You are reading

Teenager Charged With Hate Crime in Unprovoked Assault of 70-Year-Old Sikh Man in South Richmond Hill

Vernon Douglas (NYPD) and Nirmal Singh, 70, after he was punched in an unprovoked attack Sunday (Photo @JapneetSingh4NY)

April 15, 2022 By Christian Murray

A 19-year-old Brooklyn man was arrested on hate crime charges Thursday for allegedly punching a 70-year-old Sikh man in the face on a South Richmond Hill street earlier this month.

Vernon Douglas was taken into custody at his Watkins Street home in Brooklyn yesterday and arrested for assault, robbery and harassment—as hate crimes—for the unprovoked attack of Nirmal Singh.

Singh was punched in the face without a word being exchanged while walking in the vicinity of 95th Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard at around 6:45 a.m. on April 3, authorities said. He was wearing his turban and other Sikh attire at the time he was assaulted. He was on his way to the Sikh Cultural Society Temple when he was attacked.

Singh’s nose was broken and he suffered bruising to his face. He a was treated at Jamaica Hospital and released.

The attack stunned the south Asian community and has caused outrage among elected officials and local residents.

“The attack on the 70-year-old Sikh man in Richmond Hill over the weekend was a despicable display of hatred and cowardice,” said State Sen. Joseph Addabbo at the time.

Singh was in New York as a visitor from India as part of a trip to North America to visit his son and daughter who are both living in Canada.  He has since returned to India.

The attack, however, was not an isolated bias incident. On Tuesday, two Sikh men, aged 76 and 64, were beaten by two individuals near the same Lefferts Boulevard and 95th Avenue corner.

In this case, the perpetrators punched the victims and hit them with a wooden stick. They also tore off the men’s turbans and tugged on their beards, according to police. No arrests have been made pertaining to this attack. It is unclear whether Douglas is connected to this incident.

email the author: [email protected]

One Comment

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Advocates pen letter blasting Mayor Adams’ legal motion to suspend right-to-shelter

Homeless advocates penned a letter to a Manhattan Supreme Court judge opposing Mayor Eric Adams’ recent legal motion calling for the suspension of the city’s decades-old right-to-shelter law amid the ongoing migrant influx.

The letter, sent last Thursday and released Tuesday, comes in response to Adams last week filing a court motion to exempt the city from its legal mandate — established by the 1984 Callahan v. Carey consent decree — to provide shelter to single adults and adult couples when it “lacks the resources and capacity” to do so. The mayor and top administration officials say they’re not seeking to abolish the right-to-shelter, but rather “clarity” from the court that would give them more “flexibility” in finding suitable housing for tens of thousands of migrants.

Rockaway’s piping plovers among endangered species commemorated on U.S. Postal Service stamps

A day before the city reopened nearly 70 blocks of public beaches along the Rockaway peninsula for the Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. Postal Service and National Park Service hosted a special event at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel to honor the piping plover, an endangered shorebird featured on new stamps.

In attendance were members of the NYC Plover Project, a nonprofit with more than 250 volunteers, who have been on the beaches since March preparing for the summer swim season, who celebrated the newly released stamp sheet commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.

Bayside High School hosts annual Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair

Bayside High School hosted its annual Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair Friday. Students from the Career and Technical Education Humanities and Nonprofit Management program each pitched their socially responsible products to students, staff and others in attendance.

Each of the 11th grade students in the program have been taking a college credit course from Farmingdale State College called Social Entrepreneur. The students were divided into 17 groups of five and tasked with coming up with innovative ideas to create businesses while also being socially responsible. The Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair grants them with the opportunity to work on pitching their products to potential customers.

Annual Memorial Day ceremony held at Korean War memorial in Kissena Park

On Friday, May 26, the second annual Memorial Day Ceremony in Kissena Park brought live music, local dignitaries, veterans groups, a presentation of the Colors by members of the Francis Lewis High School JROTC, a flower-laying ceremony and more to the Flushing community.

Those in attendance included Councilwoman Sandra Ung, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, state Senator John Liu, veterans groups, local students, Boy Scout Troop 253 and others.

Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade honors fallen heroes

Rain or shine, the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade, touted as the largest Memorial Day parade in the United States, has been a staple of the quaint Queens neighborhoods since 1927. Thousands lined the parade route under clear blue sky along Northern Boulevard from Jayson Avenue in Great Neck to 245th Street in Douglaston on May 29 to honor the brave men and women who answered their call to service and made the ultimate sacrifice while defending their country.

Many onlookers sporting patriotic attire waved Old Glory and cheered on the parade of military vehicles, veteran and military groups and marching bands led by Grand Marshal Vice Admiral Joanna M Nunan, the first female commander of the United States Merchant Marine Academy. This year’s parade marshals were retired Master Sergeant Lawrence Badia and Vietnam veteran Richard Weinberg.