FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 24, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Jackson Heights demands justice for alleged hate crime victims
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@qns.com
@AODNewz
Just a day aft er the nation honored a
champion of equality, community leaders
of Jackson Heights gathered to say
that hate had no place in their neighborhood.
During a Jan. 22 press conference at the
intersection of 78th Street and Roosevelt
Avenue, Councilman Daniel Dromm
called upon the NYPD charge the owner
of Village Moon with a hate crime aft er he
allegedly muttered anti-gay hate speech to
two patrons in early November.
“Th e NYPD should act in the best
interest of of the survivors — not further
victimize them,” said Councilman
Daniel Dromm, who added that he was
sad that, in 2019, people still believe they
can use hateful terms like “f—-t” and get
away with it.
“We call upon the police to right this
wrong,” he added.
On Nov. 3, 2018, Elmhurst resident
Jeremy Valarezo and his husband,
Joseph Sokolowski, purchased a pipe at
Village Moon, a tattoo and body piercing
shop located at 78-01 Roosevelt Ave.,
in Jackson Heights. Aft er making their
purchase, store employee Mohammed
Hoque insisted on photocopying
Valarezo’s driver’s license.
When Valarazo and his husband
objected to the request, “that’s when
Mohammed came in at 1,000 percent
with rage in his eyes,” said Valarezo.
Hoque allegedly began spewing hate
speech at the couple including the term
“f—-ts.” According to Valarezo, Hoque
followed the couple out of the shop and
allegedly punched Valarezo in the chin,
injuring his lip, and then hit Sokolowski.
Police were called to the scene and
arrested Sokolowski and Hoque; the store
owner was subsequently charged with
two counts of assault, and the victim was
booked for criminal mischief. According
to police, during the dispute, Sokolowski
damaged a store mannequin, worth $500,
aft er he had allegedly pushed it to the
ground in anger.
According to Valarezo and Sokolowski,
they told police about Hoque’s language
as soon as they arrived on the scene and
attempted to show video footage. But
they claim that the NYPD did not want
to classify the incident as a hate crime.
When QNS asked offi cer about the
incident, police stated that the Hate
Crime Task Force is aware of video and
looking into it, but that no information
was provided at the time of the incident
to indicate that it was a hate crime.
“We stand behind each other in
Queens,” said Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz, who along with
Councilman Rory Lancman and Melissa
Mark-Viverito were among the other
elected offi cials showing their concern
and support for the couple.
“Society has come a long way in recent
decades towards reducing hatred and
discrimination against gay people,” said
Ina Arniotis, co-chair of Queens Pride.
“However, it will be a while — if ever
— before anti-gay sentiment disappears
completely and this only provides more
fuel for us leaders and advocates to educate
and fi ght for LGBTQ rights.”
Photo: Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech/THE COURIER
City Councilman Daniel Dromm and other Jackson Heights community activists called for justice at a
Jan. 22 press conference for two victims of a recent, alleged anti-gay bias crime.
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