No Hate Crime Charges For Teens Who Allegedly Beat Jewish Boy In Queens

By Arum Venugopal, December 6, 2018

One witness, Waleska Mendez, emerged from Masbia, a Jewish-run soup kitchen located on 64th Road in Forest Hills, where she volunteers. She was working inside when she heard the commotion.

“When I went out I saw the kid next to the tree, already on the floor. All the gang was kicking and punching him. So I started screaming ‘Leave him alone!’”

She rushed back in, grabbed a broom and ran back out, wielding it as a weapon.

“It was the first thing that I find,” she said. “I was screaming and trying to hit them.”

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Two Cuffed For Alleged Roles In Forest Hills Beatdown That Left Teen Hospitalized: NYPD

By Mark Hallum, December 7, 2018

Waleska Mendez, a worker at Masbia Soup Kitchen on 64th Road, claimed the incident did not just involved two attackers, but two dozen.

Alexander Rapaport, the founder of Masbia, posted a video of Mendez to Twitter in which she claimed to have warded off the attackers with a broom.

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Attack On Jewish Teen In Queens Classified As Gang Incident, Drawing Ire

The Jewish boy, David Paltielov, 16, remained hospitalized one week after the Nov. 29 attack in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York.

By Marcy Oster, December 10, 2018

Waleska Mendez, a volunteer at Masbia soup kitchen in Forest Hills near the site of the incident, emerged from the building wielding a broom to stop the attack, the report said.

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Arrests But No Hate-Crime Charges After Jewish Teen Beaten By Mob In New York City

By The Scroll, December 7, 2018

Things may have been even worse if not for the intervention of Waleska Mendez, who was volunteering at the Masbia soup kitchen at the time of the attack. After realizing what was going on, Mendez ran outside and confronted the mob with a broom. After chasing away the attackers, she was almost drawn into a scuffle with the onlookers who had responded to the attack by recording it. “One of them was trying to get on top of me,” Mendez told Gothamist. “I just throw the broom, and said ‘You want to fight? Let’s do it.’”

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Attack On Jewish Teen In Queens Prompts Emergency Meeting With City Officials

By Joe Mauceri, December 6, 2018

Police have arrested two teens in connection with an attack on a 16-year-old Jewish boy in Forest Hills last week.

Dozens of kids scattered as the police arrived at 64th Road in Forest Hills on November 27. Witnesses say nearly 20 teens took turns punching and kicking the 16-year-old, while 15 to 20 more stood by watching or filming on their cellphones. The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital with cuts and blood all over his head.

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Forest Hills Jewish Community On Edge

By David Schneier, December 6, 2018

The Jewish community in Forest Hills is on edge after numerous altercations between Bukharian Jews and, allegedly, students from Forest Hills High School.

A 16-year-old Bukharian Jewish male remains in NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst with deep bruises and cuts to his head after being beaten by a group of teenagers on Nov. 29.

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Two Cuffed For Roles In Forest Hills Beatdown That Left Teen Hospitalized And Stirred Bias Crime Fears

By Mark Hallum, December 6, 2018

Waleska Mendez, a worker at Masbia Soup Kitchen on 64th Road, claimed the incident did not just involved two attackers, but two dozen. Alexander Rapaport, the founder of Masbia, posted a video of Mendez to Twitter in which she claimed to have warded off the attackers with a broom.

Read the full article here.

Attack On NY Jewish Teen Not Classified As Hate Crime

By Marcy Oster, December9, 2018

Waleska Mendez, a volunteer at Masbia soup kitchen near the site of the incident, emerged from the building wielding a broom to stop the attack, the report said.

The two alleged assailants, Jonathan Torres, 18, and a 17-year-old male, were both charged Thursday with first-degree felony gang assault and second-degree felony assault.

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Good Samaritan, Who Intervened In Attack On Jewish Boy, Confronts Life Without A Home

By Arum VenuGopal, December 25, 2018

It’s been a hectic few weeks for Waleska Mendez.

The Queens residentintervened in a violent attack on a 16-year-old Jewish boyby a group of teenagers, using a broom to scare off the assailants, on November 29th.

In response, City Comptroller Scott Stringer showed up at Masbia, the soup kitchen where she volunteers, last week and presented her with a commendation from the city, “For unparalleled bravery and selfless actions against hatred and antisemitism.”

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Soup Kitchen Volunteer Receives City Commendation After Stopping Attack On Jewish Teen In Forest Hills

By Nathaly Pesantez, December 19, 2018

A brave volunteer from a soup kitchen in Forest Hills received a city commendation yesterday for her role in stopping an attack on a Jewish teenager late last month.

Waleska Mendez, who volunteers at the Masbia Soup Kitchen at 105-47 64th Rd., was presented with the commendation by Comptroller Scott Stringer after she intervened and stopped a group attack on a 16-year-old Bukharian teen just outside the kitchen on Nov. 27.

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Woman Honored For Breaking Up Beating

By David Russell, December 20, 2018

City Comptroller Scott Stringer came to Forest Hills Tuesday to honor a volunteer at a Jewish-run soup kitchen who stopped an attack on a Bukharian teenager.

On Nov. 29, Waleska Mendez came out of Masbia on 64th Road just off 108th Street to see a teenager being attacked by a group of people.

Read the full article here.