ASTORIA — A teenager was hit in the face with a bottle hurled by a group of men who made anti-Muslim remarks to him on Saturday — in what officials say is just one of a string of hate crimes to hit the city since the presidential election.
The 17-year-old boy was sitting on a bench on 21st Street near 28th Avenue in Astoria shortly after 7 p.m. when he was approached by three unknown men who said "I don’t want any Muslims f--king sitting on my bench," according to the NYPD.
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One of the assailants then hit the teenager in the face with a bottle, police said. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and treated for swelling and bruising on his left eye and face.
The attackers, who were white, fled in an unknown direction, according to police.
The incident comes amid an uptick in hate crimes across the city, up by nearly one-third this year so far, including a spike during the week after the election.
Elected officials and leaders from several civil rights groups rallied in Astoria Tuesday to denounce the assault and other recent hate crimes in western Queens, including a viral video of a man in a car yelling anti-Arab obscenities at an Uber driver.
"You're a loser, you're not even from here," the man in the video yells. "Trump is president, a--hole, so you can kiss your f--king visa goodbye, scumbag."
State Sen. Michael Gianaris said the video was sent to his office by a passenger, Chris Cody, who rode in the Uber driver's car right after the Nov. 17 incident, which took place on Crescent Street and 41st Avenue.
The Uber driver filmed the verbal threats then shared the video with Cody, according to the lawmaker. An Uber spokeswoman said the company is aware of the incident and has reached out to the driver to offer support.
At Tuesday's rally, Gianaris attributed the video to a rise in hateful rhetoric stemming from Donald Trump's election victory.
"We have seen an outbreak in the last couple of weeks since the results of the presidential election where bigots are feeling empowered," he said. "And we have a president-elect who is doing little to nothing to slow down and to speak against these kinds of attacks."
The senator said he also received reports of swastikas drawn on the subway platform at the 30th Avenue N/W station the week before the election.
"This is not to be tolerated," Gianaris said. "This is not to be accepted."
Last week, all five of New York's district attorneys vowed to "vigorously" prosecute hate crimes, while Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a plan Sunday for a State Police unit that will specifically investigate bias incidents.
