LOCAL OFFICIALS CONDEMN POTENTIAL WEST VILLAGE BIAS ATTACK

NEW YORK – A group of local elected officials, including State Senator Brad Hoylman, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, and NYC Council Members Corey Johnson and Margaret Chin released the following statement today in response to a potential bias attack that occurred in the West Village on Sunday, October 2. During the incident the assailant pushed a male victim into a window at 168-170 West 4th Street while reportedly yelling racial and homophobic slurs.

“The unwarranted and potentially biased attack on an innocent individual in the West Village strikes at the very heart of New York’s LGBT community. Our thoughts are with the victim as he recovers from this traumatic incident. Sadly, this is just the latest incident in a disturbing pattern of bias crimes carried out against LGBT people and religious or ethnic minorities across New York. To root out these attacks we must come together as a community and show that we will not be cowed by threats of violence, real or otherwise. To that end, we must ensure that the cowardly individual behind this attack faces the full force of the law.

“We’re grateful to the officers of the NYPD’s Sixth Precinct for their continuing efforts to bring the perpetrator to justice and strongly encourage anyone with information about the identity or whereabouts of this individual to step forward. We will continue to do all we can to assist both law enforcement and members of our community as this investigation continues.”

This afternoon the group of elected held a flyering event at the scene of the incident in an effort to raise awareness of the attack, demonstrate support for the victim, and help identify the perpetrator. A copy of the elected officials’ flyer with important information about the incident and the investigation can be found below.

October 13, 2016

Dear Neighbor:

We are writing to alert you to a potential bias incident that occurred in the neighborhood and ask for your assistance in helping the New York City Police Department (NYPD)’s Sixth Precinct locate the suspect. On Sunday, October 2 at approximately 5:33 pm, an assailant pushed a male victim into a window at 168-170 West 4th Street while reportedly yelling homophobic slurs. Please see more detailed information and a picture of the suspect on the other side of this letter.

If you have any information about the incident or the pictured subject, please contact Detective Michael Diaz at 646-610-5267 or Detective Borough Manhattan South at 212-477-7447. You should also feel free to reach out to any of our offices at the numbers below with any questions or concerns.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler: 212-367-7350

State Senator Brad Hoylman: 212-633-8052

Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick: 212-674-5153

Council Member Corey Johnson: 212-564-7757 

Council Member Margaret Chin: 212-587-3159 

Sincerely, 

Jerrold Nadler                      Brad Hoylman                      Deborah J. Glick

Member of Congress           State Senator                         State Assemblymember

Corey Johnson                      Margaret Chin

City Council Member          City Council Member