Friends of Ryan Carson are reeling days after he was fatally stabbed on a street corner in Brooklyn.

“It breaks my heart to know how much he could’ve accomplished in the span of his life and it was just taken too soon,” said Jaqi Cohen, who was a friend and former colleague of Carson.

Authorities responded to a 911 call at Lafayette Avenue and Malcom X Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant just before 4 a.m. Monday. Police said they found Carson, 32, with multiple stab wounds to his chest. He was then taken to a nearby hospital, where he died.

“This is not just a loss for us. This a loss for all of New York,” Cohen said.

The two met in 2011 while working together at New York Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit organization aiming to protect the environment and public health.

“He certainly wasn’t an idealist, but he believed in the power of community organizing and just community more broadly, and helping his fellow neighbor and New Yorker out,” Cohen said.

Carson dedicated much of his life to climate activism, even appearing on Spectrum News Albany in 2021, calling on the state to expand its bottle deposit law.

Carson’s commitment to social justice took a personal turn when his best friend died of a drug overdose. He then embarked on a 500-mile march from Brooklyn to Buffalo to raise awareness for overdose prevention legislation.

“He was really dedicated to making sure that nobody felt the pain that he felt when he lost his best friend,” Cohen said.

Tributes to Carson came pouring in on social media on Tuesday.

“Ryan Carson turned his passion into purpose. He advocated tirelessly for others, and his giving spirit was a buoy to all. His murder is unthinkable, and the NYPD won’t rest until we bring him to justice. I’m praying for all who knew and loved Ryan,” Mayor Eric Adams wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Meanwhile, Carson’s friends and colleagues are vowing to keep his legacy alive by fighting for the issues that mattered so much to him.

“It’s on us to continue his legacy and to the opioid epidemic, to fight climate change, to fight to make New York City and New York state a better place, and we’re gonna do the very best we can. If not as well as Ryan, the best we can to remember Ryan,” Cohen said.

Police are still looking for the person who stabbed Carson early Monday morning. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS.