Pregnant Lady Assaulted In Fancy Washington Irving HS 'Hood

Irving Place and 15th Street

Visibly pregnant bank executive Moriah Lazar Hara was assaulted by a group of four teens a couple of weeks ago near her apartment in Gramercy Park, which is also located near the Washington Irving High School, a hotbed of rowdy adolescent antics. Hara, five months pregnant, accidentally brushed against one of the teens around 2 p.m. as she tried to walk around them at East 15th Street and Irving Place. Naturally, this kind of dis' could not go unanswered—certainly not from some rich bitch with a mad weird growth in her stomach.

"You don't want to pick a fight with me," shouted the girl that Hara brushed against, and then it was on. The girl and the three others started slapping Hara in the face, and as she tried to call 911, one of the teens grabbed her phone and tossed it to Lequint Singleton, 17, who is 6-foot-5 and 192 pounds, court papers say. After shoving and punching her some more, the teens fled. Within two weeks, Hara moved to the Upper East Side, where these sorts of things never happen.

"My first thought when this happened was for my baby," Hara tells the Post. "Any trauma can impact the baby. Luckily, the doctor gave me the all-clear." Singleton, of Harlem, was arrested Friday and charged with robbery, grand larceny, criminal mischief and criminal possession of stolen property; he's being held on $3,000 bond at Rikers Island. The others are still at large, and it's not been confirmed that they were students at Washington Irving, but it would surprise no one if they were.

"There is no doubt in my mind if something isn't done about this, someone will be murdered out in front of that school," Hara says. Been there, done that: In 2006, a 16-year-old was stabbed to death in a melee in Union Square that involved some Washington Irving students, and a 2007 stabbing was also believed to involve some gangs based at the school. And, in 2003, a six-months pregnant woman was hit by a stool thrown out a 6th story window at Washington Irving High School. One former student of Friends Seminary tells us they used to get dismissed ten minutes before Washington Irving let out so they'd have a running start. Clearly, the DOE needs to instill some Joe Clark-style tough love, or just ban teenagers.

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

By John Del Signore in News on June 30, 2010 10:20 AM

Comments [rss]

AC

They need to just shut that school down. I got robbed by a small group from there several years back in broad daylight on University and 13th. Most of those kids have absolutely no sense of propriety and things just seem to be getting worse! Assaulting a pregnant woman...bright future for this bunch!

DrGonzo

How do you know these kids were from W.I. if you were on 13th and Uni, 7 blocks away. There are plenty of other places those kids could have come from,

kromelizard

Every day is race-baiting day on Gothamist.

wow 14th street

This school did have gangs that attacked Stuy HS kids

some years ago.

This school also segregates the smart kids from the

scum on different floors,many people are unaware that

Washington Irving is one of the few schools in the USA that offers a French "Bac" degree ,the smart kids get

dismissed at a different time for their own safety.

nothing new here as we had the same crap in the 1950's .

Poor pregnant women had to go through this but lucky

she thinks she feels safer now uptown,it's all illusion.

kafkask

This shit wouldn't go down if Ichabod Crane was teaching, that's for sure.

Guest

props to the high-schoolers who politely refrained from critically stabbing or shooting a pregnant lady -- progress!

...

ddhboy

Mirroring? JDS didn't mirror anything, he applied a stereotype to a situation in order to deride the attackers based on their race, point blank.

John Del Signore

So what race were the assailants? There's nothing in what I wrote that suggests anything about their race; it just imagines the vernacular of street thugs who might attack a pregnant woman. I've heard people of many different ethnicities use lingo like that. The only person's race we know is the victim; the rest is what you're reading into it.

RabbiLaFunque

Yeah right, Del Signore, white thugs are often in the habit of saying "rich white bitch." Nice try, Cupcake.

Guest

I'm white, and I've used that term a number of times. But I'm not a thug, so you might be right.

inoyourider

*wink wink*

jpeditor

"certainly not from some rich white bitch with a mad weird growth in her stomach."

That's gothamist's code for "zionazi breeder".

inoyourider

Not surprising at all.

rasputinsghost

certainly not from some rich white bitch with a mad weird growth in her stomach.

C'mon, JDS, really?

Tar_Baby

Where's Al Sharpton?

Lisanne!

If you come across a group of high school students (and you can see a group this large a block away) doesn't common sense tell you to choose another route which doesn't come directly into contact with them.

In their minds their space was invaded. This doesn't validate their response. But why walk into

Lisanne!

I'll try again.

f you come across a group of high school students (and you can see a group this large a block away) doesn't common sense tell you to choose another route which doesn't come directly into contact with them.

In their minds their space was invaded. This doesn't validate their response. But why walk into a situation like this one?

Tricksta

b/c common sense should also tell you that a 5-months pregnant woman probably doesn't have enough energy to change her route for the convenience of a bunch of brats who are crowding a public sidewalk. Plus the article said she was going to her home which was close by.

BTW most teenagers I've seen (of every race) are surprisingly respectful when it comes to pregnant women and babies/small kids. I don't appreciate the racism insinuated in this post and I think it's totally unwarranted. Also not sure if the woman didn't intentionally provoke a confrontation, not that it would justify anything but if the woman was rude and knocked into someone without an "excuse me" or some acknowledgement then yes, I agree that's putting yourself in a dangerous and volatile situation.

In any case, there is no excuse to hit a pregnant woman and they should really throw the book at everyone involved. Glad the fetus is ok and the pregnancy isn't compromised.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Reading comprehension failed. where does Benny state that she is a white devil that should apologize? he does not but you do. his point was JDS' writing style on this story. It is kind of silly,

I never heard kids say "certainly not from some rich white bitch with a mad weird growth in her stomach.". mad weird growth???

perhaps this is JDS way of feeding the trolls on the NYPD rant that stated JDS if proof of a&nal conception. Maybe those NYPD ranters intimidated JDS?