It appears New York City’s recent spate of hate crimes has carried over into 2014. Around midnight on Sunday, a couple waiting on a platform in the West Fourth Street subway station, was approached by a man who asked if they were gay. They said yes and walked away, but the suspect began yelling anti-gay slurs and punched one of the men in the face, knocking him to the ground. The suspect ran off and the victim, a 39-year-old man from Clifton, N.J., was taken to the hospital and treated for a broken nose, a fractured orbital bone, and a cut above his eye that required stitches.
On Thursday, police released a sketch of the suspect, who spoke Polish, according to the couple.
The victim told 1010 WINS that he and his partner had gone to dinner and a Broadway show to celebrate their tenth anniversary. “I can’t believe this happened in my city that I grew up in,” the victim said. “The West Village is where I first came out and explored and felt accepted … the fact that it’s now a danger zone.”
