ROBERTO SANTIAGO (Puerto-Rican) :When I saw video images of the Central Park attacks of those young men wearing the Puerto Rican flag, I wanted to throw a brick through my television screen.And I would have if that brick could have magically ricocheted off each of their young, thick, male skulls.
MELISSA HERNANDEZ, victim : I asked them(a cop), ‘What—what if this were your wife? What if this were your daughter?’ He just looked at me, and said, ‘Well, my family and my friends wouldn’t come to this event...
RITA victim " There was just people everywhere and it was just an out-of-control kind of crowd. And it wasn’t just like one pack of people here. As—as you gradually walked through the park, it was every type of group.‘What is going on here? Why is this—why is this happening?"
JASMINE GONZALEZ victim"...And for you to stand there watch it like if it was a movie or a show, you have to be—you should be ashamed of yourself and disgusted!","There were no men in the park,They were animals."Police said Tuesday they planned to subpoena the tapes. At least one victim said tapes were made by the attackers themselves.
The Queens mother of a Hunter College student who was robbed, soaked and stripped in the incident said last night that her daughter is living in fear because the assailants have her identification. She's very afraid. We're very afraid," the Guatemalan emigrant said at her Elmhurst apartment. "They robbed her and got her credit card, driver's license, her Victoria's Secret card, so they know where she lives. I don't want to have to move. I'm happy here."
Ms. BERLIN ,witnesse, said she had endured unrelenting
harassment as she pushed through unruly and drunken street crowds
to get to work. Now, as she watched the poor naked woman, as she
wondered why there were not more police officers about, she felt
a deep sense of shame and anger.
Giuliani said police also plan to interview some of the those who shot the videos whose disturbing images were broadcast on local television and appeared in city newspapers."One of the victims told me that she thought at least in the particular case of the person doing the video, she thought the person was involved in it," Giuliani said
Reporter "This was just a small taste of what life is like for black and Hispanic women in many parts of New York."
It's sort of like Puerto Ricans
take over the city for the day. Remember how the columnist, Taki
criticized the behavior of some Puerto Ricans during the parade
two or three years
ago? People called his remarks racist. I think he used the words
"fat" and "ugly" though.
Ellen GOODMAN Globe Columnist "Too many of us are still forced to teach our daughters survival skills. Don't look at a stranger in the eyes. Avoid groups of young men. Avoid certain streets, certain hours. But how do you tell a daughter to avoid a Sunday outing in the park?"
Reporter "The crew's most frightening attack", "The wilding thugs continued to attack even after the couple was given shelter in a police scooter. Togetherness, even police presence, was no help."
Ellen GOODMAN Globe Columnist "It is a sensational
story, everyone agrees. But sensational is a remarkably ambiguous
word that describes every wind that skitters across our emotional
skin: hot or cold, fear or love, terror or titillation.
There is no doubt about the feelings women register when they
tune in to the ongoing coverage of the sexual assaults ."
Josina LAWRENCE victim“People are approaching me and saying, ‘You shouldn’t have went to the cops because now we can’t smoke reefer in the park anymore. We can’t drink alcohol in the park anymore. Why did you have to be a snitch?’ “Ashanna COVER victim :“I can’t get to sleep at night,” “I mean, I’m afraid to leave my house. People stare. People point. People look.”
Corinne HICKMAN,college student "the attacks
and the department's response were absolutely deplorable.It shows
what society thinks of women,We're either out here marching
or out here screaming for help."
BRYANT (victim)"They didn't seem to take the complaint seriously," ;"They tried to silence me by telling me I was a sexual assault victim and that I could be a victim again if I showed my face in the press."
Josina Lawrence.``Women should be able to go out and have a good time, especially at a parade,''