Women Savagely Beaten After Rejecting Come-On

After two young women refused a Brooklyn man's advances during a late night pizza stop last month, the failed pick-up turned into a violent assault, leaving one women with a fractured jaw and another nearly blinded. One of the victims, a 26-year-old student who would only identify herself as Christine, tells the Post she was eating pizza with her friend at 3:50 a.m. at John & Tony's Pizzeria on First Avenue at 60th Street on March 20th, when they were approached by 31-year-old Dzemal Kolenovic. Christine (pictured) says that after she responded to his advances by asking him to leave her alone, he became abusive, yelling, "F- - - you, bitches. You whores."

And when they stepped outside, Kolenovic was waiting, and allegedly threw Christine to the sidewalk. She says, "I asked him, 'Why are you doing this?' and he said, 'Because I'm Albanian, I can do whatever the f- - - I want.' " Her friend tried to dial 911 on her cellphone, but Kolenovic smacked it out of her hands and fractured her jaw, according to police. He then continued beating Christine, who recalls that "first he punched me once in the right eye and then he got really wound up and hit my left eye. I had bruises all over. My arm, my knees were all cut, and my lower back. Both my eyes were swollen shut."

She was partially blind for a time, and doctors say she may require several surgical procedures. As for Kolenovic, police were able to track him down via restaurant credit-card receipts! He turned himself in to police last Wednesday and was charged with two counts of felony assault. He's since been released on $5,000 bail to do "whatever the f - - - he wants," and that has Christine understandably worried: "My main concern is that he doesn't come after me and he doesn't do this to anyone else."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on April 8, 2009 11:12 AM

Comments [rss]

Veton Kryeziu

He's not ALBANIAN I can tell from the Surname ! KOLENOVIC What the fuck Hes probably a FUCKIN SERB !

sytilife

Come on people, its simple demographics. Look at his name, Dzemal Kolenovic. That is a pure Serbian first and last name through and through. He wanted to give Albanians a bad name, and it looks like uncultured Americans gave him exactly what he wanted.

Reflect

Out on bail for 5000, Violent assault, but kids go to private prisons for petty infractions. WERES THE JUSTICE?

keera

"as opposed of being"

Whaaaat?

keera

Albanians are crazy mofos. They are often involved in organized crime,

ascott

Self-defense classes and pepper spray are good ideas. As a woman living in NYC for the past decade, here's my advice to ladies who are heckled:

- Pretend you don't speak English (assuming the heckler does). Ignore him. When he persists, you can smile and say, "Eh, sorry, no english" in the accent of your choice. Continue to act as if you don't understand a word.

- Pretend you are deaf. Gesture to your ears and say "Sorry, I'm deaf." Try to sound like someone who's truly deaf. If he persists, pretend you misunderstood and give him directions.

- Look sad and tell him you're sorry, you are distracted because you just found out you're pregnant. Start crying.

- Act crazy. Start hyperventilating. Have a seizure. Or all of the above.

This may sound like a joke but I assure you, it's not. I've done a few of these things and they've worked. Never act too intimidated or be too kind to these animals.

rayburn

It's so easy to let one's guard down and forget that we don't live in a playground for the young and beautiful, but rather a jungle full of all types of desperate creatures. Self-defense classes should be mandatory for all women moving to the city. A knee to the groin can work wonders. Hopefully this will come back in style.

Arberia

There are a few others too. Dancing with the stars Tony, Eliza Dushku, the daughter from George Lopez, and Regis Philbin.

firebird

According to Wikipedia, Jim and John the actors are Albanian-Americans. Who'da thought!

Arberia

I agree violence against women should not be tolerated on any level! It is sad that the majority of the offenders of such crimes suffer only from slaps on the wrist until they take it too far and kill somebody. Even after this happens they go to prison for x amount of years where they are fed three meals a day, offered education, recreation and socialization with more people of thier kind.

Amanda Harletsch

Interesting points: The issue gets totally diluted when trying to excuse it or explain it through bigotry.

Thug/macho mentality is a social disease that works and it's perpetuated under the acceptance of others. The piece of shit this man is, sadly might belong to any nationality or cultural identity.

It is violence towards women what should be discussed as opposed of being stuck/offended by the headshit screaming nationalistic pride...

Arberia

Before everyone goes on criticizing Albanians because of the attack on this women, maybe search the name or last name and this will show that this name is not an Albanian name. So either the guy is lied ashe shouted out about being Albanian, the girl misheard or he changed his identity to not reveal his true Albanian name. You can not criticize an entire nation based on a few isolated incedents. Take into consideration the large Albanian population in New York and you will see that a very small percentage of Albanians are the ones who are the offenders!! Most of us are hard working, kind people. Somebody said that the majority of Albanians are guilty of domestic violence, how about researching how many Albanians have killed thier entire famlies due to rough financial times. How many Albanians have shot thier sons because they believe that they are the anti-christ? How many Albanians have you heard of that have gone on mass murder sprees or have killed many people and stored them in the freezer only to eat them the next day? Not too many i'm guessing. So before everyone goes off on an anti-Albanian charade, do your research!! Check out what your own people do wrong

Arberia

Before everyone goes on criticizing Albanians because of the attack on this women, maybe search the name or last name and this will show that this name is not an Albanian name. So either the guy is lied ashe shouted out about being Albanian, the girl misheard or he changed his identity to not reveal his true Albanian name. You can not criticize an entire nation based on a few isolated incedents. Take into consideration the large Albanian population in New York and you will see that a very small percentage of Albanians are the ones who are the offenders!! Most of us are hard working, kind people. Somebody said that the majority of Albanians are guilty of domestic violence, how about researching how many Albanians have killed thier entire famlies due to rough financial times. How many Albanians have shot thier sons because they believe that they are the anti-christ? How many Albanians have you heard of that have gone on mass murder sprees or have killed many people and stored them in the freezer only to eat them the next day? Not too many i'm guessing. So before everyone goes off on an anti-Albanian charade, do your research!! Check out what your own people do wrong!

Guest

It doesn't matter what they were wearing, it is their choice. The guy is an asshole, it doesn't matter what nationality he is. While there may be similarities between his actions and actions of others of the same nationality, that fact is irrelevant. The court system established the bail, whether it is too low or too high, is a matter to take up with the court system. The best that come for this is the publicity that there are people in this city who are not allowed to enjoy an evening out.

KK1

The Kolenovic family name is Bosnian, not Albanian. I don't understand why this guy feels the need to pretend to be Albanian, but last I checked Bosnians were Slavs not Albanians.

Clearly a slavic name but lets continue the ethnic bashing.

SilvanaP

I happen to be Albanian and I find the actions of this man disgusting and degrading to other albanians. Albanian people have just as much pride in their culture as any other cultures do, and for people to claim that we are crazy because we have so much pride in our culture is ludicrous. Ask any Puertorican or Italian if they have pride in their culture and they will prove me right. I am disgusted that this man would behave like this, this kind of behavior is unforgivable and he deserves to do hard time. HE is crazy, and HE is the one who beat up some poor girl. It is true for our parents and grandparents that men were very dominating, but we are in America, and our children were raised better. If he was in my family, he would get his ass kicked and be disowned, no questions asked. His actions put a stain on our culture, but it can't be said that Albanians in general are like this, it is simply not true. I beg you to find any culture, city, country, anywhere where men didn't beat their wives, it happens everywhere. We can't be blamed for his actions, his own stupid ass dictated what he was going to do, and trust in the fact that he will suffer for his actions.

Fluid

That is weird. His name ends in "vic", which is a slavic ending, but the first name is a muslim name (spelled in Serbian). This would make him either a Montenegro or Bosnian Muslim.

Regardless, preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to a racial or ethnic group is called "stereotyping". It's like saying that "americans are brash, ignorant, self-important, unintelligent, decadent, prudish on sexual matters, and obese".

Every culture has individuals that are f***ed up, and a culture or a group shouldn't be judged based on those individuals' acts.

Back to this guy - $5K is too little. This guy should be deported right after he serves his prison sentence.

jaycjay

"This would make him either a Montenegro or Bosnian Muslim.

In fact, I linked above to a story about a guy with the same last name who was killed. That article states that he, the other person with that last name, emigrated from Montenegro.

$5K is too little.

Once again, that's his bail. It's not his punishment, which will be set after conviction, assuming that he will be convicted.

Do people criticizing that amount really think it matters? Do you think that if his bail was set at, say, $50,000 instead he wouldn't still be out pending trial?

Bail is not intended to keep a person jailed. Everyone who is eligible for bail is supposed to be able to post it; it's intended to be set at an appropriate level that the person can reach, so they can be out pending trial -- because they are still considered to be innocent and it's considered to be important for them to be free to make it easier for them prepare their defense.

That's the American justice system: you don't get punished for a crime that you haven't been convicted of.

Gina Gemini

This is one of my worst nightmares -- being physically attacked because I didn't react favorably to a stranger's (intrusive) come-on. The fact that this happened is both scary and infuriating. And it's only going to get worse as the weather gets warmer. God, it's great being female sometimes.

Ps. I carry pepper spray, too (it was given to me by my boyfriend). You just never know when you'll come across a creep like Dzemal Kolenovic.

falkengruber

Got mugged in Athens a few years back, and the police immediately assured me that the mugger must have been Albanian. Nods all around the station house to confirm this.

Aside from mutually cozy hatefests, sounds like Stollef has it right. The guy is connected, at least as far as he's concerned. Chances are also good that his nasty temper and lack of judgment is exacerbated by drugs.