Gay Food Critic Attacked in Restaurant Parking Lot
A restaurant critic for the Albany Times Union and his male companion were assailed in the parking lot of a dining establishment by two young men who wordlessly beat the two, and then simply walked away.
Steve Barnes wrote about the assault in his restaurant column "Table Hopping" for the Albany Times Union on Oct. 18.
Barnes, who is openly gay, described walking to his car after a meal at Creo restaurant, located at Stuyvesant Plaza in the town of Guilderland, on the evening of Friday, Oct., in the company of another man, whom Barnes wrote of as a "friend," and referred to by the name Josh.
According to Barnes, two men walked "quickly and purposefully" across the parking lot toward himself and Josh, and then launched into an assault, punching both men a number of times.
As Barnes attempted to flee, one man pursued him, tripping him "expertly" and continuing the assault as Barnes fell to the ground.
The food writer expressed the opinion that the two seemed to know exactly what they were doing, as though they had planned the attack in advance.
The men were described as being in their late 20s, six feet or taller, and white; Barnes described the man who attacked him as having a shaved or bald head and wearing an white, untucked dress shirt.
The other assailant attacked Josh, but gave up his efforts after a short time and began to walk away, Barnes said. The food writer thought the second assailant might have been wearing a blue and white, striped shirt. One, and perhaps both, of the men were also wearing fingerless gloves.
When Josh’s assailant left, Josh threw himself on the man who was still attacking Barnes; the assailant then turned on Josh, Barnes recounted, and started strangling him.
The assault ended when another restaurant patron intervened, calling out from his car. At that point, the bald assailant also walked away.
Both victims sustained contusions, with Barnes receiving a black eye and facial abrasions, and Josh a gash on his forehead, among other scrapes and bruises.
Despite a security guard being on duty and at least two other witnesses seeing the attack, the men were not apprehended. The mall parking lot was not equipped with video monitoring.
Barnes reported that the attack was carried out wordlessly. An Oct. 20 article at TMCNet.com said that though Barnes thought he might have been targeted because of the way the men zeroed in on himself and his friend, and because of how the attack seemed primarily directed at Barnes, the food writer did not think the attack was a gay bashing, in part because no anti-gay epithets were uttered.
Barnes had written in his blog that he would be at Creo that night.
The article also said that, according to an employee of Creo restaurant, two men who fit the description Barnes provided were seen hours before the attack, lingering in the mall parking lot.
The TMCNet article said that Barnes was scheduled to meet with David Soares, the District Attorney for Albany County.
Barnes wrote, "It’s ridiculously ironic that I, having lived for 15 years in or adjacent to what are commonly accepted to be Albany’s worst neighborhoods, would be most seriously harmed in a well-lighted strip-mall parking lot in Guilderland."
Barnes added, "They said nothing. They asked for nothing.
"It would be easier to label if they’d tried to rob us or, having ascertained or perceived what they found to be a motivation, had uttered antigay comments before or while attacking. But they didn’t."
In an update posted the following day, Barnes added, "It seems inconceivable to me that anything I’ve written could have prompted the attack, as some have suggested.
"But if it did, the pissed-off person didn’t send a very clear message--indeed, any message at all.
"So yo, attackers: If I’m supposed to be nicer to somebody in the future, drop me an e-mail.
"Otherwise," continued Barnes, "you’re just a coward.
"Black eyes fade, but cowardice and thuggery are permanent character flaws."
