The Asian men who were beaten in Queens spoke to reporters yesterday about the weekend attack. The Queens DA's office charged Kevin Brown and Paul Heavey with assault, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief after they allegedly taunted four Chinese Americans with racial slurs and beating two of them. Reynold Liang, a 19 year old sophomore at SUNY Albany, who was beaten the most severely and now has fractured skull along with the various cuts and bruises, vaguely described the incident: "They called me a stupid gook. They said it over and over again... Definitely - no doubt about it - to me, they were racists. They did it because I was Asian." (The NY Times, though, noted that none of the victims would go into great detail, based on advice from their lawyers.)
The Post had the most comprehensive explanation from authorities of what prompted the attack:
The three men and another Chinese-American friend, all age 19, were riding in Liang's car in Douglaston when Kevin Brown and Paul Heavey pulled up in a Toyota and screamed, "Get out of our neighborhood" followed by racial slurs, according to authorities.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly yesterday said cops believe someone in Liang's Lexus then threw a water bottle at the Toyota, which rear-ended the Liang's car when he tried to drive away.
The Toyota followed the Lexus to 44th Avenue and Douglaston Parkway, where Brown, 19, and Heavey, 20, got out and attacked Lu, who had exited the car to check on damage, authorities said.
Liang was beaten about the head and chest with his own steering wheel lock when he tried to come to Lu's defense.
Brown's attorney still claims it was a traffic accident that escalated into a racial-slur-free fight, but that doesn't work with witness statements. The Daily News' Juan Gonzalez laments the low bails set for Brown and Heavey; the DA asked for $150,000 bail for Brown, but it was set at $30,000. And more details emerge about Brown's brush with the law in May: He almost hit two pedestrians with his car, punching one and then attacking the other with a ball hammer - what a class act!
The NY Times talks to Queens residents who have differing perspectives on the likelihood of racial attacks - some are shocked while others aren't given the explosion of new residents and . And Liang gave them a good quote to end their article on: “I definitely don’t want this to happen to anybody else. Queens is a nice area. It’s my home.”
Photograph from Adam Rountree/AP
