Beating Victim Describes Tompkins Square Mob

Photo from neithermorenorless.blogspot.com

A thirty-year-old father of two was beaten by a group of young men in the East Village Saturday night, and local blogs have taken note of it. The victim, Rob, who asked that his last name not be used for safety reasons, is a personal trainer and part-time wrestler. But he was bruised and battered after the attack by a group of about a dozen youngsters who not only punched and kicked him but also clubbed him with a piece of wood. Photos of the aftermath -- the wooden implement, police and ambulance, and the street scene, can be seen at the blog Neither More Nor Less.

Rob and his wife had come from their home in Brooklyn for a night in the East Village, and had relaxed with a pitcher of margaritas at a cafe across the street from Tompkins Square Park. When the cafe closed the couple headed out onto the street. As they argued over whether they would take a subway or a taxi, they heard a man say: "Why don't you come with us?" Turning around, Rob saw several young males ogling his wife."Mind your own business," he told them. A loud argument ensued, and more young males poured out of the park and surrounded the couple.
After the beating, Rob had a gash on the right side of his face and multiple fractures. But he declined the offer of police to ride with them to help look for his attackers. He says he didn't want to press charges, and figured he'd wait to get revenge later.

A few days later, he's having second thoughts about that. "I didn't know the history of it," he says. Now he's read about other recent violent incidents in or near Tompkins Square Park involving groups of young men, and that "people in that neighborhood are living in fear."

Rob felt particularly regretful when he read about Lesia Pupshaw.

Bob Arihood, who writes Neither More Nor Less, has been documenting a seemingly escalating battle between a group of aggressive young men he says are Hispanic and the Park's "crusties." Pupshaw died in May sometime after she was assaulted near the Park.

Though police are saying the young woman didn't die of injuries she sustained during the attack, Rob doesn't buy it. Pupshaw looks skinny in a photo he saw of her, he points out. "What was she, a buck-o-five?" He can't imagine someone that size taking a beating similar to the one he endured.