The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating an anti-LGBTQ attack on a woman in Far Rockaway on the night of Tuesday, June 24, and three suspects remain at large.
The 28-year-old victim was walking in front of 18-26 Village Lane just north of Mott Avenue at around 8:30 p.m. when she was approached by the three men who shouted anti-LGBTQ rhetoric before they punched her multiple times, and one of the assailants placed his hands around her neck, and strangled her into unconsciousness, police said. The three men fled the scene, just down the street from the Rockaway Village development, to parts unknown.
Police from the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress and found the victim battered and bruised. EMS transported the woman to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.
“I am horrified and heartbroken by the brutal and hate-filled attack that occurred,” Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers said in a statement. “No one should ever face violence or dehumanization because of who they are. The reported use of anti-LGBTQ slurs in the assault is sickening and unacceptable.”
There are no arrests, and the investigation by the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force remains ongoing.
“I am praying for the victim’s healing and safety, and I stand with our LGBTQ+ community in demanding justice,” Brooks-Powers continued. “This attack, taking place during Pride Month and in our own backyard, is a painful reminder that hate has not gone away — and that we must remain vigilant in confronting bigotry wherever it appears.”
Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar said she was devastated by the Far Rockaway attack and another assault in Midtown Manhattan on Sunday, June 22, where the attacker made homophobic slurs.
“These incidents are part of an alarming trend,” Rajkumar said. “A Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation report released this month found there were 932 anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in the past 12 months, or about 2.5 per day. Even more troubling is that half were directed against transgender people, a 14% increase. I call upon the perpetrators in both instances to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Brooks-Powers urged the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force to fully investigate the assault in her district and bring the perpetrators to account.
“Every New Yorker deserves to feel safe and affirmed in their identity,” she said. “And I will continue to fight for that reality in our city.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
It was the first hate crime reported in the 101st Precinct so far in 2025 after five were reported at the same point last year. Through June 29, the precinct reported 182 felony assaults so far this year. 21 fewer than the 161 reported at the same point in 2024, an increase of 13%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
