Hell's Kitchen Gay Bar Vandalized Repeatedly, Owners And Police Say

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — After a Hell's Kitchen gay bar was attacked by a vandal for the third time in a week, owners are reportedly upset with the police for what they see as an indifferent response to alarming acts.

Video released by owners of VERS shows a man walking up to the Ninth Avenue bar around 10 p.m. Saturday and tossing a heavy object at the front window, causing a loud bang, before running away.

Police confirmed that this was the third incident of its kind. On the evenings of Nov. 13 and 15, someone also threw bricks at the bar's front windows, according to an NYPD spokesperson, who said the agency is classifying the acts as "criminal mischief."

David DeParolesa, who owns the bar, told Gothamist on Sunday that police were "dismissive" of the notion that the vandalism might be motivated by bias, and did not ask for a copy of the surveillance footage.

"They weren't seemingly interested in investigating it at the moment," DeParolesa told Gothamist. "They were really nonchalant."

Hours later on Monday, however, police shared additional photos of the suspect, taken inside a store after the third incident, and said the acts were being investigated as "Hate Crime Criminal Mischief."

The latest attack was especially unnerving for its timing: just hours later on Saturday, a man committed a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and wounding 25 others, according to authorities.

"These are hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community," Hell's Kitchen City Council Member Erik Bottcher said in a tweet about the vandalism at VERS.

Bottcher urged anyone with information about the vandal's identity to contact the NYPD's Hate Crimes unit at hctf@nypd.org or 1-888-440-HATE.