Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming
I had just cut my hair really short and some guy on a crowded subway car started pointing at me and talking to his friend about how ugly I was. It was so humiliating and people kept turning to stare at me. I finally told him to shut the f*** up and he lost his shit on me. He started screaming about what an ugly dyke I was, etc. I was scared and humiliated. It happened years ago and I still feel sick when I think about it.
-anonymous
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From the Gothamist:
“The police are asking for people’s help is identifying a man who apparently assaulted a woman during yesterday morning’s subway rush hour. According to the NYPD, yesterday at 7:35 a.m., a 33-year-old woman “entered the Subway system at the Broadway Station [in Queens] in the confines of the 114 Pct and entered the ‘W’ train (Manhattan Bound). As the train approached 39th Street, the victim was sexually abused by the suspect who was sitting next to her. The suspect is described as a M/B/30’s, 6’0″ tall. The victim took a cellphone photo of the suspect as she exited the train at Queensboro Plaza.”
If you know anything or spot the man, you can contact CrimeStoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS, by texting TIP577 to CRIMES, or by going to NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
The young woman whose lawsuit was recently dismissed against the MTA and the employees who did very little to help her duing a brutal sexual assault on a NYC subway platform has spoken out.
“Speaking for the first time since the ruling, Maria Besedin said Thursday she never expected the toll booth clerk and train conductor who witnessed the 2005 attack to be heroes and put their own lives in danger. But, she said, they didn’t even call 911, or yell, ‘Stop!’
Besedin hoped to have her day in court so a jury could decide if the MTA staffers were negligent for only alerting central command. She believed her case would make the system safer for all users.
‘I’m honestly still in shock,’ she said of Queens Supreme Court Justice Kevin Kerrigan’s decision Tuesday to quash the suit.
‘It’s so hard for me to process this whole thing because I just really wanted everyone out there to be safe, to never have to experience anything like I did.’
The petite 25-year-old was still visibly shaken by her ordeal, which happened at the 21st St. station in Hunters Point on June 7, 2005, two days before her 22nd birthday.
She said suffers flashbacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, and continues to undergo therapy and take anti-anxiety medication. She has dropped out of college and lives with her parents in Rhode Island. …
‘I think it was beyond negligence, it was obvious that an extremely violent crime was going on.’
‘By the time somebody came, I mean, I had lost all my dignity, and it was over,’ she added.
Besedin’s lawyer, Chris Seeger of the firm Seeger Weiss, says he plans to appeal within days.
‘Yes, I do want justice,’ said Besedin, who still rides the subway.
As for the court system that rejected her case, she said, ‘It means that they don’t really understand exactly what negligence is and what the impact . . . this kind of atrocious thing can have,’ she said.”
Agreed. Let’s hope the appeal works. Her case could lead to important changes within the MTA.
Three years ago a young woman was raped on a deserted subway platform in New York City. While a toll booth attendant and subway driver both saw and called the police, they did nothing more to help her or stop the attacker. The police arrived a long ten minutes later. This news article details what happened – but warning, it’s very upsetting to read parts of it. This brave young woman is suing the NYC Transit and her trial in civil court will be heard soon (don’t know the date). I will be anxious to hear how it goes.
The young woman took the subway at 2 a.m. and she was the only person in the subway car with her attacker and the only one on the platform when she got off and he pursued her. She thought she would be safe and I wish she had been. If you live in NYC and don’t feel safe taking the subway home late Saturday nights, contact RightRides. They offer women, transgender and queer folks free, safe rides home late Saturday nights in numerous NYC neighborhoods. They always need volunteers & donations to keep their program going and to expand their services, so considering getting involved/helping them out!
From the Associated Press:
“NEW YORK (AP) — Police arrested a man accused of taking a cell phone picture under a subway rider’s skirt after the victim said she used her own phone to snap back. The 28-year-old woman said she was victimized last month while climbing stairs to an elevated station in upper Manhattan. A passer-by confirmed her suspicion that he had taken a photo up her skirt, she said.
She followed the suspect onto a train, took his picture, then e-mailed it to police and filed a report. “I told him `smile’ because I am going to the police,” the woman told The New York Times.
Aaron Olivieri was arrested Tuesday on misdemeanor charges of attempted unlawful surveillance, attempted sexual abuse and harassment. He was nabbed in a Manhattan subway station by an officer who said he matched the person in the photo the woman had taken, authorities said.
His lawyer, Rigodis Appling, did not immediately return a call for comment on Friday.”
What a great story! Everything came together for success – there was a witness, the person had the initial reaction to take the photo, the person had the energy/time to report the incident, & the police seemed to respond appropriately. Hopefully more people will be inspired to fight back too!