Stonewall stabbing
An argument between two women waiting to use the restroom at the Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher St., the historic birthplace of gay and lesbian liberation, at 2:15 a.m. Sun. Sept. 21 ended in a stabbing, police said.
The victim, Alma Miranda, 56, was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in stable condition with two stab wounds to the abdomen.
Police arrested Yuliya Novoselskaya, 23, of Brighton Rd., Brooklyn, and charged her with assault. A manager of the bar told the Daily News on Sunday that it was the only such incident he had heard of in the 11 years he had worked there.
Stonewall Inn became famous in June 1969 during a routine police raid of the gay bar when people outside the Stonewall, then at 55 Christopher St., taunted police and sparked two nights of riots.
Chelsea gay bashing
A group of men assaulted a 27-year-old gay victim on 23rd St. and Seventh Ave. as he was coming out of a subway station at 3:40 a.m. Fri. Sept. 19, made antigay remarks and fled after punching and kicking him, according to police who are investigating the assault as a bias crime. The victim was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital and released after receiving seven stitches to close a wound.
City Councilmember Christine Quinn, state Senator Tom Duane, Assemblymember Richard Gottfried and representatives of the Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project said at a news conference Sun. Sept. 21 that 10th Precinct Police and the Police Department’s Hate Crimes Taskforce were to be commended for their response to the assault. They urged any witnesses to come forward immediately or call 1-800-577-TIPS to tell police what they saw.
“Bias Crimes, antigay or any other, which occur in our neighborhood and our city, cannot and will not be tolerated,” said Quinn.
People who attended the conference recalled two other antigay incidents this summer, one on Seventh Ave. between 22nd and 23rd Sts. and a second on Ninth Ave. near W. 17th St. There have been four other antigay incidents in the city since Sept. 1, said Quinn, citing police reports.
Pot farm on Eldridge
Police from the Fifth Precinct raided 39 Eldridge St. on Thurs. Sept 18 and made one arrest in connection with a $1 million marijuana farm on the second floor of a five-story building with a preschool on the ground floor.
Alerted by complaints of neighbors, police found two rooms on the second floor, one whose door was hidden by a bookcase that opened electronically, with more than 400 marijuana plants growing in a hydroponic irrigation system under electric lights.
The preschool on the first floor had complained that a leak from the second floor in August damaged a classroom ceiling. Garment shops also occupy the building which is next door to I.S. 131.
Fernando Pena, 34, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance as he was leaving the location and police were searching for other suspects.
Officers pull their guns
Last Wednesday night around 11 p.m. a homeless man was brandishing a chrome-covered piece of piping and breaking car windows with it, according to a witness and police. At least half a dozen officers confronted the man at the corner of Seventh St. and Avenue A. “They yelled, ‘Put the pipe down!’ ” said photographer Bob Arihood who happened to be at the scene. The officers all pulled their guns and pointed them at the man, before piling on him and handcuffing him, Arihood said. “He was a big guy,” Arihood said. “There was a pile of 15 or 20 cops on top of him, trying to subdue him. They just cuffed him, put him in the back of an ambulance on a stretcher.” The desk sergeant on duty at the Ninth Precinct last night confirmed the incident had occurred and that the officers had drawn their weapons. Arihood said he later got a photograph of an S.U.V. window nearby that he believes the homeless man had broken. Arihood was unable to get a shot of the arrest, since he was testing out a new camera that he was just learning how to use.
Crocodile tears
A shoplifter at the Prado Boutique in Soho at 575 Broadway grabbed a crocodile bag and a wool bag at about 4 p.m. Sat. Sept. 20 and fled, police said. The crocodile bag alone was valued at $5,700 and the wool bag was valued at $1,900. The thief, described only as a white or Hispanic man, was last seen fleeing south on Broadway.
Auto break-in
A thief broke into the trunk of a car parked at 33 Greene St. in Soho during the early hours of Sun. Sept. 21 and made off with a cell phone, credit cards and identification cards, police said.
Hit by Truck
A New York 1 reporter was seriously injured when the side mirror of a van from the Lower East Side struck her as she was crossing W. 120th St. on Fri. Sept. 19 while covering a story for the television station.
The victim, Rebecca Spitz, was in stable condition at St. Luke’s Hospital. Hing Lam, the driver of the van belonging to Sam Chai Trading Co. on Allen St. had stopped after the accident and she was not issued a summons, police said. Lam claimed she had a green light, though a witness said Spitz had the light.
Sports Club burglars
Burglars entered the New York Sports Club branch at 503 Broadway in Soho sometime after 10 p.m. Fri. Sept. 19, broke into several personal lockers and left with property valued at $2,250, police said.
First Precinct Council
The First Precinct Community Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tues. Sept 30 in the community room of Southbridge Towers, 90 Beekman St. near the South St. Seaport.
