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Bicycle-Riding Groper Attacking Women All Over Astoria
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 21, 2011
Modified Jul 21, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 21, 2011
Modified Jul 21, 2011
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As if the threat of terrorists on bicycles wasn't enough to keep you up at night, now there's a new two-wheeled threat: Gropers. At least one man, possibly two, have been biking around Queens, mainly in Astoria, and grabbing women's breasts and buttocks. At least 20 women say they were victims of similar incidents, and all of them were assaulted between 28th Avenue and Broadway and from 31st to 48th Streets. One woman, a 25-year-old who identified herself as Erin K., tells the Daily News a man "exposed himself and began masturbating as he rode by her at 7:30 a.m. last week." 7:30 a.m.! The early perv catches the worm, we guess.
"I sensed him behind me. He slapped my butt, Michelle Gutmann, a 30-year-old event coordinator tells the Post. "He kept riding. By the time I realized what had happened, he was gone. I was shocked." The NYPD's Special Victims Unit is investigating, though police say they've only received two official reports. But the website Why Leave Astoria?, where news of the serial cycling groping first broke, is flooded with first-hand accounts—one of which may shed some light on why there are so few formal reports:
I was groped by this guy two days in row last week. The first was on 30th Ave. and 43rd Street, the second incident occured on 28th Ave. and 46th Street. He was on bike and grabbed by butt. The second time was especially scary because he snuck up behind me. Mind you, it was in the afternoon and 30th Ave. was busy!
I called the police and told that multiple women had also been harassed by the same pervert, mostly in the 40's between 30th and 25th Ave. I went in to file a report, but was told that it would be a waste of my time and "these things happen." So, thanks buddy, for making me feel disempowered in a neighborhood I always thought was pretty safe.
That's right, "These things happen," said the police officer, no doubt following it up with, "Now let's see a little smile-smile, okay toots? You're a lot cuter when you smile! You like Bon Jovi?" The perp is described as a light-skinned Hispanic between 20 and 35 years old. Some victims say his bike had a basket on the back like a deliveryman's bike. Some women posting on Why Leave Astoria? speculate that there are actually two gropers biking around the neighborhood, and they created a Google spreadsheet survey to gather the assault reports, since filing a police report is apparently a waste of time.
Tagged
astoria
bicycle
cyclists
groper
queens
sexual assault
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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