BROOKLYN: Gay Man Claims Hate Crime Attack By Group Of Hasidic Men

A gay fashion student claims that he was attacked and beaten by a group of Hasidic men while walking on the street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The New York Daily News reports:

Taj Patterson, 22, was headed home to Fort Greene around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 1 when he says more than a dozen ultra-Orthodox Jewish men began assaulting him on Flushing Ave. and yelling, “Stay down, faggot!” “I’m walking down some block by myself and then the next thing I know, I’m surrounded by a group of Hasidic Jewish men and they’re attacking me,” Patterson said. “I was alone. I was an easy target. I’m black. I’m gay, a whole slew of reasons." The New York City College of Technology student left for a fun night out with friends, and returned with a broken eye socket, a torn retina, blood clotting, and cuts and bruises to his knee and ankles. He was rushed to Woodhull Hospital and is expected to undergo surgery to reattach his retina.

An NYPD hate crimes unit is investigating. The police report says that Patterson was "highly intoxicated, uncooperative and incoherent" after the attack. According to the Daily News, the attack was witnessed by an MTA bus driver.