Protesters march down Myrtle Avenue. — Photo by Diego Cupolo

Myrtle Avenue was lined with local news vans Sunday afternoon, as a furious, 300-person crowd rallied against hate crimes and held a vigil for Jose O. Sucuzhañay.

With a mural depicting the effects of racism as their backdrop, prominent New York politicians and community leaders spoke before leading a march to the crime scene at Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz took the podium to rile up the diverse crowd along with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, Congressman Anthony Weiner, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes — who said he would throw the Sucuzhañay’s attackers in jail for life.

“He was killed because of what he was perceived to be and we will not stand for this,” Quinn said, who is openly gay. “Being here today sends a message to the people who were ignorant enough to commit these crimes that this is our neighborhood, this is our city and this is our country.”

Sucuzhañay, an Ecuadoran immigrant and real estate broker, was viciously beaten by men yelling anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs on the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place last Sunday — he was pronounced dead on Friday night at Elmhurst Hospital Center.

Jose’s brother, Pedro Sucuzhañay, also took the stage to ask for more hate crime enforcement while encouraging victims to report hate-related incidents and improving diversity education programs in schools. Other speakers said they were organizing nationwide rallies in January to demand reform in federal immigration policies from President-elect Barack Obama.


Pedro Sucuzhañay, brother of the attack victim address the crowd during a rally at Myrtle Avenue and Grove Street. The sign reads “Hate killed.” — Photo by Diego Cupolo

Bushwick residents watched from their windows and balconies as protesters marched down Myrtle Avenue and Bleecker Street chanting “Pueblo, escucha, estamos en la lucha.” — Listen up neighbors, we’re in the struggle. The crowd took up several blocks at a time and drew smiles from the storeowners along Myrtle Avenue, many of whom are recent immigrants.

Unfortunately, last week’s attack was part of national trend of increasing hate-related assaults. Since 2003, hate crimes against Hispanics have increased 40 percent, according to FBI statistics. Also, the number of reported attacks against LGBT people increased 24 percent in 2007 over 2006, according to the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

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