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Enraged Man Beats UES Woman For Rejecting His Flirtation, Does Year In Jail
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 8, 2011
Modified Dec 8, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 8, 2011
Modified Dec 8, 2011
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One night in March of 2009, a 26-year-old student who would only tells the press her first name, Christine, was eating pizza on the Upper East Side when she was approached by Dzemal Kolenovic, 33. Kolenovic resides in Brooklyn, but he's very proud of his Albanian identity, as Christine would soon find out when he was beating her to a pulp outside the establishment.
Christine (pictured here, post-assault) says that after she asked Kolenovic to stop hitting on her inside John & Tony's Pizzeria on First Avenue and leave her and her friend alone, he became enraged, yelling, "F--- you, bitches. You whores." He waited for her outside, and when she emerged he attacked, throwing her to the ground. She recalls, "I asked him, 'Why are you doing this?' and he said, 'Because I'm Albanian, I can do whatever the f--- I want.' "
"He first he punched me once in the right eye and then he got really wound up and hit my left eye," she recalls. "I had bruises all over. My arm, my knees were all cut, and my lower back. Both my eyes were swollen shut." She was partially blind for a while, but after several surgeries she is finally able to see again.
As for Kolenovic, the Post reports that he was sentenced to one year jail yesterday. But because he's been in custody since January, his attorney expects him to be released today "on good behavior." We're sure he believes in America, too.
Tagged
albania
assault
Dzemal Kolenovic
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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