A New York doctor is recovering in the hospital from emergency surgery to fix a broken jaw after an attack in Greenwich Village Saturday m...
A New York doctor is recovering in the hospital from emergency surgery to fix a broken jaw after an attack in Greenwich Village Saturday morning.
Sina Rezaie, 29, told NBC New York he was walking home from the subway in Greenwich Village when a man yelled a homophobic slur at him.
Seconds later the suspect approached Rezaie from behind and violently attacked him, leaving his jaw broken in two places.
'He called me a f****t and then half a block later, he came from behind and kicked and punched me multiple times,' Sina Rezaie told NBC New York from his hospital bed Saturday evening.
Before the attack, Rezaie said he “always felt safe” in the neighborhood and wonders why he was the target of a brutal hate crime. “I don’t know why this happened to me,” he said.
While there are security cameras throughout the neighborhood, police have yet to identify a suspect. Just one week before the attack, individuals lined the streets of Greenwich Village to celebrate Pride month - a period of inclusivity and diversity.
Badly injured, Rezaie thanked friends, family and well-wishers for their support in an Instagram post on Monday:
Just want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who have donated, shared my story, and/or reached out. Helping me get through this. I’m at a loss for words and so touched. I’m home now, still very swollen, so difficult to speak, and in pain but first follow-up appt is tomorrow. Thank you and love you all.
Rezaie was taken to the hospital where he had his jaw banded shut with screws and metal plates
Sina Rezaie thanked friends and well-wishers for their support in an Instagram post on Monday
He also shared a harrowing X-ray of his jaw injuries, for people who wanted to see 'what it looks like inside.'
Witnesses said Rezaie fell to the ground, before stumbling to SHADE Bar Crepes on the corner of Sullivan Street, near Washington Square Park for help.
Friends Laurie Beck and Richard Delay were working at the time, and helped him as they waited for police.
'I just kind of saw our friend walking outside kind of erratically and I called [Delay's] attention 'go see what's going on with our neighbor, it looks like he's distressed.' [Daley] went outside to check it out, then he starts waving to me so I grabbed a bottle of water and some paper towels and ran outside,' Beck told NBC New York.
'I saw him holding his mouth, blood running out from face. He said that he had gotten attacked by some guy who said something to him as he came off the train. Apparently, the guy called him a slur and then threw him to the ground, and started kicking him repeatedly,' Delay said.
Rezaie was immediately rushed to the hospital where he had his jaw banded shut with screws and metal plates.
His recovery will be a long and difficult one, as doctors said his mouth will have to remain shut for about a month to heal.
Shootings, rapes, stabbings and other attacks have risen to disturbing levels in the city's five boroughs.
Recent figures show felony assaults are up from 9,399 to 10,045. Murders citywide are up 12 percent from 189 at this time last year to 212 so far in 2021.
Rapes are up from 650 to 684 in the year to June 27. In just one week - from Wednesday, June 23 through Tuesday, June 29 - all five boroughs of New York City were plagued by chilling murders, drive-by shootings, nightly wildings in Washington Square Park and smaller random acts of violence.
The public park in the heart of the Big Apple - not far from Rezaie's attack - has been a growing source of tension in recent weeks with residents and ravers coming to blows.
New York Police Department officers push back people June 26 after a food vendor was attacked.
With bars and restaurants facing tight restrictions over the last year due to the pandemic, it increasingly transformed into a popular party destination.
During last week's Sunday Pride celebrations, Nader Hassaneen, 66, an Egyptian immigrant and street vendor Food vendor, was attacked during out-of-control party in Washington Square Park. Revelers broke his nose and left him fearing for his life after he refused to swap US flag on his cart for rainbow banner
A food vendor, 66, was attacked during an out-of-control Pride party in Washington Square Park on June 26.
He told The New York Post on Tuesday he would 'never go back' to the Manhattan park, which has been plagued by crime in recent weeks.
Hundreds have gathered for nightly raves in defiance of a midnight curfew, with people dancing and drinking into the early hours. Impromptu boxing matches, complete with referees and time keepers, have also become a fixture.
Residents have complained about the noise, drug use and violence, claiming they are scared to walk around the area at night.
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