Two people were attacked in a pair of antisemitic incidents on the same southern Williamsburg street last week, per police.
At 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 17, a duo riding a CitiBike came up behind a 43-year-old man dressed in traditional Jewish clothing at the corner of Wallabout and Walton streets in southern Williamsburg, according to police. The passenger — who was captured on security cameras riding in the front basket of the bicycle — reached forward and slapped the man on the back of the head, according to the NYPD.
Less than a minute later, the same people assaulted a 24-year-old woman also wearing traditional Jewish attire in front of 184 Wallabout St., just down the block. Neither victim was seriously injured.
Police are investigating both incidents as aggravated harassment as a hate crime, per police, and asked members of the public with knowledge of either incident to anonymously call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
Just a day earlier, two men riding a scooter reportedly knocked a Jewish man’s yarmulke off his head as he walked down 18th Avenue in Borough Park.
So far in 2023, nine hate crimes have been reported in the 90th Precinct where the Williamsburg attacks took place, per NYPD data. In 2022, 18 anti-Jewish hate crimes were reported in the precinct.
