The lawyer for a retired police detective caught (allegedly) soliciting sex on Plum Beach may not get his client off, but he's definitely amusing us with his inspired legal strategy, and that's what matters most. Last August, Detective Joseph Tesoriere allegedly beckoned an undercover Parks Service cop into a remote area of the beach at Gateway National Park which is known as a gay cruising spot. (Also: horseshoe crabs.) He then commenced "fondling himself," according to the Parks cop. more ›

It's that time of year when love at the seashore blossoms, and hordes of initially alarming-looking horseshoe crabs scuttle up onto the beaches of Jamaica Bay to procreate in the sands. The species is approximately 450 million years old, and they look like something from a dinosaur film strip. Despite their tails that look like barbs and alien appearance, horseshoe crabs are completely harmless. more ›

Last October, the Brooklyn DA's office charged three men with murder as a hate crime after a gay man they had lured, beat, robbed and chased into traffic died from his injuries. But now the trio's lawyers claim that it was not a hate crime, but a crime of opportunity. more ›

Last fall, three men were charged with hate crimes in the October death of Michael Sandy. Prosecutors charged that lya Shurov, Anthony Fortunato, and John Fox had gone to a gay chat room, lured Sandy to Plum Beach, and then robbed and beat him. Sandy ran into the Belt Parkway and died from injuries sustained when he was hit by traffic. Sandy had been in a coma for six days; family took him off a respirator the day after his birthday. more ›

Three men were indicted yesterday for murder and attempted robbery as hate crimes in the Belt Parkway death of Michael Sandy. Ilya Shurov, Anthony Fortunato, and John Fox are accused of going to a gay chat room and asking Sandy to meet them at Plum Beach off the Belt Parkway. There, the three men are suspected of robbing and beating Sandy, who then ran to the highway and was hit by a car. Sandy lay brain dead in a coma for a few days until his family decided to take him off the life support. The Brooklyn DA's office explained how the incident could be classified as a hate crime:

Typically, according to state law, Hate Crimes are charged when prosecutors believe the defendants acted out of bias against the victims’ race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. But the less used section of the law calls for Hate Crimes to be charged when the defendant “intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is committed or intended to be committed based on a belief about those same factors. more ›

Police are investigating whether a black man was hit by a car because he was trying to get away from assailants. The incident occured in Sheepshead Bay-Gerritsen Beach area. WABC 7 reports that two white men were "seen fleeing the man's body on the Belt Parkway after he was struck by a car" - and the car didn't stop. Police believe the victim and the two men got into a fight; since the man was hit at the west end of Plum Beach (which is a gay cruising spot), detectives "were trying to determine if either race or sexual orientation was the motive for the attack." more ›