Police investigating brick attacks on NYC gay bar as hate crimes: ‘We won’t be lead by fear,’ owner says
Cops are investigating a recent spate of brick attacks targeting a Midtown gay bar as a hate crime, the NYPD said Monday.
Meanwhile, the co-owner of the establishment, VERS, is voicing a defiant stance.
“As queer people, there’s always a sense of worry or fear. No matter where you are, it’s alarming,” Aidan Davis told the Daily News.
“Following Pulse and what recently happened,” he continued, referring to Saturday’s deadly shooting at a Colorado gay club, “we just want people to know our community is fearless.”
In the latest attack, the vandal was caught on camera lobbing a brick at the window of VERS on Ninth Ave. near W. 49th St. in Hell’s Kitchen around 10 p.m. Saturday.
It was the third attack by the same man targeting the bar in a week, Davis said.
On Nov. 13, police responded to the bar around 5:35 p.m. after he threw a brick at the window. Cops were back at the establishment two days later for a similar call around 6:40 p.m., police said.
“We upgraded our camera system, and this most recent attack is when we were able to get a clear image of the attacker, who was wearing glasses,” said Davis.
After each brick was thrown, the bar was forced to spend $600 to replace the window, according to the co-owner.
“We had a repairer come and reinstall the window and less than 90 minutes after he was done installing the third window, it happened again,” he said. “So we fear the individual was watching.”
The most recent attack came the same day a gunman opened fire at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., killing five people and injuring 25 others.
“We won’t be lead by fear,” Davis said, noting his bar was back open the next day. “It’s business as usual.”
But a VERS bartender said the incidents have left him feeling on edge.
“If I don’t come in, I feel like they win,” said Andy Fatoutakis. “And after what happened in Colorado, I’m just, like, a bundle of nerves.”
“I just keep telling myself, don’t let it consume you — because [then] then they win,” he added.
Davis said random acts of violence have been popping up in the neighborhood in recent years, particularly since the COVID pandemic began.
“Our next-door neighbors who own a Thai restaurant had a fire incident,” he recalled. “Then another neighbor had their window smashed, as well.”
Davis does not believe the brick-throwing man has been a patron at his bar.
Police on Monday released surveillance images of the man that were captured at a store after the most recent attack. They asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
“I would like people to be good neighbors,” Davis implored. “If you see something, say something, because these acts of violence are not normal. The queer community is strong and we’ve worked really hard to get where we are, and we’re not moving anywhere.”
