Man killed in Brooklyn hate crime

parkplace

I realize this isn't about Crown Heights so maybe I am violating the rules, but it seems close enough, and something we should all worry about. This is late notice, but there is a march and vigil tomorrow (Sunday). This was a very brutal crime and it would be great to have lots of people turn out to support the march.


1 Dead in Bushwick Bias Attack
Vigils planned after Ecuadorian brothers, perceived to be gay, were beaten on the streets of Brooklyn.

By Kat Long
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The New York Blade

Two Ecuadorian brothers, Jose and Romel Sucuzhanay, were walking home early on the morning of Dec. 7, a little tipsy and arm-in-arm. That, allegedly, was enough to incite a group of men to physically assault them while shouting anti-gay and anti-Hispanic epithets.

Jose Sucuzhanay, 31, was declared brain-dead by doctors at Elmhurst Hospital Center two days later, and now the Brooklyn community where the attack took place is seeking arrests and answers.

The incident occurred about 3:30 a.m., when the two brothers were on their way home from a bar near the intersection of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place in Bushwick. According to the New York Times, witnesses saw a maroon sport utility vehicle pull up to the Sucuzhanays on the sidewalk. Three men jumped out, yelling anti-gay and racist slurs. One man broke a beer bottle over Jose Sucuzhanay’s head from behind and knocked him down.

Romel Sucuzhanay, 38, fled down the street when the man with the bottle came for him, then turned and saw at least one other man beating his brother with a baseball bat as he lay on the ground. Romel shouted that he had called police on his cellphone, and when sirens could be heard approaching, the assailants drove away in their SUV. Several witnesses then came out of their apartments and went to the injured men.

Jose Sucuzhanay was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center with a severely fractured skull and brain injuries, where he remained in very critical condition on life support while they waited for their parents to arrive from Ecuador.

Police have described the attackers as black men and released a sketch of one of the suspects, who is 6 feet tall, 18 to 20 years old, with a thin build, wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, boots and a baseball cap. Witnesses did not see the license plate of the SUV. There had been no arrests as of Blade deadline Thursday, Dec. 11.

The Associated Press reported that police are investigating the incident as a hate crime, and many city officials and activists have spoken out against the incident. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn released a statement in which she condemned the homophobic nature of the crime. “We must open our eyes to the hate that exists around us and work together to fight against those that demonize others and allow stereotypes to lead them to acts of unconscionable violence,” Quinn said. “We are all partners against hate. When we come together…we will send the message that we will not stand for the destruction that comes along with it.”

Council member Diana Reyna (D-Bushwick), in whose district the attack occurred, said, “This is a reprehensible crime…. For such an atrocity to occur in this day and age is beyond my comprehension. An act like this destroys a society, and we as a society must stand up and report such deplorable crime[s] against a community of people.”

According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, anti-gay violence increased 24 percent nationwide from 2006 to 2007, and though New York City experienced a slight decrease, there have been several high-profile incidents in New York State this year.
“We’re outraged about any violence based on identity, whether it’s sexual identity, race, or ethnicity,” said Sharon Stapel, executive director of LGBT group the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP). “The issue is perceived sexual identity. For AVP, it doesn’t matter if the victims were gay [in the Bushwick incident]—it’s important to us that the perpetrators thought they were gay, and that the perpetrators thought it was OK to attack them and use anti-gay language because of it.”

“We will not allow queer folks to be beaten up because they’re queer or Ecuadorians because they’re Ecuadorian,” Stapel said.

A march, vigil and press conference is slated for 2 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 14. Supporters are asked to gather at Make the Road New York’s Children’s Grove Park at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Grove Street in Brooklyn and march to the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place, where the assault occurred. At 4 p.m. a vigil will take place at that spot.

Call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS with info, or log onto NYPDCrimeStoppers.com. The AVP bilingual hotline is 212-714-1141.

http://www.nyblade.com/2008/12-11/news/localnews/1250HateCrimes.cfm