A gay man who claims he was the victim of a homophobic assault in Queens says he received no help from police and doctors in the wake of the attack.
Ronald Albarracin, a 24-year-old originally from Ecuador, says that he was leaving a bar around 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2019, when he was allegedly attacked around Northern Boulevard and 99th Street in the Corona neighborhood of Queens.
Albarracin claims his assailants began calling him names and homophobic slurs before punching and kicking him repeatedly. The attack left him with a broken nose, bruises, and several visible marks on his hands and face.
Albarracin escaped and called police, who arrived on scene with EMTs. But he claims they did nothing to help him, reports Gay City News.
“The police did not do anything even though they saw me with blood,” Albarracin said in an interview through a translator. “They did not even say anything or explain anything. They did not speak Spanish and did not try at all to understand what was going on.”
NYPD Detective Denise Moroney, a spokesperson for the police department, did not comment on Albarracin’s complaints, but told Gay City News that police responded to the scene, and that the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task force is investigating the case. Police say they have no description of the alleged attackers.
But Albarracin claims his unlucky night continued after he was transported by medics to Elmhurst Hospital.
He says that medical staff did not provide him with any medication for pain relief, and, since leaving the hospital, he has experienced regular nosebleeds and ongoing pain.
Albarracin says this isn’t the first time he’s been attacked because of his sexual orientation, but hopes it will be his last.
He has plans to move to upstate New York, and is too afraid to leave his house, even to go to work.
“I do not dare to go out into the street with the way I am, with the broken nose,” he said. “I cannot even take off my hat because of how my face looks.”
The Metropolitan Police Department arrested two teenage boys in connection to a robbery that led to the death of a popular local DJ, Bryan Smith, also known as "The Barber."
Smith, a longtime fixture in D.C.'s nightlife community, was found unconscious in the 500 block of T St. NW in the early morning hours of October 26.
Smith was found suffering from severe injuries, including head trauma, and was eventually transported to a Virginia hospital. He remained in a coma for over a week before passing away on November 7.
On November 15, MPD Chief Pamela Smith announced the arrests of a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old in connection with the attack, as reported by CBS affiliate WUSA.
A mother in Bellingham, Washington, is lambasting school officials for the way they responded after her 16-year-old transgender son was beaten by a group of students.
Police are investigating the alleged attack, which occurred off school grounds, and are pursuing both assault and hate crime charges against several juveniles believed to have been involved in the October 22 beating, which was recorded on video and posted to social media.
The 16-year-old sophomore claims members of the group shoved, struck, and beat them repeatedly while shouting anti-trans phrases at them. The victim was able to run away and seek refuge at Bellingham High School, where they informed administrators of the attack.
The St. Patrick's Day parade on Staten Island has finally broken a 60-year ban and will allow LGBTQ groups to march in the annual event.
Organizers have invited the Pride Center of Staten Island, a local community nonprofit, to march in the upcoming celebration on March 2, 2025.
The invitation was extended to the Pride Center -- which had battled with past leadership over the exclusion of LGBTQ groups -- following a change in leadership within the Richmond County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee, which organizes the parade.
"The parade committee is entrusted with ensuring the focus of the parade remains upon Saint Patrick, the history, traditions, culture, and faith of the Irish people," the committee said in a statement. "In this endeavor, the leadership of The Pride Center has assured the parade committee that they are ready to provide support to the parade in fulfilling this obligation."
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