Allegedly Made Fraudulent Misrepresentations About Permits and Other Required Expenses; Spent Money on Travel, Fine Dining, Luxury Apparel & More

By: David Ben Hooren

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Tuesday that a Brooklyn contractor has been charged in a 55-count indictment with larceny and forgery for allegedly stealing over $700,000 from a Midwood couple by charging them for a large-scale home renovation project but performing little to no work.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly engaged in a lengthy and brazen scheme that took advantage of homeowners who put their trust in him. We will continue to investigate fraud and corruption in the construction industry and to seek justice for those who are victimized by unscrupulous or dishonest contractors.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Steven Crystal, 45, of Midwood, Brooklyn, who is the owner of House Doctor LLC. He was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on a 55-count indictment in which he is charged with second-, third-, and fourth-degree grand larceny and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. He was ordered held on bail of $50,000 bond or $25,000 cash and to return to court on October 29, 2019.

The District Attorney said that between December 2012 and February 2018, the defendant allegedly devised a series of schemes to defraud a Midwood couple who hired him to perform minor repairs to their home. The scope of work soon expanded to include the following projects: excavation and renovation of the basement in order to create a medical office for the male victim’s practice; building a six-story extension to the two-story home with a parapet wall; construction of an enclosed balcony with a retractable roof; repair of various leaks from the old roof; installation of an elevator; and installation of new gas and water lines.

The investigation found that the victims wrote over 300 checks to the defendant, based upon various fraudulent misrepresentations regarding the construction and renovation of their home. For instance: the defendant allegedly asked for money to pay for environmental reviews, architectural designs, construction permits and much more. To bolster the scheme, the defendant allegedly sent emails purportedly from government and other entities to show the necessity of the funds and presented the victims with other requests for fees that were actual forgeries. Furthermore, multiple checks written to the defendant by the victims were visibly altered and re-deposited multiple times into his accounts, the investigation found.

As a result of these multifaceted schemes, the victims lost over $700,000 in total.

A forensic analysis of the defendant’s bank records indicated that, unbeknownst to the victims, he utilized all of the funds for his own personal gain, including: $225,000 in ATM withdrawals; over $38,000 in purchases from Coach, Diane von Furstenburg, Oscar de la Renta, Burberry and other luxury retailers; $6,000 on flights; dinners at Tao, the Russian Tea Room and other restaurants; and more.

There were no debits on his accounts from the NYC Department of Buildings, the NYC Board of Standards & Appeals, the NYC Department of Transportation or the Department of Environmental Protection, nor were any permits issued by any of these agencies. In addition, there were no debits against his accounts for the various vendors and subcontractors that he represented were working on the numerous projects on the property. There were only $9,000 in expenses on building materials. While the defendant initially made some cosmetic repairs, little to no work was performed on the property.

By: Jared Evan

In a desperate measure to qualify for the next Democratic debate Mayor de Blasio has turned to the religious Satmar community for $1 donations for his campaign, using a fundraising plea written in Yiddish!

De Blasio needs to show the Democratic National Committee he has raised money from 130,000 individuals in order to qualify, and as of his campaign filing this month, he only had about 6,700, Politicio reported.

The failing campaign sent out a fundraising request for 10,000 donors giving just $1 each online and on WhatsApp, among those in the Orthodox Satmar sect, which is prominent in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

It opens with a donation request on behalf of those “who work together with the faithful askanim [loosely translated to influential people] who are in constant contact with the government to lobby on a number of issues on behalf of our holy institutions and communities and for individuals who need help and to represent your interests,” Politico translated from Yiddish.

“By donating the dollar, you support your needs, the entire ultra-Orthodox public and our rights and needs by answering the call of askanim who need to show that the public recognizes those who understand our interests,” it reads.

Finally, it notes, “with the dollar you do not support his candidacy, but you can help get him to the debate.”

This comes fresh off the heels of another failed weekend of campaigning, in Iowa.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tried to win over Iowa caucus voters by holding an event at the Parlor City Pub in Cedar Rapids Sunday morning. The Daily Wire reported that “about 15 likely Democratic voters” attended, not including his staff, the press, or state Sen. Rob Hogg who organized the event.

From that small handful of people, nobody was too impressed according to Daily Wire.

Carol Wickey, 78, told the N.Y Post that while she “liked a lot of what he said,” his tone was too divisive” “I thought in his prepared comments he focused too much on working people,” she said.

“He did not say anything that would sway me that he would be my choice as a candidate,” she continued to the Post reported. “Nothing made him stand out among the other two dozen people.”

While the mayor accomplished nothing this weekend besides a photo op of him eating a corn dog with his wife at the Iowa state fair, protestors had their say regarding de Blasio’s absurd waste of energy in campaigning.

Protesters in Iowa passed out fake dollar bills with de Blasio’s face on them in response to the mayor’s efforts to put a homeless shelter on “Billionaire’s Row” in Manhattan, Daily Wire reported. Critics say they don’t oppose the homeless shelter but feel the building de Blasio plans to use is dangerous. Fox News reported that one of the critics, Michael Fischer, said the chosen building “is plagued with serious fire and safety issues that could cause a loss of life.”

By: David Ben Hooren

On Nov. 8, 1965, newspaper columnist and TV star Dorothy Kilgallen was found dead in her Manhattan apartment, at the age of 52. She made her regular appearance as a panelist on the TV game show “What’s My Line?”, and later that evening she was found dead, lying naked under a robe and still wearing make-up. The medical examiner decided that it must have been a tragic accidental mix of alcohol and sleeping pills. She was buried at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.

Last week, roughly 54 years later, author Mark Shaw filed a petition in Westchester Supreme Court to disinter Kilgallen’s body from the Cemetery, and to let him exhume her body for DNA evidence. The author of “The Reporter Who Knew Too Much” and “Denial of Justice,” Shaw investigated Kilgallen’s mysterious death and came up with an alternate theory. To prove his notion, he is requesting permission to test her body for DNA evidence. As reported by the NY Post, Shaw also wants the court to allow him to get a DNA sample from retired journalist Ron Pataky, who is now 84, to “establish his probable complicity in her death.” Pataky has admitted that he was “the last person to see her alive”.

“Examining the remains will, under the direction of nationally-known forensic expert Dr. Cyril Wecht, permit a DNA sample to be extracted from the body of a true patriot, denied justice from 1965 when she died up to this very day, for comparison’s sake with the man who most likely killed her, as noted below,” reads the introduction passage of the court document submitted by Shaw.

As per the court petition, as well as his books, Shaw believes that she was drugged and that the death was no accident. He maintains that Pataky was helping Kilgallen’s enemies, which included Mafia boss Carlos Marcello, who wanted the reporter dead to silence her ongoing investigation into the JFK assassination. Shaw believes the DNA tests may show that Kilgallen and Pataky had physical contact before she died suddenly. Shaw has served the petition to exhume Kilgallen to her three children, and Pataky, any of whom may object.

Before her death Kilgallen had interviewed Jack Ruby and had decided that she had cracked the case on JFK’s assassination. Her research, which she never got to publish, included a strong link between Lee Harvey Oswald, Ruby and Marcello.

In the petition, Shaw appeals to the court to allow the DNA tests, providing the following as his first reason for the request: “Pataky’s admissions to two close relatives of his being the last person to see Kilgallen alive, apparently by meeting her at the Regency Hotel bar a few blocks from her East 68th Street townhouse during the wee hours of November 8, 1965, and then accompanying her to her townhouse hours before Kilgallen was found dead in a bedroom she never slept in with her false eyelashes, makeup, and hairpiece still in place. In what surely amounted to a staged death scene, she was also wearing bedclothes she never wore, and a book she had already read was upside down on her lap with reading glasses nowhere to be found. Missing was Kilgallen’s JFK assassination investigation file which contained all of her notes about the president’s death, including those from her interviews with Jack Ruby at his trial. It has never been found.”

By Hellen Zaboulani

Exclusive clubs are back in style. After decades of falloffs, private clubs are making a comeback as the ultimate real estate trick.

Billionaire developer Stephen Ross is preparing to cash in on one such ultra-posh supper club. It will be located at 35 Hudson Yards, his mixed-use mega development which was completed this year with designs by David Childs and Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and interiors by Tony Ingrao of Ingrao Design. Known as the tallest residential building in Hudson Yards, the 92-story tower houses 143 residential apartments, the 200-room Equinox hotel, and a world-class Equinox club and spa. Ross himself occupies the penthouse in the tower. The residences range in price from $5.1 million to $27.7 million.

Owning an apartment in the building, however, will not guarantee a spot in the exclusive hush hush club. Nor will staying at the branded hotel. As reported by the NY Post, the supper club, which will be named WS New York, is slated to open in October. Though there will be an elevator that connects the club directly to the residences, residents won’t receive special membership privileges. “It’s not for residents,” an in-the-know source told the Post. “It’s for the developer’s super-rich buddies and CEO friends. Residents can join but it’s so expensive.”

The exclusive bar and lounge will be a collaboration between dining guru Kenneth Himmel, who is president of Related Company, the leading developer, together with the publisher of Wine Spectator, Marvin Shanken. The cuisine will be prepared by rotating the world’s most famous Michelin graded star chefs and sommeliers, who will orchestrate regular special events for the members.

The wine list will include only vintages rated 90 points and above by Shanken’s magazine, in what will be his first such undertaking. Two master sommeliers, both of whom passed the famously difficult qualifying exam on their first try, will direct the second-floor space together with Paul Nash, general manager at the St. Regis.

The WS New York is designed by Architect David Rockefeller with a modern meets old-school interiors motif surrounding a central fireplace. Low-backed club furniture has been picked out for the den-like dining room, where millionaire patrons can sip burgundy by the fire. A ground-level tavern, which will not require membership, will also be opened separately.

Related declined to comment on the cost for membership to the posh club, nor disclosed anything else about the secret club.

Similarly, Gary Barnett of Extell has plans to open a new private Central Park Club in his Central Park Tower, which is slated to be the world’s tallest residential building. The club there will feature three floors, spanning 50,000 square feet, with “curated luxury amenities” and a “unique experience complemented by five-star service.”

NYPD Hate Crimes unit investigating series of assaults on Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg. NY governor: ‘Anti-Semitism is a growing cancer.’

By: Tal Polon

Jews were violently mugged Monday morning in three separate incidents that took place on streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, CBS New York reported.

According to the report, three Hasidic Jews between the ages of 56 and 71 were attacked within an hour of each other as they walked to synagogue or work.

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes unit is investigating.

The attackers sneaked up from behind before punching the victims in the face and going through their pockets, police said according to CBS New York. They added that they believe there were three attackers, all of whom were teenage boys.

A community activist cited by CBS New York said that two people had suffered major trauma in the attacks and were still being treated, but are expected to be alright.

The attacks happened within about a block of each other on Wythe Place, Ross Street and Clymer Street between Bedford and Wythe avenues, police said.

Two of the men were taken to Bellevue Hospital and the third refused medical attention, police said. The attackers did not get away with any property, according to the NYPD spokesperson.

“Obviously, might just be a run-of-the-mill mugging with the attempt as a bias crime, knowing that these people – just like myself, I go out of my house at 5:30, and many of them do, because prayer starts at six,” community activist Isaac Abraham said.

“After every crime, if you take a look, that has been committed here, there is a meeting with zero results,” said Abraham.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released a statement in the wake of the attacks, saying, “I am sickened by Monday’s series of assaults on Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg. In New York, we have absolutely zero tolerance for such heinous acts; they are completely unacceptable and are repugnant to our values of diversity and inclusion.”

“I am directing the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to immediately provide the NYPD with any resources needed to assist in the investigation of this incident and to ensure those responsible are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

“Anti-Semitism is a growing cancer that has been injected into the nation’s body but in New York we will continue to stand united and with one voice condemn any and all acts of hatred and intolerance,” Cuomo added.

(INN)

By Henrietta Fishman

New York City’s economy is generally strong, and in particular commercial real estate, according to City Comptroller Scott Stringer’s latest report. Stringer reported that the city’s economic growth outpaced the nation in the second quarter, with gross city product increasing by 3.4%, compared to 2.1% growth for U.S. GDP, according to the press release from the comptroller.

Stringer’s economic update shows that the city experienced solid job and earnings growth, notably a growth in average hourly wages of 4.4%. Hiring grew by 2.6% on an annualized basis, although largely in industries paying less than $62,000 per year.

New commercial leasing activity in Manhattan increased by more than 10 million square feet in Q2, representing a year-over-year increase of 21.5%. Overall rental rates increased to $74.15-per-square-foot.

However, despite the increase in new commercial leasing, Manhattan’s overall commercial vacancy rate increased to 10.5% in Q2 from 92% a year ago, according to the comptroller.

“Our latest economic update reveals that New York City is on a strong economic footing. This is reflected in higher wages, a near record low unemployment rate, strong job growth, and continued strength in most other sectors,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “Despite the expansion, many New Yorkers are still feeling the squeeze of soaring costs on everything from rent to childcare as a majority of the job growth continues to be in lower-paying industries”

Released every three months, the Comptroller’s Quarterly Economic Update (QEU) tracks New York City’s economic health and analyzes the city’s economy in a national context.

Here are some highlights of the report:

1. Personal income tax (PIT) revenues surged 25.3 percent or $852.6 million to more than $4.2 billion in Q2 2019. The unusual increase was driven by a 44.3 percent or $567 million jump in estimated tax payments compared to a year ago, largely attributable to high-end taxpayer response to changes in federal tax law enacted in 2017. Withholding tax revenues – a better proxy for income growth – rose by a healthy 7.9 percent in the second quarter, albeit down from the 11.8 percent increase in Q2 2018.
2. Average hourly earnings (AHE) of all private NYC employees rose 4.4 percent on a year-over-year basis to $37.52 in Q2 2019, the largest second-quarter increase since 4.7 percent growth in Q2 2017.
3. Total venture capital investment in the New York metro area hit a record second-quarter high of $4.11 billion in 2019. Venture capital investment was $4.48 billion in Q1 2019.

4.Leading economic indicators for the city’s economy signaled continued expansion. The current business condition index provided by ISM-New York, Inc., which measures the current state of the economy from the perspective of business procurement professionals, declined for the third consecutive quarter to 58.6 percent in Q2 2019, down from the record high of 74.7 percent in Q3 2018. The ISM six-month outlook rose to 61.7 percent in Q2 2019. Both these indices are well above a reading of 50 percent indicating projected growth across a majority of industry experts.

5.Initial unemployment claims decreased for the sixth consecutive quarter 1.2 percent — to its lowest second quarter level on record at 27,278.

By: Benyamin Davidsons

The S&P started off the month posting its worst week of 2019, primarily owing to the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. The Real estate stocks, however, withstood the volatility of the market, performing well overall for the week.

On Friday August 9th, after the market’s closing bell, the Real Deal studied the progress for the stock prices of 28 major real estate companies for the week beginning on Monday morning August 5th. They found 17 of the 28 real estate stocks ended the week with gains. The remaining 11 stocks had primarily modest percentage declines. Of the stocks reviewed, the largest gain found was for Realogy, the ailing brokerage giant, which enjoyed a 23 percent price increase for the week, closing on Friday with a per share price of $5.92.

The weightiest loss, within the 28 real estate stocks reviewed, was by Zillow. The online listings database company was down 18 percent from $48.09 on Monday. The decline came after the release of the company’s second-quarter earnings report on Wednesday. Zillow reported an 84 percent rise in revenue, to $599.6 million. It also, however, reported heavy losses of approximately $72 million, a distressing development, when it lost only $3 million last year.

A Zillow representative declined to comment on the falling stock price. The rep diverted the question to quote from the company’s quarterly shareholder letter, stating: “We understand this is a sizable shift from the ‘search and find’ nature of Zillow 1.0, but we are more confident than ever that evolving to a transaction-driven company is the right direction for our customers, the industry, the company, and our shareholders.”

The trade war between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is ongoing with Trump having raised tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on more than $200 billion worth of Chinese products, as per the Real Deal. In return, China increased tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods to 25 and 20 percent, up from 10 and 5 percent previously charged. China’s tariffs primarily target U.S. farmers on products such as peanuts, sugar, wheat, chicken and turkey. Still, the struggle between the world’s two largest economies threatens to damage the global economy as a whole, and to increase prices across the board. Ultimately, even the real estate industry cannot be invulnerable to the turbulence, as the costs of building materials will eventually rise unless an agreement is reached. Moreover, the feelings of uncertainty can easily slink into the industry putting a damper on new-development plans.

By Gordon Fisher

The four-time Stanley Cup winning New York Islanders will be officially returning to their roots in Long Island after the Empire State Development board unanimously approved a $1.3 billion project for the new arena to be built adjacent from Belmont Park racetrack, Crain’s reported.

The $1.3 billion project that will bring the NHL’s New York Islanders back to Nassau County — with a new hockey arena, hotel, and retail complex adjacent to Belmont Park.

The Islanders have played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn since 2015, a move that had not been warmly received by Islander fans, many who are in Long Island and Queens. This is due to the long commute and the poor site lines of the arena which was not designed for hockey. Serval thousand seats in the Barclay Center have obstructed view and are rarely sold.

While the Islanders have a nice sized fan base in Brooklyn, the Rangers have always been the more popular team in the 5 boroughs, even though the Islanders in their short 46 year existence have won 4 Stanley Cups, compared to the Rangers who have also won 4 Stanley Cups in a 93 year existence. The Rangers before winning the Cup in 1994, went 54 years without the hockey championship.

Before the move, the team played at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale since its opening in 1972. That rink is where fans watched an Islanders team win four straight Stanley Cups, from 1980 to 1983. Beginning in 2017, the Islanders began playing several games in Nassau Coliseum with approval from the NHL. The newly rebuilt Nassau Coliseum is now too small in capacity to be a permanent home for a professional hockey club.

“It’s time to rock and roll and put up that great building to have a home that we can call our own to keep the Islanders on Long Island,” Islanders co-owner John Ledecky said to the Long Island Press. “Because the fans deserve this”

The new arena is scheduled to open in the 2021-22 season. The state-of-the-art structure will sit on a 43-acre vacant plot of state-owned land in the unincorporated New York Community of Elmont, home to the historic Belmont Park racetrack, Crain’s explained.

Belmont Park officials are backing the arena project, hoping a new NHL hockey venue and accompanying retail offerings will attract new fans to the fading thoroughbred sport. Some Belmont Park races would temporarily be moved to nearby Aqueduct to accommodate construction.

The key approval follows last month’s announcement by state officials that a new Long Island Railroad station would be built to accommodate fans traveling to and from the arena.

The NY Islanders had an outstanding season last year, making it to the second round of the NHL playoffs and have a young and impressive hockey club.

By: Fern Sidman

The receipts are in and according to published reports, President Trump picked up a cool $12 million smackers last Friday afternoon at two fundraisers in the tony Hamptons that were organized by the Trump Victory organization. Social media is abuzz and it appears that public donors to the re-election campaign of the nation’s 45th president are on the receiving end of intense and relentless anti-Trump pressure from the public, with threats to boycott their businesses and besmirch their reputations being hurled at them at blinding speed.

This time it is real estate developer Stephen Ross who is in the line of public scrutiny for having agreed to host a fundraiser for Trump at this Southampton home. Ross owns the Equinox Fitness Club and the indoor-cycling subsidiary, SoulCycle as well as the Miami Dolphins NFL team.

As a result of his decision to help Trump raise a substantial amount of money for his political coffers, Ross is now being subjected to threats of boycotts from celebs as well as being hit with a deluge of employee complaints. Those who are at odds with Ross are those who claim that they vehemently oppose Trump on the grounds that they perceive him to be a racist.

While the entire guest list for the Ross sponsored Hamptons fundraiser has not been made public, reports indicate that a litany of well-heeled investment and real estate executives were on hand with their checkbooks open. Speculation has grown that those who attended the event could also face potential boycotts and vocal pushback among their contemporaries for supporting Trump.

“Thanks to the unhinged mob on the left, @realDonaldTrump raised $12M today, $2M more than originally expected,” tweeted Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel at approximately 4 p.m. ET. “The support for our President is unprecedented and growing!”

The Hollywood Reporter also issued a report about a second fundraiser scheduled for Friday afternoon out in the Hamptons. This one was being sponsored at the Bridgehampton estate of Joe Farrell.

According to THR report, attendees included ousted Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly; Geraldo Rivera; major names from the New York real estate development community; McDaniel; RNC co-chairman Tommy Hicks Jr.; Trump Victory finance chairman Todd Ricketts; campaign manager Brad Parscale; Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY); Kimberly Guilfoyle; and the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr.

According to a Friday report on the Crain’s web site, those invited to the Hamptons fundraiser also included the two adult children of John Catsimatidis, owner of the Manhattan grocery chain Gristedes Foods Inc., and World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder, an Estée Lauder Companies Inc. heir, according to a person familiar with the invitations.

Crain’s indicated that the invitation to John Catsimatidis Jr. and Andrea Catsimatidis comes after their father—a prolific donor to both Republican and Democratic campaigns who served as a member of Hillary Clinton’s finance team during her 2008 presidential campaign—publicly declined former Vice President Joe Biden’s request for fundraising assistance earlier this year, saying he would continue to support the president.

Other invitees included K2 Advisers co-founder William Douglass, General Atlantic LLC chief executive Bill Ford, New York real estate developer Richard LeFrak, Harbor Group chief executive Michael Liebowitz, Cantor Fitzgerald chief executive Howard Lutnick, and cryptocurrency entrepreneur—and former ‘Mighty Ducks’ child actor—Brock Pierce, according to the person familiar with the invitations.

Tickets to the event ranged from $100,000 for a photo with the president and lunch to $250,000 for a package that also included a roundtable discussion with Trump.

According to a NY Post report, many large donors to the Trump re-election campaign wish to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, be they from professional and personal contacts.

“We are all in the closet,” said a boutique owner in Southampton who fears reprisals from his customers — most of them moneyed Democrats — if he speaks openly about his allegiance to Trump. “It’s like you have this disease and people want to run away from you.”

The Post reported that a builder based in Westhampton worried that his customers would boycott his services if he reveals his support of the president. “People have really strong opinions here and if you go around wearing a MAGA hat, you really need to fear physical violence,” he said, adding the anti-Trump aggression comes mostly from summer residents.

According to the Crain’s report, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Kenny Stills criticized Ross for hosting the event, tweeting the owner could not promote equality in sports and “then open your doors to Trump.” Celebrities including model Chrissy Teigen, actor Billy Eichner, actress Amber Tamblyn, and actress Sophia Bush tweeted they would stop going to Equinox and SoulCycle gyms.

SoulCycle Chief Executive Officer Melanie Whelan issued a statement Wednesday attempting to distance her company from the Ross fundraiser, according to the Crain’s report.

“SoulCycle in no way endorses the political fundraising event being held later this week,” Whelan said, going on to describe Ross as a “passive investor” not involved in the company’s management. “SoulCycle has nothing to do with the event and does not support it.”

Equinox issued a similar statement, saying that it had been contacted by many members expressing concerns about the fundraiser, and distancing itself from the event.

On Friday evening, a Brooklyn man allegedly struck one Jewish man with a stick and sprayed mace in the face of another, telling them “Hitler should have finished you off.”

By: WIN Staff

A 39-year-old Brooklyn man named Kenya Dean was arrested over the weekend for an anti-Semitic attack that took place on Friday evening in the borough’s Crown Heights neighborhood, immediately prior to the beginning of the Jewish sabbath.

Dean allegedly sprayed a Jewish man with a substance identified as mace, according to COLlive, a New York Jewish news website.

At the beginning of the attack, Dean allegedly accosted the victim, hollering, “You Jews, Hitler should have finished you off,” COLlive reported.

Dean is also accused of breaking a glass bottle during the altercation, according to police, in addition to using a stick to strike a 62-year-old bystander.

NBC New York reported that Dean was arrested and charged with hate-crime assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon.

In response to news of Dean’s arrest, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement expressing “deep appreciation to the NYPD for swiftly apprehending the suspect.”

In 2018, the ADL recorded a 55% spike in anti-Semitic assaults in New York, in comparison to 2017.

“We are deeply disturbed by this alleged anti-Semitic assault in Brooklyn Friday evening,” said Evan R. Bernstein, ADL NY/NJ Regional Director. “The severity of this incident, which involved hurling anti-Semitic insults and subsequently attacking worshippers with pepper spray and a stick as they were getting ready for Shabbat, is deeply shocking. We are grateful for the swift action by NYPD in apprehending the individual allegedly responsible for this attack. This assault underscores the urgent need for communities in Brooklyn to come together and stop these profoundly troubling hate incidents from happening in our city.”

(WIN)

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