Gay Bashings on the UES Appear Linked – Caution

A third gay bashing has occurred on the upper east side of Manhattan in less than one week, and the assaults appear to be related.  A total of six attacks by the same group of young, white men have occurred on the UES in the last month.  The NYC Anti-Violence Project has issued this alert:

Community Alert: Recent anti‐LGBT attacks on the Upper East Side; AVP urges community to stay alert

and safe

This morning, the New York City Anti‐Violence Project learned of six violent attacks on the Upper East

Side that have occurred in the span of just over a month.  Most of the attacks occurred between June

26th and June 28th.  A disturbing commonality in at least two of the incidents has been the use of anti‐

gay epithets during the attacks, regardless of the self‐identity of the victims. Three of the incidents are

being investigated as hate crimes by the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force.  The Anti‐Violence Project is

urging the NYPD to investigate all six as possible hate crimes.  All of the attacks occurred in the early

morning hours.

The news comes just after the release of the 2008 Hate Violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and

Transgender People in the United States Report, which includes the New York City Anti‐Violence

Project’s data on anti‐LGBT hate violence in New York City.  The report documents that in NYC there was

a 12% decrease in reports of incidents, but an increase in the severity of the attacks. The recent reports

from the Upper East Side have made clear that the trend in severity appears to be continuing.

The Anti‐Violence Project is in constant communication with the 19th precinct, the Hate Crimes Task

Force, the NYPD’s LGBT Liaison, NY State Assembly Member Micah Kellner and NY City Council Member

Jessica Lappin to address the needs of the residents of the Upper East Side and the City as a whole.  The

Anti‐Violence Project urges people to stay alert and, when out late at night, to try to walk in pairs.

Anyone who has experienced an attack or has information about the cases mentioned above is being

asked to contact Crime Stoppers (by calling 1‐800‐577‐TIPS, by texting TIP577 to CRIMES, or by going to

NYPDCrimeStoppers.com) or to call the New York City Anti‐Violence Project’s 24‐hour hotline at 212‐

714‐1141.  All calls are confidential.

For additional safety tips, please visit our website: www.avp.org/victiminfo.htm.  Please forward this e‐

mail to your friends and urge them to stay safe.

Be careful.  Sounds like a group of stupid teenagers to me, however, an assault is an assault.  Here is a sketch of the man created from the victims by the NYPD.  Keep your eyes open: