Brooklyn, NY – Community Leaders Slam NYPD For Ignoring Jewish Crime Victims; New Details Emerge In BP Hit And Run

Brooklyn, NY – A car accident that was labeled a simple hit and run by the NYPD has community leaders outraged, saying that it is yet another example of the 66th Precinct turning a blind eye to incidents involving Jewish victims.

As previously reported on VIN News, two Jewish men and a six year old boy were injured on Shabbos afternoon when a minivan backed up on 56th Street, pausing momentarily to let a car pass through the 11th Avenue intersection before slamming into three Chasidic individuals standing near the sidewalk.

After being contacted by family members of two of the victims, Shmira City Wide Safety Patrol canvassed the neighborhood for video of the incident and located the car parked several blocks away, keeping the car under observation throughout the night and calling the NYPD when the driver, Juan Paulino, emerged in the morning.

Officers from the 66th Precinct arrested Paulino and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident.

The charges were later upgraded to include reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident with a serious injury, both felonies, as well as unsafe backing of a vehicle, a misdemeanor.

Paulino reportedly told police that he had had an argument with some men who had just left his car and was attempting to follow them when the incident took place.

While originally released footage of the accident seems to show that Paulino intentionally aimed for the Jewish group, as yet unreleased surveillance video obtained by VIN News appears to support his version of events, showing his minivan parked at a bus stop.

Several individuals can be seen exiting the vehicle and standing there briefly, before two men break from the group and start running down the block.

Seconds later, Paulino’s car can be seen driving in reverse, casting doubt on whether he was aiming for the Chasidic group on the corner or was attempting to follow the men who had just left his van.

Whether or not Paulino’s actions were deliberate, area residents are still rattled by the incident and the 66th Precinct’s lackadaisical response, said Rabbi Mordechai Kuten, one of three individuals who was struck by Paulino.

Rabbi Kuten said that he was standing with his son talking to Shmiel Grossman, a friend and a former neighbor, after Mincha when he saw the minivan headed directly in their direction.

“He was going through the intersection and I saw him turning backwards towards the sidewalk,” Rabbi Kuten told VIN News. “I started screaming at him to stop and tried pushing everyone out of the way, but gornisht. I was screaming and Shmiel and my little boy fell down.”

The impact of the car pushed Grossman at least ten feet, according to Rabbi Kuten.

“There was a parked car next to us and I don’t know if that stopped him from backing up even more,” said Rabbi Kuten. “Shmiel ended up with his head halfway under the car and had blood coming out of his ear. I screamed at the driver again and he gave me a murderous stare before driving away.”

Grossman was the most seriously injured of the three and remains hospitalized. Rabbi Kuten said that the car ran over his son’s thighs, leaving him with abrasions but no major injuries.

The next few minutes went by in a blur for Rabbi Kuten who said that he cannot recall speaking to police at the accident scene but that he was later told that patrol officers from the 66th Precinct visited the scene only briefly.

Rabbi Kuten spoke with police later that night in the hospital and even after saying that the car appeared to hit them deliberately, he was told it was nothing more than a hit and run and the driver would likely never be caught.

Frustrated by what seemed to be a lack of interest in the case on the part of the NYPD, Kuten’s sons called Shmira, who spent Tisha B’Av night canvassing homes to get video, putting the details of the case together on their own, before handing the entire case to the NYPD on a figurative silver platter.

The incident is demonstrative of what community leaders said they have been seeing over the past two years, with Borough Park’s Jewish residents seeing too many instances of inaction by the 66th Precinct in cases involving Jewish victims.

“I don’t understand why it takes community leaders to notify NYPD superiors when an incident like this has occurred when it should be the reverse,” said Misaskim director Yanky Meyer. “Police should be the ones taking the proactive step and letting them know what happened and that they are investigating it.”

The fact that the 66th Precinct never informed community leaders of the incident has left them with little response for concerned Borough Park residents.

“You would think that when someone hits someone like this it should be a priority,” said Meyer. “People are looking at this video and seeing what happened and we have no answers for them. What do you tell a community when they want to know why this wasn’t taken more seriously?”

Jewish community leaders have reached out to their counterparts in other communities to discuss the situation, said Community Board 12 chairman Yidel Perlstein. None have reported similar experiences when dealing with the NYPD.

“We are not being treated the same as other communities,” said Perlstein. “We are asking for the basic services that we are entitled to as taxpayers just like everyone else, something we haven’t been getting.”

Borough Park’s Jewish community isn’t looking for any favors from the NYPD noted Perlsetin.

“Every other precinct seems to have direct communication with community leaders,” observed Perlstein. “We have crazy things going on here and we get no response, although the precinct doesn’t want to admit it. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that when three people are struck you call a sergeant or a lieutenant to come down. You don’t just file a report and put it away.”