Story and photos by Gregg McQueen
Sen. Adriano Espaillat (center) held a press conference on the hate crime investigation.
Not on our watch.
That was the message sent by uptown community leaders and elected officials who gathered to denounce an incident being investigated as a hate crime against two Yeshiva University students.
The students were verbally accosted inside a Dunkin’ Donuts store in Washington Heights last Mon., Feb. 29th by a man who demanded that they remove their yarmulkes, the skullcaps traditionally worn by Jewish men, particularly those who observe Orthodox or Conservative customs.
The suspect confronted the students, telling them that their “religion is a lie” and threatening to fight them, said police, who confirmed that the events have been classified as a hate crime.
The confrontation occurred on Monday afternoon at the Dunkin’ Donuts store at 398 Audubon Avenue, located across the street from Yeshiva’s Washington Heights campus.
Centered upon Amsterdam Avenue and West 185th Street, it is the university’s main campus and home to the institution’s undergraduate schools for men, the rabbinical seminary, graduate schools, the high school for boys, along with additional divisions, offices, libraries, dormitories and other facilities.
Read more: Officials denounce incident labeled hate crime | Manhattan Times
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