New York Police are looking for a 5’10,” 350-lb African- American man in his mid-to-late 30s, who insulted a 22-year-old with gay slurs and then slashed him about the face, neck, back and elbows at a McDonald’s in New York’s Greenwich Village.
So, there’s a lot happening in this scenario. First of all, there’s this McDonald’s that is “notorious” for violent attacks.
According to the New York Daily News:
In March, five men brawled outside the same McDonald’s and video of the fight was posted on YouTube.
Last October, a McDonald’s employee used a pipe to beat two women who ran around the cashier’s counter and attacked him. The worker was arrested but later cleared by a grand jury.
And in March 2011, 26-year-old Damian Furtch was also attacked and badly beaten, allegedly by a man who didn’t like that he was wearing pink shoelaces.
Why this particular McDonald’s? Why the West Village? Would the Burger King in Midtown not let them have it their way?
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
This most recent violent incident, the fourth in 18 months, happened Wednesday night around 7 pm when the suspect started berating an unidentified man. Police say the attacker then pulled out a razor and cut the victim in the face, neck, back and elbows. The victim was later treated at Bellevue Hospital.
The NYPD has released a video surveillance photo and says anyone with info regarding the suspect’s identity should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS. Anyone facing a similar incident should contact New York’s Anti-Violence Project on their hotline at 212-714-1141 or visit the AVP website to report violence anonymously.
Aidan8
I’ve watched the West Village change a lot over the last ten to fifteen years. For as long as I can remember, I never felt unsafe in the Village, even alone late at night. That’s not the case anymore. All neighborhoods change with time, but the Village was fairly stable as a relatively safe neighborhood. That stability seems to be eroding.
Bob LaBlah
@Aidan8: Your comment about how it HAS changed amounts to the understatement of the year.
Can you imagine a situation where on Christopher street, the street where the gay pride movement began, having to place search lights in two sections of it because of the homeless kids who prowl the streets at night? Those kids have ransacked two businesses this year so far and are the main reason why the beautiful, recently reconstructed Christopher street pier closes at midnight instead of being open 24/7.
I do not condone violence but I must say that the incident where the two lesbians crawled over the counter and thought they were going beat up a hard working McDonalds worker made me laugh when they got just what they asked for. He beat the living crap out of them and they welled deserved it. I noticed the last few years that the fireworks that go on after the annual gay pride celebration on the pier is void of white faces at night. It is all black and the majority of the time the police forces the entire crowd to leave the village afterward due to the violence that started occuring about two or three years ago.
A shame indeed it is.
Eric Auerbach
@Bob LaBlah: Took long enough for the racist loonies to show up.
Eric Auerbach
@Bob LaBlah: Took long enough for the ra cist loonies to show up.
Michael
What was Rush Limbaugh doing in New York? And, in black-face?
alterego1980
That is quite a disturbing list of events in one area…Maybe someone’s selling LSD next door or maybe, as suggested, it’s just turned into a bad neighborhood…When the gays spread their wings and leave the nest, they don’t really get a say on who follows.
MACDONALDBANK
Being black, left-handed or being gay is just as natural. It is a sometimes rare occurrence to fall in Love and to hold that person in your heart and be loved in return … it is something that should be celebrated! If it’s between two guys or two girls — all the better. It takes even more courage to defend that LOVE!
The evil writings in Leviticus 18:22 … against gays – depict: “P” … “priestly rules” & expanded by the pope; homophobes and religious frauds … to attack the gay community and never meant to apply to the public — but to priests. Leviticus was written long after Moses — 600BC.
There is no scientific evidence to prove any of the cross related bogus elements of christianity and other religions. Our early human ancestors; on this earth … go back more than 6 million years … 5,996,000 years before the Greeks, Romans and the Jews. Christianity is basically a 2012 year old fictional cult.
In the year 300 AD when Emperor Constantine, who to some was the first pope; went on to fabricate & market Christianity!
Christianity is a fantasy; which turned out to be one of the most hateful & evil concoctions ever perpetrated on the world.
It is written; so therefore it shall be? We are the chosen people? Such a wicked fantasy. To see the religious lunatics manipulate government and our lives is shameful.
The pope and churches fully aware that Leviticus 18:22 applies to priests only … refuse to remove this stigma … maliciously persecuting gays. Kids are being bullied into suicide …!
timbar41
loser
Ogre Magi
@Aidan8: What caused the change?
Aidan8
@Ogre Magi: Not sure really. Many of the downtown neighborhoods have changed a lot over the same time period. (E. Village and especially Tribeca, for example) When I was in law school (OK, I’m dating myself here) twenty years ago, the West Village was still very “neighborhoody” and safe. (or at least it felt safe to me) Then we saw more and more rough crowds hanging around Christopher and elsewhere and a big increase in street crime. Residents avoiding certain streets at night was not the norm. Now it is. I guess you can’t expect any part of the city to stay the same forever, but it’s sad to see once safe very gay-friendly neighborhoods get ugly.
Ogre Magi
@Aidan8: Are the rough crowds gay or straight?
QJ201
The West Side Highway and the area on 6th near the subway stations and basketball court have not been “safe” for a long long time. Poor kids of color take the trains downtown and treat anyone who is not one of “them” with contempt and disdain. The residents of the west village, both old and new are treated like they are the problem.
Pity the foolish white guy who will “pick up” one of the street crowd, he is likely to get rolled.
Snatch and grab has been a huge problem with small retail shops in the WV. A crowd of kids just storms in, grabs what they can and then runs out.
No one cares what color anyone is, what people care about is behavior, and if the behavior of people who can best be described as “black” is a problem, that is not racist that is a fact. And trust me I have heard plenty of gay black and latino men refer to the WV crowd as “ghetto.”
Dumdum
This really drives home the point that there must be healthier places to eat.If I am in N.Y.C. the last place I would want to eat is McDonalds.I’m certain that one could find a fresh Bagel with lox cream cheese and tomato. I understand that New York City has some of the best Delis in the U.S.
Aidan8
@Ogre Magi: It appears to me, in part based upon anti-gay slurs and violence, that the rough crowds are largely young straight people from outside the neighborhood. There’s always been a big bridge-and-tunnel presence here, but if you ask any resident they will tell you this is very very different. I hate to use the word “thug” but that’s the word that comes to mind. And the broken windows, trash, noise, and street crime go along with it.
jmmartin
Uh oh! I might have to start eating at the Chic-Fil-A across the street!
Witchdoctor
It’s because they moved the tombstones, but didnt’ move the bodies.
\
Witchdoctor
It’s because they moved the tombstones, but didnt’ move the bodies.
Wendy
Is this Governor Cristie in Black Face drags?…
streeteditions
During the 1990’s, THE NEUTRAL ZONE,an LGBTQ safe space run by the Greenwich Village Youth Council, which I volunteered with had nightly Neighborhood patrols of youth along West St. and Christopher. It also offered space for youth to congregate without being harassed. But the lack of funding and support cut that program and youth had nowhere but the street. The gentrification of the Village, West Side Highway GREENWAY and police neglect/abuse have left little for youth there except the Center a mile away from the docks.
This incident is more likely just the underbelly of rage at those who appear more fortunate. or bad bath salts again.
Rockery
Mentally ill – this does not sound like a gay bashing
KARUADAM
@Rockery: “GAY, OR NOT GAY BASHING” it`s a mental poverty, behavior that we all know about, so well..
TONYC
I have lived at a Christopher street address for over 30 years. I remember walking home at late night from working a hospital shift… 1970s … I would be greeted by every imaginable clown , from a dealer etc but that environment was in this area at that time not a person would travel down here and a part of that mystique I liked and the reason I lived here. Over the years and especially the past 10-15 years it has become a haven for the wealthy. I paid $350/ mOnth and now these condos are selling for millions. Well money has arrived, along with the people who think they can make everything go their way… they already got the Gay Pride Festival after the parade changed to 10 blocks north and much shorter whether you liked it or not… these kids.btw are not all black see money that they will never have in their lifetimes..that part has changed drastically from the 70s. We always had a mixture of Gay people but the closing of leather bars etc meant no reason for anyone to come down here but the kids remain. … I have to say that attacks I have seen from my window( like purses during the day ) take place so fast , that if you blink your eyes you miss it… is it the economy? I have to say yes. I used to get ” bottled” by the Jersey guys by car. You got used to that but I want to say with all those seedy elements around me,I felt safe coming home because they always looked out for each other …I have to say this add this incident to the history of bashes, including myself… but looking at his picture they may be abnormalities within that brain of his. Also add that police presence is not in cars anymore, nor by foot. A light placement. Is supposed to do what.. Run up our tax bill. The poor Economy IHits the poorest first in so many ways that we are not even aware and I’ll just add that NYC had my close friend hospitalized for 5 seperate incidents for attempting suicide(a result of no work , loosing apt, no family help, I took him in for 4 months) and this is jumping in the Hudson Rivet. Well the fifth time he succeeded.
tobyg1
For some years I have been involved with a charity that works to help the homeless street kids the above posters mention. They are mostly LGBT and all have background stories that would make a stone cry. They have had to survive on the street the best way they can, often from early teenage.Yes, they can be rowdy and yes, they can be often guilty of all sorts of petty crimes. They have been given little or no reason to respect “society” or even the so-called LGBT community, very few of whom lift a finger to help them. There are a handful of dedicated people at several charities – such as Ali Forney Center, Village Cares and New Alternatives, that give their very best to help these kids get a life together but the number of kids in desperate need is simply overwhelming. Dozens of kids are helped. Thousands are not.And BTW, these kids come in all colors and from all types of backgrounds. When I hear the complaints of older gays who live in or frequent the Christopher St. area about these kids I have to ask “what have YOU done to help?” Obstreperous, badly mannered, weirdly outfitted and all, these are OUR kids – these are LGBT youth. A community that does not care for its children does not deserve equality. Volunteer – there are many openings. Write a check – even small sums help. Reach out. Start by going to the websites: http://www.newalternativesnyc.org is a good place to begin. And don’t expect to be treated like “Lady Bountiful” either. These kids aren’t choir boys/girls, respectfully tugging their forelocks and saying “oh thank you kind sir, for the bowl of gruel.” But for all that, they’re just kids and they need the help of people who really care.
AedanLMB
A lot of these kids are painfully aware of the gay class system that now exist as gay becomes more mainstream. Gone are the days where everyone was in the same boat. When I look at depictions of older faggots, it tends to seem a little more colorful than what happens today. Those black and Latino gay kids stand out because they don’t fit into the blandness that gentrification has brought to the village. Coupled with rich yuppies, gay and straight, being the primary residents of the are, and it’s easy to see why these kids are a problem. They no space to just be them without feeling the judgement from the white elite that now watch over their every move. This won’t stop as long as there is such inequality. Sad thing is, more and more I notice those older faggots in the village and chelsea give zero fucks about the gay youth in the city and I believe a lot of that has to do with blacks and Latinos being the most visible and populous force of our gay youth. It’s almost as if their goal wasn’t gay acceptance, but to assimilated into white culture, and fuck everyone who isn’t.
JosephHill
@Bob LaBlah:
“Can you imagine a situation where on Christopher street, the street where the gay pride movement began, having to place search lights in two sections of it because of the homeless kids who prowl the streets at night?”
————————————————————————————
‘Ohhhhh, those ‘homeless kids’! Don’t they have somewhere else to go?!’
The answer is usually “NO, they don’t.”
Rather than b*itch and cry about these “dreadful” kids and how they are ruining the neighborhood and interfering with business, how about getting your priorities straight? These human beings are MUCH more important than a few broken windows or the limits on your nightlife. Self-absorption is a disease! Geeeez…….
Full story here: http://www.queerty.com/gay-hate-crime-greenwich-village-mcdonalds-20120921/#ixzz27Db47F4e
ginasf
I just want to point out what wasn’t mentioned in this post… that the attacker was originally yelling at a trans woman. That the boyfriend was the boyfriend of a trans woman and therefore, not technically gay (I’m sure you all have your own opinions on that). That this wasn’t mentioned in the article (and it’s very obviously explained and shown in the Daily News article) makes me question the OP’s intent with posting this story. The only reason the boyfriend was attacked in this case was because he stood up for his girlfriend. The attacker was on the verge of attacking her and the boyfriend stepped in.
Trans women have been attacked at MANY McDonalds… one was murdered after leaving one by Penn Station, another was physically attacked by staff while in the bathroom stall at a different McDonald’s and, more recently, the Polis attack at a McDonald’s near Baltimore where the staff stood by and watched (and filmed the attack and put it up on YouTube as a laugh). That’s only the tip of the iceberg. WIth the exception of the Polis attack, all of these attacks were done by adult men. I lived in NYC from 1980 through 1991, was mugged, attacked several times and, believe me, the city is a lot safer now than it was then (I’m not saying it isn’t overly gentrified and economically/racially polarized… of course it is). The genuine reality is, trans women and gender variant gay men get attacked… A LOT. And society has yet to do anything about it other than some very ineffective hate crime legislation.
tidalpool
I recall a study on density of population done at my college. Seems the more dense the population, the greater the likelihood of physical violence for space, resources and mates. NYC is classic. It follows the pattern exactly. The richer the borough, the more green spaces, more jobs, larger apartments and more law enforcement. The poorer the borough, the opposite. Then combine the proximity. Put Poor near Rich, give the ‘youth’ easy access, bridges,subways and highways, and you have a perfect storm for violence and theft, muggings and robberys. Toss in the Gay/Str8 factor, and you up the violence.
I like NYC, for access to the arts, culture and innovation. However, I enjoy my dose from 500 Park, and venture out in the daylight, or by the hotels car and driver. I live in South Central Texas, where my living area is 3600 sqft, on one acre, with garage, pool, and lovely gardens. That is the best of both worlds. This queer lives on the third coast…and why anyone chooses to live in NYC is beyond me..unless they have the income of Croesus.
AedanLMB
A lot of these kids are painfully aware of the gay class system that now exist as gay becomes more mainstream. Gone are the days where everyone was in the same boat. When I look at depictions of older gays, it tends to seem a little more colorful than what happens today. Those black and Latino gay kids stand out because they don’t fit into the blandness that gentrification has brought to the village. Coupled with rich yuppies, gay and straight, being the primary residents of the area, and it’s easy to see why these kids are a problem. They have no space to just be them without feeling the judgement from the white elite that now watch over their every move. This won’t stop as long as there is such inequality. Sad thing is, more and more I notice those older gay guy in the village and chelsea give zero fucks about the gay youth in the city and I believe a lot of that has to do with blacks and Latinos being the most visible and populous force of our gay youth. It’s almost as if their goal wasn’t gay acceptance, but to assimilated into white culture, and screw everyone who isn’t.
Brian
It’s appalling that the liberal mainstream media hides black-on-gay crimes. Does it fear that the liberal coalition will break apart if such crimes are exposed?
Black culture is very homophobic to the point of it threatening our lives. Time to fight back.
Eric Auerbach
@Brian:
“Black culture is very homophobic to the point of it threatening our lives. Time to fight back,” he said, before donning his white hood.
the other Greg
@tidalpool: Really, San Antonio is on the “third coast”? That’s like calling Phoenix and Atlanta seaports.
Anyway – how many illegal immigrants do have working on your little plantation there? You’re such an admirable “job creator”!
TONYC
I would love to see these kids of all colors unite (they were trying at the very beginning of the opening of the Hudson River Park)…in fact that park marks one main reason the kids came down from everywhere, babies in carriages at 2 AM in the Summer etc..but the budget of the park is dwindling and they have literally “let it go”..BTW: that park is not a part of the city, it makes it’s own rules..it’s a trust but all you need to do is walk down to Battery Park City on the water(once you hit Stuyvesant high school and make the turn…that’s a whole other money situation”Battery Park Association” and the difference in maintenance is amazing,they are NOT a part of our mess!..they don’t water from Battery Park all the way up in to the 50s..disgusting..we used to have beautiful Beach Roses blooming,in the center of the roadway and when a gust of wind came down my street,the fragrance would be in my studio..I love flowers..also the park already has an AIDS monuments…at Charles street,on top of a hill, very simple slab of curved granite ,on top of a small slope, we don’t need that “eyesore” going up near St Vincents Hospital(RIP)..all POLITICAL to show compassion for the hospital that took care of the very first AIDS victims in NYC.. everything’s not watered,no one cares enough in those million dollar condos that see it, to donate some cash to clean it up, the WORSE is BARRY DILLER’S designed by Frank Gehry glass offices..it’s white ,shaped like a sailboat..not a penny is given to clean it up..up near the 23st piers…we have returned to the PIERS That were crumbling and then tore down…but I am all for these young kids to organize .I put my time in at the Gay Center (13 Street)with whatever is needed to be done…hopefully it helps onePERSON of whatever sexuality!.. these young people also need to put in work but they’re here for fun, meet up with friends…sounds to me what I used to do before moving here 🙂 there is not ONE simple solution to this answer…but I will be out there with these young people if they decide to contrive something to move them away
BTW: the small Leather Fair on Weehawken Street (the smallest street in NYC)one block off the Hudson Park..it was next to the bar and the street is so small and no one can see anything unless they walk up to it..they had it cordoned off from either end..the “muttant” parents got together and deemed this inappropriate and canceled their permit…that has to be at least 10 years ago…this is not Folsom East..just needed to dd to my comments..Winter is coming buy the young kids still come…maybe their home is mesed up, who knows..but I wish they would use the Gay center for something…they don’t seek help until they get SICK..and there lies another major problem
and all this “letting go” of the maintenance of the park may be one reason they think that they will not come back..well that doesn’t work, they came when the piers were falling in the water :-)this is HEAVEN to them watered or NOT watered!
Ok that’s all for now…