Ron Griffin lost an eye for defending his gay stepson from his building’s superintendent in the lobby of their apartment building.
The building super still has a job.
Griffin is suing in Bronx Supreme court and claims the building super, Jose Adorno has been harassing Griffin’s stepson for more than a year.
“He’s racist, ignorant and doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” Griffin’s stepson, Joey Brown told reporters at The Daily News. “He’s continually bashing gay people.
The brawl which cost Griffin his sight was caught on surveillance footage around 2:15 am Saturday morning. The men got into an argument with Adorno and Griffin suggested to Adorno that he may be gay himself.
Adorno lashed out and stabbed Griffin in the eye.
Adorno pleaded guilty, served 60-days, but still has his job.
Griffin and Brown also sued the building’s managing firm and accused them of allowing Adorno continue working despite prior complaints.
“Adorno had a past of bothering the LGBT tenants — they did nothing,” said the pair’s lawyer, Mark Shirian.
Hate Crimes Rise In New York
Overall, hate crimes in New York City have risen by more than 55% since election day, 2016, according to data recently released by law enforcement.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) said rise includes anti-Semitic hate crimes as well as hate crimes connected to sexual orientation but showed no hate crimes motivated by gender or disability.
When asked if he blamed Trump for the rise in hate crimes, New York Mayor de Blasio said, “It’s more complicated. It’s not linear. Do I blame Trump for using hate speech? Absolutely.”
NYPD spokespersons confirmed that hate crimes rise and fall in proportion to high profile, national events, but stopped short of linking a specific hate crime to any particular remark made by a public figure.
“You can’t have a president single out groups of Americans and not have ramifications,” de Blasio said.
“It’s obviously connected to the election.”
Not An Illusion
The rise in hate crimes isn’t smoke and mirrors. An analysis of official police hate crime data from 13 large cities by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism reveals hate crimes increased nationally.
Written by Professor Brian Levin, the study is seen as a strong forecast of FBI hate crime stats released every year in November.
