New York
Brooklyn LGBTQ+ bar set ablaze in arson attack
The 5-month-old space near Myrtle Avenue caters to the LGBTQ+ crowd, and is known for being packed late into the night
Bushwick’s Rash Bar was left unrecognizable after an arsonist described as a man dressed in black strolled into the bar with a gas canister, poured some on the floor and started the fire before dashing out Sunday night.
Jake Offenhartz a general assignment reporter at the Gothamist interviewed Tyler Glenn, the 25-year-old bartender on duty Sunday who said that he emerged from the basement of Rash to find the small venue filling up with smoke. At first Glenn assumed someone had cranked up the fog machine.
“Then I realized I couldn’t breathe,” Glenn told Offenhartz. “The whole thing was in flames. I was banging on the walls and I couldn’t find the door and I could feel myself about to pass out
In another interview with New York NBC News flagship channel 4, Rash Bar owner Claire Bendiner said; “I was standing right here actually when it happened, I had just stepped out. Everyone rushed out. The side door has a glass front and I looked over and saw flames to the top of ceiling. It was crazy, it happened so fast.”
Glenn, Bendiner, and one more employee were the only staff on duty along with roughly a dozen patrons who were inside at the time of the incident. Glenn suffered second degree burns on the face and lips and remained hospitalized on Tuesday. Another person who was set to DJ later that evening was also hospitalized with minor injuries.
Glenn, a Bed-Stuy resident who uses they/them pronouns, the fire struck a familiar nerve. Glenn previously worked at Bossa Nova Civic Club, another queer-friendly club that shut down after a devastating fire earlier this year.
(Photo courtesy of Tyler Glenn)
The 5-month-old space near Myrtle Avenue caters to the LGBTQ+ crowd, and is known for being packed late into the night, NBC 4 reported. Nearly all of the damage was contained to the inside of the bar.
The NYPD are reviewing surveillance from a gas station around the corner that showed someone filling up a gas can minutes before the fire. The flames and smoke from that night also invaded two apartments above the bar, but everyone was able to make it out.
The owners mostly want to know: Why this bar?
“We still don’t know what to make of this cruel act of violence. In only five short months we were privileged to become home to such a talented and vital community of artists. It breaks our hearts that anyone would seek to threaten that for any reason. We’ve been trying to figure it out but we don’t know the motive possible hate crime,” Bendiner told NBC4. “This a queer bar. Maybe a disgruntled customer. I have no idea. Hard to get into the mindset of someone who would do this.”
A GoFundMe for the queer Brooklyn venue hopes to raise $200K to help staff affected by the horrific act and help the bar rebuild.
To view the GoFundMe, please visit: https://gf.me/v/c/z86s/rashbarfire
New York
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
One of the victims, John Umberger, was D.C. political consultant
A New York judge on Wednesday sentenced three men convicted of killing a D.C. political consultant and another man who they targeted at gay bars in Manhattan.
NBC New York notes a jury in February convicted Jayqwan Hamilton, Jacob Barroso, and Robert DeMaio of murder, robbery, and conspiracy in relation to druggings and robberies that targeted gay bars in Manhattan from March 2021 to June 2022.
John Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant from D.C., and Julio Ramirez, a 25-year-old social worker, died. Prosecutors said Hamilton, Barroso, and DeMaio targeted three other men at gay bars.
The jury convicted Hamilton and DeMaio of murdering Umberger. State Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin sentenced Hamilton and DeMaio to 40 years to life in prison.
Barroso, who was convicted of killing Ramirez, received a 20 years to life sentence.
New York
Investigators say ‘no indication’ of hate crime in torture killing of Black trans man
GLAAD cautioned police from ruling out hate crime charges
Law enforcement officials investigating the torture and killing of Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old Black transgender man from Minnesota whose body was discovered last week in upstate New York, found “no indication” of a hate crime, they announced in a statement on Sunday.
“We are disclosing that Sam and his assailants were known to each other, identified as LGBTQ+, and at least one of the defendants lived with Sam in the time period leading up to the instant offense,” police said.
“We share the community’s shock at such a heinous act of violence and understand the fear circulating among members of the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community,” they said. “We remain focused on holding these individuals accountable and will continue to work tirelessly to complete the investigation into Sam’s murder.”
In a statement on Tuesday, GLAAD said that “While we are encouraged to see law enforcement act swiftly to investigate this horrific act, we caution investigators from ruling out hate crime charges based on this statement alone,” adding that “Anti-LGBTQ hate can be perpetuated by anyone, regardless of their relationship to the victim or their own gender identity or sexual orientation.”
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said: “Our hearts are broken over the loss of Sam Nordquist. Sam was more than just a statistic—he was a son, a brother, a friend, and a bright light in the lives of those who knew him.
“His life was stolen from him after enduring unspeakable cruelty. We stand in solidarity with Sam’s family, friends, and community as they demand justice. We refuse to let Sam’s story fade into silence.
“We demand accountability, we demand justice, and we demand a world where transgender people are safe, respected, and able to live freely.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Sunday that she instructed state agencies including the Hate and Bias Prevention Unit of the New York State Division of Human Rights to assist with the investigation into Nordquist’s murder.
Letitia James, attorney general of New York, said on X “This is beyond horrifying, and those responsible for this terrible act must be held accountable. My heart is with Sam’s family, loved ones, and the entire LGBTQ+ community.”
Police who found his remains in a field in Yates County determined that Nordquist was “subjected to prolonged physical and psychological abuse” between December and his death earlier this month.
New York
Two indicted for supplying fentanyl to transgender activist before her death
Cecilia Gentili died in February
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace on Monday announced that two men had been charged with distributing the heroin and fentanyl that caused the death of 52-year-old Argentina-born Cecilia Gentili, a beloved prominent New York transgender activist.
New York City residents Michael Kuilan and Antonio Vent were named in the court documents which laid out the events leading to the death of Gentili.
According to the indictment and court documents, on Feb. 6, 2024, following a 911 call by Gentili’s partner, New York Police Department officers reported to Gentili’s home in Brooklyn, N.Y., and found Gentili dead in her bedroom. Gentili died due to the combined effect of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine and cocaine. Text messages, cell site data and other evidence revealed that Venti sold the fentanyl and heroin mixture to Gentili on Feb. 5, 2024, and Kuilan supplied Venti with those lethal narcotics.
In addition, law enforcement searched an apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, belonging to Kuilan and found hundreds of baggies of fentanyl, a handgun and ammunition.
“Cecilia Gentili, a prominent activist and leader of the New York transgender community was tragically poisoned in her Brooklyn home from fentanyl-laced heroin. Today, the alleged perpetrators who sold the deadly dose of drugs to Gentili have been arrested,” stated Peace. “Fentanyl is a public health crisis. Our office will spare no effort in the pursuit of justice for the many New Yorkers who have lost loved ones due to this lethal drug.”
“Today’s indictment delivers a strong message to anyone who profits from poisoning our communities with illicit drugs: There are dedicated investigators, across multiple agencies, working tirelessly to disrupt your shameful industry by pinpointing the source of these unlawful substances,” stated NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban. “It is imperative that we continue to hold distributors accountable for their callous actions. I commend the NYPD’s partners at the DEA and the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York for their ongoing commitment to this critical mission.”
An undocumented immigrant and then-asylum seeker from Argentina, Gentili came to the U.S. pursuing a safer life to live authentically as a trans woman. She lived undocumented for 10 years, hustling, doing sex work which came with drug use. After surviving arrests and an immigration detention, she accessed recovery services and won asylum.
Among Gentili’s accomplishments was her work as a co-founder of her namesake COIN Clinic (Cecilia’s Occupational Inclusion Network) at Callen-Lorde, a New York-based leader in LGBTQ healthcare. She later was the managing director of policy for the world-renowned GMHC (originally the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.)
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