Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens – Photo: Tdorante10, via Wikimedia
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.”
Ihab Mustafa El Mahmoud was arrested in West Palm Beach after allegedly trying to run down members of an LGBTQ running group during a meet-up in a local park. The Florida man faces two counts of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony and one count of reckless driving.
El Mahmoud could also face hate crime charges or bias enhancements for allegedly targeting the group because of their sexual orientation.
According to West Palm Beach police, El Mahmoud allegedly took offense at what he perceived as a comment about his sexual orientation when a runner asked if he was at Howard Park for the "Night Runners West Palm Beach" group's regular meet-up.
As one of his final acts in office, outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to distribute $2 million in "emergency funding" to roughly 20 organizations serving transgender, gender-nonconforming, and nonbinary New Yorkers.
The grants are intended to counter federal budget cuts and Trump administration efforts to block LGBTQ organizations -- particularly those serving transgender people -- from receiving federal funding, reports Gay City News.
The funding, the first of its kind in the nation, will be administered by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The money is intended to support community organizations providing services to gender-diverse communities, including "health and wellness, legal advocacy, youth and family support, safety and crisis response, community building, and economic empowerment," according to the release.
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