ARREST IN E. 80s BIAS ATTACKS
By Dan Rivoli
Posted by Our Town on July 10, 2009 · View Comments
Police announced July 10 that they have arrested a man suspected of committing bias attacks on the Upper East Side, including the brutal robbery of Joseph Holladay during the Pride Week celebration.
Driton Nicaj, a 19-year-old who lives on East 84th Street between First and Second avenues, is suspected of hitting Holladay in the head with the butt of a silver firearm and robbing him on June 27 at 4:15 a.m.
Nicaj, acting with others, is also suspected of two additional bias attacks and robberies that occurred recently on the Upper East Side.
After the attack, Holladay appeared at a press conference with the Anti-Violence Project, which presented a new study that determined 2008 to be a violent year for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the last decade. Although the total number of incidents had decreased from the previous year, the severity of crimes committed against LGBT individuals increased, showing a 67 percent increase in murders and an increased use of weapons in assault cases.
Sharon Stapel, executive director of the Anti-Violence Project, speaking at the July 1 conference. Joseph Holladay is seated to the left.
On June 28, the day after the Holladay incident, a 24-year-old Upper East Sider was attacked and robbed. The man was talking on his iPhone while walking on east on East 83rd Street between First and Second avenues when two men approached him. One struck him in the face. The victim fell to the ground and was kicked. The robbers grabbed his iPhone and fled. The victim ran home and took a cab to the New York Hospital, according to cops. Although police did not release further detail of the crime, they have been investigating it as a potential bias attack.
As previously reported in the Our Town blotter, a man told police that he was sitting on a bench in Carl Schurz Park with a male friend on May 31 when four men approached them. One asked, “Are you guys gay? Gross.” A dispute ensued and the victim was forced to hand over the cash in his pocket, $22.
Nicaj was arrested and charged with robbery as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime.
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