More than three years after the fatal beating of Michael Sandy in Brooklyn, N.Y., family members and friends are getting closer to seeing a memorial dedicated in his honor.

According to SheepsheadBites.com, a local community board voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow the erection of a memorial stone for Sandy near the Plumb Beach parking lot. The proposal now goes to the New York City parks department.

Sandy, an African-American gay man, was killed at Plumb Beach in 2006 in a botched robbery turned hate crime.

“I would like to thank everyone involved who has had the opportunity to say ‘yes’ to putting this memorial up,” said Tony Bruce, the executive director of the Michael Sandy Foundation, in an interview with Sheepshead Bites. “In some part, by saying ‘yes’ to this they’ll be doing something small that may change someone’s mind about hate violence.”

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