Crime scene vehicle (Sunday evening) Photo: QueensPost
Oct. 22, 2012 By Christian Murray
A man has been left in critical condition after being struck by a blunt object outside of 41-00 43rd Ave. at 3 a.m. Saturday, city officials confirmed Monday.
The victim was in an SUV with three other men when the vehicle suddenly pulled up on the corner of 42nd Street and 43rd Avenue, one witness said. Two of the men–and the victim– then got out of the SUV and then started walking toward 41st Street. The victim was then hit in the head and appeared unconscious.
“They all looked like friends,” the witness said, who has spoken to the police.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer’s office didn’t provide any details on the case. However, a spokesman said: “We are in contact with the 108 [police] precinct and we will get the bottom of this. The perpetrator will be brought to justice.”
Detectives continued to search for clues on Monday and they were asking business owners and residents along 43rd Avenue for information. The police are also trying to get their hands on video surveillance tapes.
A police spokesman said the investigation is ongoing.
The victim did not live in the building, sources said. However, he is from the neighborhood.
On Sunday, the police cordoned off the building and yellow crime-scene tape had been wrapped around the complex.
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34 Comments
I think it t is awful, under any circumsatnces, That anotherhuman being can beat up another ” beyond recognition” .
I live an Sunnyside and have seen and spoke with this man plenty of times
I hope and pray that the police find these men and convict them to the fullest extent of the law.
I do not understand why the grocery store, Ok Foods, Had not witnessed anything.
I live in the nieghborhood and have been to that store at 2 am and the employess always sit outside late at night.
How did they not see anyting???I find that hard to believe
In closing , I express my sympathy to the family and friends of Mr
Rspoli…
May he rest in peace and pleasee, If anyone has seen or heard anything, SPEAK UP to keep our neighborhod safe.
This could have been anyone’s loved one! 🙁
There are two different topics running here. One is about homelessness in the neighborhood. Another is about the victim of a crime. The man we are discussing is not a homeless man. He is an extremely intelligent, well-loved man who has had a positive impact on the lives of many people.
If anyone has any information, at all, please find it in your heart to step forward and provide (even anonymously) information to the police. His family and friends are devastated.
Early morning of the 22nd I got a call from a friend who told me of a similar incident involving his spouse. I have been scouring the internet for more news. This appears to be a report of what happened to my friend. Sounds like some of you who have made comments know the victim by name. Please email me with whatever details you are comfortable sharing. Thank you.
Prayers for the victim and his family. Just awful.
No human being deserves what happened to this man. I know he has been taken off life support and will never see his loved ones again. All for a senseless, heartless crime by people whom I pray are put behind bars for the rest of their lives. I only hope they are made to suffer the way the victim did. If anyone can shed any light on this tragedy, please go to the police. There must be some witnesses or someone who saw or heard something. Cruelty like this must not be tolerated. If you know something and do not act, you are as guilty as the ignorant pigs who commited this heinous crime. Please help the police if you can shed any light on this tragedy. No-one should walk free when they murder another person.
Just remember, I’ve been telling you about the Sunnyside homeless problem from the beginning.
I speak the TRUTH!
Thanks for clearing this up for me Rick durro one night my family ad I were passin by there and he scare the crap out of us!!! My children were scared as well!!! Something needs to be done I will call and complain there’s a school across the street I mean who knows who he is and what he does and he has all of these things and he’s basically camping out.i think he’s he guy I’ve seen with a cane before he wears sun glasses and is short cause I can never really see him since he’s sitting and is covered up maybe he’s rooming with the white guy under the tracks and train dude as well or maybe he’s hanging out with the hobo who holds my door at Dunkin and when I forget to give him money he mumbles ” you /&:$$: b/@:&: ” u all know him or maybe it’s the white guy with the shopping kart and buck teeth I DON’T KNOW but they need to be in a shelter for out safety and there’s as well
@ Heartbroken. Oh, no. My deepest sympathy to the family.
Why hasn’t the mainstream media picked up this story? Usually all assaults are reported!
The victim will not recover, he has been taken off life support.
re: the homeless in our neighborhoodhood, OM said it best, call 311, especially with Winter on its way.
While the ‘Chaaaaange’ guy is annoying, he is harmless and sticks to the Blvd. I once offered him food and he looked @ it in disdain and went right back to his ‘Chaaaaange’ mantra.
Someone has definitely called the City Dept of Social Services for the guy that has created his own patio apt on 43rd st, off of Skillman. I saw them talking to him one night, trying to coax him into a shelter.
RD
I understand that it is an on going investigation but maybe if the 108 weren’t so secretive about the whole incident it might prevent the circulation of unfounded rumors. All they had to say was an assault took place and the victim was critically injured. A newspaper is there to report stories, if the police won’t give them basic details then they go to people in the vicinity. Unfortunately this is when the stories get distorted. Hopefully the guy makes a full recovery.
@ruben: how you talking about YUPY when this is the Boomerang Generation?
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/03/15/the-boomerang-generation/?src=prc-headline
It should be YULH – Young Unemployed and Living at Home
I’m very glad to hear that the reports of the victim’s death are incorrect- I hope that he recovers soon and am thinking of his family and friends. This is definitely an example of why community engagement is so important- people should have trust to come forward if they see something, and know that their information will be put to good use. I’m glad to know more of what happened, even though information is incomplete.
The victim is a dear friend of mine for over 20 years. I don’t know how it is possible, but this article has far more information than the police told the family. (We had no idea there was a witness!) If you saw anything (even the aftermath, as Lucky Lu did), please come forward. My heart aches for my friend, who is a long time neighborhood resident, and a wonderful person. I can’t imagine that people who knew him would do this, as the article implies. There is clearly more to this story, and information is the only thing that may give his loved ones any kind of closure. Thank you in advance for your help.
@ Concerned. If you call 311 and report a possible homeless situation, City social service agencies and the police will investigate. I have made this call several times in my years in Sunnyside and the situations were addressed. Unfortunately, homeless people do return from time to time, as happens on the benches on Skillman outside of Lodati Park.
Ruben I wanted to ask you I you noticed that a homeless man made a fort for himself on 43 rd ave across ps 15os annex buililding he basically lives in that abandoned house and one night i saw he had a cane but i couldn’t make out his face this is NOT GOOD FOR our neighborhoods especially with a school being across the street !!!! What can we do about this ? Isn’t that illegal ??
Why does the post know more than the family?! And then they just publish all the information shamelessly for them to read about it in order to find out?! Sunnyside Post and the 108 should be ashamed of themselves.
This is a good man who did not deserve this. There are many people in the neighborhood who love him and respect him dearly and there WILL be justice.
Ruben, your uncompassionate response to social problems in your own community speaks volumes as to how some of our neighbors deal with street people (for want of a better term.) That guy, unfortunately, has been a fixture in Sunnyside for a long time- I don’t know that he’s ever hurt anyone. Do you just want him gone, or are you truly concerned with the plight of the mentally ill? I presume he or his caretakers do not know what else to do, so he tries begging for change. You can mock the situation, you can feel sympathy, you can even try to offer assistance, just don’t think it’s an issue that will be going away anytime soon. Many neighborhoods would love to trade for our “problems.”
I disagree Oppressed Masses, the current biggest threat to our personal safety are all the homeless people running around Sunnyside. Every other bus stop now has some hobo wrapped in plastic sleeping with a moat of garbage around him. They are all led by their king , the bum who yells for Chaaaaange. He is their Master and soon these Murlocks will take over Sunnyside.
Me…I’ve been watching the Walking Dead on AMC to prepare myself for this situation. Ye have been warned!
The updated information suggests that the persons involved with this attack knew each other. While I feel badly that someone was severely beaten, this crime does not reflect on the safety of our neighborhood. The current biggest threat to our personal safety are the various proposals in the City Council to limit the ability of the police to prevent crimes from happening.
I’m just glad he survived. May he recover fully and tell us all what happened.
I went outside and the guy was on the ground for quite some time before the paramedics bothered to do anything with him. Did they not know the extent of his injuries?
Webley, assault has nothing to do with whether the two people knew each other or had some sort of dispute or not. According to NY Penal Code:
S 120.00 Assault in the third degree.
A person is guilty of assault in the third degree when:
1. With intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes
such injury to such person or to a third person; or
2. He recklessly causes physical injury to another person; or
3. With criminal negligence, he causes physical injury to another
person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument.
Assault in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor.
It goes up from there.
skillmanite,
totally agree, why can’t they just install few cameras on these big buildings, rents are high already, and they are already cutting down on superintendent/etc.. services, you can barely get anyone to fix anything, on top there is almost no security.
As for the assault, how do they know it was assault and not some kind of dispute? Apparently someone knows something and not talking.
Yay more alcohol related crime. I think we need another pub crawl…
In response to no camera’s, the building owners are notoriously cheap and refuse to shell out despite having over 100 apartments paying rent. The way they treated elderly tenants after the fire a couple of years back was nothing short of a disgrace.
Nothing good happens after 2:00am.
This is terrible news, but I stand by that Sunnyside is still a safe place. Isolated incidents are part of every NYC neighborhood.
May he rest in peace and may his family find consolation.
Tragic. That’s the first bldg I lived in in Sunnyside.
RD
This neighborhood is going down the drain!!!! So sad I actually loved sunnyside but I feel differently bout it now!!
No cameras? Or confiscated by cops?
You have to be very careful if you are out at 3AM ANYWHERE in a big city.