Oct. 24, 2012 By Christian Murray
Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and Council Speaker Christine Quinn will hold a press conference tomorrow to speak out against the attack on 43rd Avenue that has left the victim in life-threatening condition.
Family and friends of the victim will join both elected officials as they present a statement on behalf of the victim’s husband and make a personal appeal to the public to come forward with any information regarding the incident that took place Saturday morning.
On Saturday, Oct. 20, at some time after 2 a.m, a 62-year-old gay man, was brutally attacked in Sunnyside, Queens, leaving him in critical condition, Van Bramer’s office said.
According to a witness, two men were walking with the victim toward 41st Street before hitting him over the head with a blunt object outside of 41-00 43rd Ave. in Sunnyside, the councilman’s office said. (see earlier story– for more details)
The suspects have not been apprehended and the NYPD is seeking additional information from the public. The victim, is a personal friend of Council Member Van Bramer, and was an influential member in the community.
WHO: Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Speaker Christine C. Quinn, friends and family members of the man who was attacked in Sunnyside as well as members of the community.
WHAT: Council Member Van Bramer, Speaker Christine Quinn, friends and family of victim speak out against recent attack in Sunnyside WHEN: Thursday, 1 p.m., Oct. 25.
WHERE: Council Member Van Bramer’s District Office, 47-01 Queens Boulevard, Suite 205, Sunnyside, Queens
42 Comments
@ Ich_bin_ein_Sunnysider
Get a clue, loser.
@J
Heartless soul?
If that means I think all victims of violent crime should be regarded equally tragic, then perhaps I am. Try looking in a mirror.
@ Ich_bin_ein_Sunnysider
I sincerely hope your cold heartless soul ROTS IN HELL where you belong.
You have NO RESPECT towards the victim, or his family. Shame on you. A piece of S–T is what you are. And maybe not even that.
I think part of the coverage/outrage over this is that
1. The monsters that did it are still out there. All the Sunnyside homicides I can think of in the last few years were solved. With the exception of the Post Diner one. I could be wrong on that, but I don’t ever remember someone being brought to justice
2. The person may have been attacked strictly based on their sexual orientation. Murder of any sort is horrible, of course. To single people out for death based on their race/creed/gender/lifestyle is something that the KKK, Nazis, etc did. It strikes a chord in people.
based on some of the comments…the cop that was murdered in cold blood in LI is getting too much news coverage/outrage?
Someone please name me a homicide in our area where politicians, the media, etc simply ignored it. Enlighten me.
RD
Ich_bin_ein_Sunnysider:
b4 he jumped he murder his wife…genius.
RD
@Jerry
Thanks.
That’s the point I have been trying to make, perhaps too clumsily for some to understand.
@Ich-
Whether or not you are Jewish is of no consequence, and only points to the thinly veiled prejudice of the person asking the question. Perhaps that person has forgotten the “Golden Rule”… Do Unto Others, as you would have others do unto you! We are all equal under the Laws of our land, and in the eyes of G-d, provided of course, you believe in G-d.
The bottom line is, this isn’t a political issue. This is a family trying to figure out what happened, because the 108 is not being helpful at all. Yes, Jimmy is helping his friend…because he has a RIGHT to. He is still a citizen of this country, and he is doing everything in his power to help his FRIEND. Politicians are human beings too. If any of you we’re in a similar situation, and had the ability to get help like this, wouldn’t you? And if you say no, then I highly doubt your ability to be honest…
As for his name not being released, it was at the family’s request thus far. Yes a lot of people know who this was, because this was a wonderfully caring man who made many friends in this neighborhood, and we have all seen him in that hospital bed with our own eyes, so please don’t be so insensitive as to question whether or not this really happened.
And for those of you who know more details and aren’t saying it because “Sunnyside is against minorities”….believe what you want about Sunnysider, but I promise you that this man befriended anyone and everyone, of every race, creed, gender, and sexual orientation, and he was not against anyone. Please help us find who did this. Don’t live your life knowing you could have helped and chose not to. Don’t do that to his family.
All we want is justice. If any of you had a loved one in a similar situation, you would do anything and everything in your power to find the people who did this.
For the record, I’m not Jewish although I have the utmost respect for the Jewish faith.
@Craic Dealer-
I’m curious to know what makes you think Ich_bin is Jewish?(which may or may not be the case). Could it be the handle “ich_bin_ein_Sunnysider” which is actually German, and adapted from something our late great former President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, said at the beginning of an address in Berlin: “Ich bin ein Berliner”?
Bottom line: a human being was victimized. That’s what matters. Let’s look at people as individual human beings instead of what group they belong to. My level of outrage isn’t based on identity politics. Can’t say the same for some people here.
If Sunnyside wasn’t against so many minorities I bet a few people would definitely come forward and say what they seen. I found out what happen from a witness and what’s being reported is half the truth
Equality is something we are told is noble and something to strive for but here I am advocating for it in this liberal enclave of Sunnyside and getting criticized for it. As with most liberal values, they are very subjective. Practice what you preach.
Am I the only one who understands, and appreciates what Ich_bin has said? A violent crime committed against anyone, regardless of Race, Creed, Religious Affiliation, Sexual Orientation, Political Connections or what a remarkable and generous human being that person is, does not make it any more or less of a crime against a member of our community, except if it can be proven a Bias Crime. A Special Circumstances provision can be applied to the penalties if there is evidence of bias. Yes, those who personally know the victim are suffering more, than those who do not, which is not to say those who do not know the victim do not care.
@Chloe
You caught me out on a typo. Well done.
Yet your own reading comprehension is not very good at all.
When I wrote “suck it up” it was not directed at the victim in this story, it was the attitude that would be displayed towards any other victim of a similar crime who isn’t politically connected or a member of a politically-correct special interest group. You would have known that it you bothered to read it properly.
Before you get all pedantic, perhaps you should check your own academic skills first.
Change of Subject here, I found out who was leaving all those shit stains under the 7 train between 46 to 40th. It’s none other than your friendly neighborhood CHAAAAANGE BUM! I managed to catch 2 photos of the guy as I was walking home.
[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/89175843@N07/8122274567/[/url]
I told you people he was a problem. I was the first to say he was a problem. It sickens me to see people STILL giving him money . And not just money but FREE FOOD! he got free F#$ing slices of Sunnyside Pizza. the good stuff.
STOP BEING A BUNCH OF IDIOT ENABLERS. you hippies said hes not bothering anybody and just ignore him, well now he’s shitting ALL over your neighborhood.how does that make you feel? Want to keep giving the bum money? Want to see him continue to spit in front of food businesses?? He’s a damn outbreak monkey waiting to happen.
So heed my warning, or keep walking by him acting as if you ignore him he will leave you alone. Remember Homeless people like him were tossing people into train tracks not too long ago.
Some citizens are more equal than others
@Ich_ bin
How dare you upset the cultural milieu of groupthink that is sunnyside? How dare you voice what’s in the dark recesses of many people’s thoughts?
Get with the regime pal. Or do you need reprogramming ?
@Ich_bin_ein_Sunnysider: What if it was a Jew getting hit with a blunt object? You wouldn’t want to shove it in people’s faces?
I hope the police were able to look at numbers on his cell phone (if he carried one) because it sounds like all involved knew each other. Could it have been a robbery gone wrong? Was his wallet taken? I would like more information. This is scary. Prayers.
Dear Idiot Sunnysiders,
If someone is brutally beaten (and I think murdered now) in my neighborhood, I want to know, whoever the hell it is. That said, I might particularly want to know about a hate crime as those more directly effect me and my friends and the community at large. (Whereas a domestic murder, sad as those are, do not.) If someone is running around beating up gay people (all of my friends) and attacking women (http://sunnysidepost.com/2012/09/12/woodside-woman-outsmarts-sexual-predator/), this is a thing that could happen to ME and/or my FRIENDS and college-aged daughter, and I want to know! We are all in danger if violent criminals are present in our community.
In any case, I cannot believe this conversation is even going on. Right on, FedUp, although I felt compelled to call out the insanity of the whole thing.
@Chloe, attacking someone’s reading comprehension? really? are we in high school? Jeez, you two are arguing the same point, and you don’t even realize it.
ich bin makes a great point which is, as i have interpreted it to be, that crimes are crimes, whether they are waged against a straight person, or a gay person, a man or a woman, whether they were assaulted for being gay, or assaulted just because the perps had nothing better to do with their live does not make an assault any more or any less important than any other crimes. Crimes are crimes, they should be reported on as any other. They should not get more attention because the victim was gay, nor should they get more attention because the victim was a friend of a politician.
I for one am stunned this hasn’t gotten any attention outside the sunnysidepost.
This website. or at least the comments section, are a waste of time. People just vent and nothing is achieved. Just bullshit..that’s all.
@ich bin — sensitivity isn’t your forte is it? I hope next time you need a shoulder to cry on, none is there, and you remember this moment.
@ Ich_bin_ein_ Sunnysider
First of all it is Chloe not Cloe.
Second, your lack of attention to my handle is telling considering you chose to pay only partial attention to one of the many sentences I wrote, similar to how you paid only partial attention to my handle.
To be clear, given your handle, I assume the well being of Sunnyside and the violations that take place within it are of importance to you.
I understand that my final paragraph and the two sentences in it are perhaps annoyingly long for those who do not read comprehensively. Nevertheless, they deserve a complete, and not marginal, reading. To repeat the first sentence of my final paragraph:
“That having been said, it appears that I need to remind you that all violent assaults are tragedies, for the person, their loves ones, their community, and the communities those assaults take place in.”
The assault was in Sunnyside, Ich bin ein Sunnysider. That is your home.
Furthermore, if you want to respond, or take issue with anything I wrote; respond to the whole sentence(s). As annoying as my sentences may be, they are complete thoughts. Please respond to the whole thought, not a portion. I gave you that curtsey when I responded to a whole thought of yours. “Suck it up.”
@RD
“We have had some horrible murders in Sunnyside over the years and all got media coverage and social commentary. The Diner, the man that jumped from the RR, ….”
If he jumped, how was it murder?
I think that if the motive for an attack is someone’s race/creed/lifestyle then it should be big news.
Something that is being forgotten here, the people that did it are STILL at large, thus the extra emphasis.
We have had some horrible murders in Sunnyside over the years and all got media coverage and social commentary. The Diner, the man that jumped from the RR, etc.
Let’s chill out and realize that his family & friends are hurting right now.
RD
I agree with ich bin and like om said why don’t we know his name how do we even know this really happened???
PS
Not that anyone is interested, but I would like to see those who committed this terrible crime suffer the severest penalty. If this man should die, and the perpetrators are convicted of murder, then they should be put to death, preferably in the electric chair.
Is anyone else here in favor of such a harsh penalty as I am?
Would any hate crime law be more severe than what I propose for these criminals?
@Cloe
You wrote: “That having been said, it appears that I need to remind you that all violent assaults are tragedies,….”
Thanks, but that’s exactly the point I am trying to make.
@Disgusted
“…this is my friend you’re trying to turn into a political topic…”
I am very sorry for your friend, but isn’t the person the turning it into a political topic a politician?
I have never said this victim deserves any less sympathy than anyone else or that this case is anything less than an appalling tragedy. All I asked was why do those who have suffered a similar fate deserve less. That doesn’t make me callous or mean, I’m just interested in equality. I’m told equality is important.
I’ll say a prayer for him and his family as I will for anyone else less well connected who is similarly victimized.
I feel very badly that this man was viciously attacked. However, I question why the Sunnyside Post has not stated his name when so many people seem to know who he is. I am aware that in certain limited circumstances the press will not publicize the name of a crime victim, such as in rape cases. To my knowledge, it is common to identify the victims of an assault. I think that if the man’s name was stated, it may help the investigation if, for example, someone saw him earlier in the evening and who he may have been with. In any event, my best wishes to the gentleman, his family and friends.
@Ich_bin_ein_Sunnysider I care for all, but this is my friend you’re trying to turn into a political topic. I’m sorry you’re not friends with a politician and that upsets you so. You should suck it up.
@Ich_bin_ein_Sunnysider
I think that every vicious attack, especially when days later there are no suspects, and only a very small amount of information on the attack, should be given a press conference. The safety and well being of our communities, the people living in them and the businesses working out of them, all benefit from rapid and complete resolution of violent crimes.
However, up until this press conference there has been no information given to the public about this crime. Only sunnysidepost (for better or for worse) provided any information. While the scheduling of a press conference may seem strange to you, the complete absence of any public note of this crime is strange to me.
In full disclosure, my husband and I are personal friends of the victim and his husband. That having been said, it is remarkably callous of you to tell Heartbroken to “Suck it up” because homeless people may not also receive the same attention. If you care so much about the plight of the underrepresented, shouldn’t you also care about the plight of unrepresented crimes?
It just so happens he was an uncommonly generous, gregarious, bright and loving person. We will miss him terribly, painfully and very, very completely.
That having been said, it appears that I need to remind you that all violent assaults are tragedies, for the person, their loves ones, their community, and the communities those assaults take place in. If you feel the need to respond I ask that you take into consideration the largeness of your community, and the sadness some in it are experiencing, Ich bin ein Sunnysider.
@Digusted
I’m not being heartless at all. I’m just pointing out that that someone’s tragedy or death is not dependent on how many people you know or love you.
Why are you being heartless against the victims of crime who didn’t have the foresight to be friends with local politicians? There are people who die friendless. Why don’t you not care as much for them?
This is likely a “gay-bashing” incident, and it’s not surprising that leaders in the gay community express support and outrage over the attack. Jewish politicians would likely speak out strongly against hate-crimes against the Jewish community, Latino/a politicians would do the same for their community, etc.
What is unfair is that “gay-bashing” still occurs in 2012 in New York City.
Ich_bin_ein_Sunnysider, you obviously have no clue what being a loved member of the community is. Don’t be so disrespectful as to tell someone in mourning to suck it up. How heartless can you be? If you’re going to be nasty about a soul in danger, keep it to yourself. I hope no one shows you sympathy if something similar happens to you.
@Heartbroken
So is a similar brutal attack on a less loved member of the community, less tragic?
If some homeless person with no political connections had been assaulted the same way, it would just be a routine event. Unfortunate perhaps, but, well, too bad. Suck it up.
Shame on you, Ich_bin_ein Sunnysider. This man was one of the kindest you would ever meet. He would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it. This has nothing to do with him being gay. It has to do with the incredible number of people broken hearted over the thought of losing him. You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to make this about anything but the loss of this poor man. The 108 has done nothing but hide things from the family. this press conference is necessary for justice. ANYONE deserves justice.
The victim was much loved by many people in this community – all sorts, not just gays. And the brutally of the attack of this kind and generous man is too shocking to be believed. This is why a lot of attention will and should be given to this story.
Prayers for the victim and family but is it really fair that this case gets more attention because the victim is gay and a friend of an influential gay politician and a gay Council Speaker?