Seymour W. James, Jr., The Legal Aid Society, New York (Denise Fabiano of counsel), for appellant.

Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Matthew B. White of counsel), for respondent.

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Troy K. Webber, J.), rendered March 27, 2014, as amended April 23, 2014, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree, and sentencing him to a term of 25 years, unanimously reversed, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, and the matter remanded for a new trial.

Reversal in the interest of justice is warranted, based on the principle set forth in People v Velez (131 AD3d 129 [1st Dept 2015]), which was decided after defendant's trial. We have considered and rejected the People's arguments for affirmance.

Because we are ordering a new trial, we find it unnecessary to reach defendant's remaining contentions other than to find that the verdict was supported by legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. Concur—Richter, J.P., Manzanet-Daniels, Tom, Kahn, Singh, JJ.