011, we found a perch alongside Central Park West to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Most summers, we would wait hours in line to enjoy free concerts in the park. We celebrated the coming of the 2013 New Year with friends and marathon runners. We would always love finding new paths and waterfalls in the Ramble. Connor was a lover of nature with a near equal affinity for tall and innovative structures. Again, with tattoos dedicated to both.
My family and I, including his girlfriend Paulina were so happy to have him home in New York, even if only for a little while. We gave up trying to hold him down and knew that we could always count on his return during the holidays. But, alas, this year it was time for my mom to move out of her Upper East Side 86th street apartment in the city of 10+ years and into her new home upstate. Although sad to say goodbye to our home base in NYC, Connor was happy to help my mom establish a new one. He helped her decorate with MoMA fixtures and eclectic West Elm pieces, to care for her new puppy, and buy a new car with all of the latest safety features. Our Christmas day was beautiful with stockings full of yummy treats, a thoughtful gift exchange, a delicious Connor-made Mexican dinner of tacos Al Pastor, and a hilarious game of Battle of the Sexes. At the end of the night, he announced that it was time to pack for his next journey – a road trip with a friend to visit Austin, Texas with a couple of exciting stops along the way. He had been talking about visiting Austin for a while and was excited for one last trip before beginning his new career. In the early morning of December 26th 2020, he left with his bags, some leftover ribs, and his drone. He was messaging and posting online throughout the day letting us know how cold it was in the Midwest and that he was thinking about us. The morning of the 27th, I received a knock on my door to let my know that my twin and favorite person in the world had been killed at 11:28pm in a head on collision with a woman driving on the wrong side of the interstate.
Connor was planning to return from his trip and live with his beautiful girlfriend, Paulina, in Brooklyn. He dreamt of becoming an Urban Planner working for Bjarke Ingels in NYC. He sent out tens of applications hoping to have an answer upon his return and start a new professional life. He had even started talking with Paulina about having a family with three kids. And all in an instant, his future and the future as we had all imagined it was erased.
Connor always encouraged people to enjoy life and keep traveling. To stop going to the same vacation spots and to try a new one. He told us to travel to Peru and see Machu Picchu, which we did last summer. He would entice us with the meals he would make for us from ingredients he found during his travels. He loved making Spanish paella and salmorejo, Hungarian gulyas and cucumber salad, Mexican tacos al pastor, and began experimenting with Thai curries. He wanted to share his experiences with us and to send the message that life is short and that there is no need to live by someone else’s standards. He refused to waste a minute. He would say “be good and keep moving”.
My mom and dad, my husband, Connor’s girlfriend and Connor’s remaining close family and friends are asking for your help in creating a memorial in his honor. Our family loved Central Park in part because Connor loved it so much. Connor wanted to become an integral part of New York City and we know that the best way to do that now is to have a plaque placed in his honor. Not only will this be a memorial to him, but it will also serve as a place for friends and family to visit from around the world and to enjoy the very spot that he enjoyed on many occasions. The plaque would be placed at Hernshead, a site where you can sit on large rocks along The Lake in Central Park enjoying the view of the midtown skyline while simultaneously being surrounded by nature.
I am in discussion with the Central Park Conservancy, a non-profit organization that operates to protect the park and conserve its beauty. This organization is currently asking for money raised to function as an endowment to the park which will secure Connor’s plaque on his favorite rock in his favorite park in his favorite city.
I thank you for your help and for loving Connor and our Reisenbigler-Krikava family.
With the deepest love and appreciation,
Logan Reisenbigler
Connor Julien Reisenbigler’s Incredibly Proud Twin Sister
Please discover the depths of my brother's heart and mind by following the links below:
A tribute video showing his places people and bravery
Connor called this video collage Loving Life as he rides through Central Park and travels the world
Connors public travel diary
Connors facebook for posting milestones
An interview between my brother and his friend with cool mentions
Connors old Domino Tower YouTube Channel
Connors Second YouTube Channel with old friend Nick
Connors Professional Profile
My brother's message [verbatim] to his friend Javi about how to see NYC. Please use his well-trotted guide on your next trip:
"Hey guys, just a quick list of sites you should definitely visit, in order of north to south, so you can plan as you walk down.
- Central Park (obviously)
- Strawberry Fields (in central park)
- Bethesda Terrace (in central park)
- Columbus Circle and time warner center (inside, near central park)
- If you like opera, you can look into a show at Lincoln Center, world famous center of Opera
- Fifth Avenue starting at 59th street
- Rockefeller Center
- I really recommend walking down fifth to maybe 42nd street, and then cutting over to times square, as fifth avenue is the prettiest
- Grand Central Station
- Times Square (visit Juniors for delicious cheesecake)
- HUDSON YARDS (Great to visit on a rainy day, get tickets for vessel for free, and eat at the Mercado Little Spain)
- Walk the highline park
Perhaps an alternate day, do these, as they are more central, in manhattan, far from highline park:
- Madison Square Park
- Union Square
- Washington Square Park
- When done with highline, walk to river along hudson river park, or cut into west village and walk down Bleeker street, one of the nicest streets in NYC
-Walk around Soho, especially Broadway and West Broadway
- Lower East Side - if you want hipster new york, head here, and go to the Market Line, a brand new underground market with good food
- Fancy place to eat in this are is Beauty and Essex, classy and trendy, with amazing food, highly recommend, very NYC experience
- BEEKMAN HOTEL (A must visit, a trip to 1870s NYC, its gorgeous in a building from that period recently renovated)
- Tribeca
- Duane Park is nicest part of Tribeca, very cozy
- World Trade Center (oculus, museum, observation deck), on a rainy day good to do all three. Then if you want head to le district for great french food.
- Stone Street, another good place to eat, cobblestone street reminiscent of old europe
- Pier 17 - cool rooftop with ice skating, and amazing views
- Seaport district for old NYC, oldest preserved part of NYC/ manhattan
- If you want amazing authentic chinese food, go to Spicy Village, it is cheap, grungy, and just perfect authentic NYC. Cash only
- Prince street pizza for some of best pizza in NYC
- Little Italy
BROOKLYN:
- Williamsburg for hipster New york
- Park slope for classy, mature NYC
- Some of nicest ares in NYC are in brooklyn for strolling, I recommend Brooklyn Heights and carroll Gardens
- Brooklyn bridge park is simply a must visit, exquisite views and beautiful park, masterfully redone recently.
- Juliana´s often considered best pizza in NYC and it is in that area, go there.
- Cool shopping market on a rainy day is City Point, go there for awesome food and cool vibes. Also great movie theater.
Co-organizers (4)
Logan Reisenbigler
Organizer
New York, NY
Ildiko Reisenbigler
Co-organizer
Paulina Rangel
Co-organizer
Roland Krikava
Co-organizer