Yingerman Walking the Boardwalk in Coney Island Punched in a Possible Hate Crime.

   A  Yingerman who was walking with his wife, who was pushing a baby in a carriage down the boardwalk in front of the Cyclone Roller Coaster at Surf Ave. and West 10th St. in Coney Island, on Tuesday at 6pm, when a six-foot tall African-American man “came out of nowhere,” probably from behind, to punch him in the face: breaking his nose and momentarily causing the chassid, who was dressed in a bekkeshe, to need stitches and to momentarily lose consciousness.

Because the Boro Park resident, who was trying to enjoy a chol hamoed trip with his young family, cannot remember any other details about the assailant, who said nothing and quickly ran away, the NYPD do not have much to go on to investigate, although the police have categorized the attack as a hate crime.

  “One he got socked, the man really didn’t remember much,” said Boro Park Shomrim Coordinator Shmilu Follman who joined the police and Hatzolah, who were also on the scene. “We rolled around for about 30 minutes to see whether we could find anyone in the neighborhood who looked suspicious, but the place was pretty much deserted.

  “For all I know, the assailant ran onto the train station, which is right across the street, and he disappeared.”

  The police took a report, but the fact that the man could not remember much, and that no one else saw the attack does not bode well for the search for the assailant, Follman explained.

   “In the past 10-15 years, there hasn’t been so much crime, Baruch Hashem, in that neighborhood in Coney Island, but something provoked it,” Follman said. “What provoked it? No one is 100% sure.”

  “I assume this was a biased attack. It was done to a Jewish guy wearing Chassidish clothing, but we always know we are targets out there, especially when we are not in our neighborhoods.”

 Follman added that Yidden who are out on trips in neighborhoods other than their own, especially, to keep their eyes open to the dangers around them, G-d forbid.

   “Everyone should have a safe Second Days, be careful, wear masks, and do social distancing as much as possible,” Follman said. “Always be careful and safe wherever you are. Always look around.”