New Yorkers Shocked by 'Crazy' LGBT Hate Crime in West Village

WEST VILLAGE, NY — New Yorkers were shocked Thursday to find out about the bias attack in the West Village on Oct. 2 in which a man shoved a 32-year-old on West 4th Street while yelling anti-gay slurs at him.

New York State Sen. Brad Hoylman and Council Member Margaret Chin passed out 400 fliers Thursday evening outside the West 4th Street subway station looking for tips about the attacker, who was still at large.

Many people who were reading the flier for the first time did double takes.

"This is historically the place for counter-culture," said Will Maloney, 30, who lives in the Bronx. "I guess maybe now there are less people dressed outlandishly and more yuppies and conservative people here, like this guy [on the flier]."

"It's crazy, usually this neighborhood is a pretty calm place," said Chris, a 21-year-old from Queens who was playing basketball right outside the West 4th station when a member of Hoylman's staff slipped him a flier through the fence.

"This guy's got something on his mind, I'll say that," Chris, who wouldn't give out his last name, said. "As a Hispanic male myself, it's sometimes not easy for me either. But I would never hurt anybody, regardless of their religion or race or sexuality. Some people can't accept it's 2016."

According to the NYPD, the 32-year-old victim was walking down West 4th Street at around 5:30 p.m. outside Las Ramblas restaurant when the attacker approached him from behind and began shouting gay slurs at him. The suspect aggressively pushed and shoved the victim, causing him to fall and hit his head on a window frame, police said. Police released video of the incident on Oct. 6 and additional surveillance photos of the suspect on Oct. 11.

"Particularly a crime in Greenwich Village that happens against a member of the LGBT community is shocking to our community, as it is to me personally," Hoylman told Patch. "We want to stand with the victim and let him know that he has a community behind him, and hopefully that will aid in his recovery process."

"It happened in broad daylight on a Sunday," Chin told Patch. "Hopefully the people who are in the neighborhood who come in and out will be able to help us identify this perpetrator and make sure that he's arrested, that nobody else will be attacked by him."

Photo Credit: Sarah Kaufman/Patch