Rest in Peace J.B. Hehman (TLOZ Link5)

[Stern]

OMG! I cannot believe this has just happened!

I woke up this morning feeling really badly, not exactly knowing why, and then I read that J.B. Hehman (TLOZ) was hit by a car on Saturday and is braindead. Saturday was the last day he posted at Wired New York. I am almost in tears writing this. I cannot believe this. Hopefully everyone else can make more sense out of this then I can. I dont feel this is an appropriate tribute. Ill surely devote more time and energy to him later, surely he deserved as much... He deserves that we all take some time out of our day and atleast acknowledge the person he was. A very small aspect of his life and our lives, this forum will never be the same.

[Fabrizio]

I cannot believe this. I´m in shock. What a nice nice fellow. Oh my. oh my....

[Schadenfrau]

Oh my gosh, I read that story yesterday. I had no idea that was TLOZ. What a tragic end for such a kind, smart man. This is just terrible.

[Stern]

Oh my gosh, I read that story yesterday. I had no idea that was TLOZ. What a tragic end for such a kind, smart man. This is just terrible.

I find it hard to believe as well...


NYTIMES:

April 3, 2006
Man Hit by Car; Witnesses Say He Was Chased
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

A college student was struck and injured by a car on Saturday evening when he darted into a busy Harlem intersection, a witness and a law enforcement official said yesterday. The official said the police were investigating reports that the victim was being chased.

The student, Broderick Hehman, 20, a junior at New York University, was in critical condition at Harlem Hospital Center yesterday, the police said. The driver of the car, a 38-year-old man who was not identified yesterday, remained at the scene of the accident. He was not charged.

The police were trying to determine why Mr. Hehman ran into the intersection, at 125th Street and Park Avenue. Witnesses told investigators that it appeared that Mr. Hehman was being chased by several young men, the law enforcement official said.

David Jones, a homeless man who sells used goods at the intersection, said he witnessed the accident, which took place about 8:30. "They were trying to beat him," he said. "Some kids were trying to beat him." Mr. Hehman, who ran east on 125th Street, turned south into the intersection, he said, and then was hit by the car, which the police said was a silver Mercedes-Benz.

An uncle, Andy Hehman, said his nephew was an urban studies major at N.Y.U. "He's a very warm person," he said at the hospital last night. "He never lets you get out of there with just a handshake. It always had to be a hug."

[Marksix]

I only knew the guy from his posts but from them he seems the kind of person we can ill afford to lose. My condolences to those who knew him better than I. :(

[NYatKNIGHT]

How horrible! That's so, so sad.

[czsz]

I can't believe this. I didn't know this was him. He was friends with my girlfriend at NYU...unbelievable.

I hope they determine what really happened there...

[NewYorkYankee]

I dont know the words to say... I can only pray for his family and remember the good conversations and advice he gave to me in the short time I knew him.

[lofter1]

This is really sad.

My heartfelt wishes go out to JB / TLOZ and his family.

I hope they know what great value he's brought to the wired new york community -- and how much he's missed.
"Golden Lads and Girls all must, as chimney sweepers, come to dust"

W. Shakespeare - Cymbeline

[infoshare]

I am shocked and saddend by this.......I did not know him personally but I always enjoyed reading his posts........this is just very sad.

[antinimby]

The article only said he was in critical condition and in the hospital, so I'm only going to believe that he'll recover and hopefully return to this forum soon. Either way, TLOZ, our prayers are with you. If only there were more people like you and less of those that were chasing you, this world would be so much better off.

[ablarc]

Oh my God, this is so sad.

TLOZ, we'll all miss you.

At Wired New York he was always good-natured, never a wrangler, a model of forum decorum for us all.

A gentle soul.

[ablarc]

Let's all of us pray for his recovery; maybe we'll be heard.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I read the newspaper story, and I must say, just gave it a passing thought, more wondering if those that chased this young man gave it more than a passing thought.

Now I'm reminded how our lives touch so many others.

TLOZ was the good guy on this forum, so I pray he somehow recovers and returns. If not, I wish his family the strength they will need.

[Stern]

The thing I find hardest to believe is first how very young he was. But I am more distraught over how very smart he was; his death is such a waste. I fear that he will not be remembered, because I know if he had lived his life, he would have done great things. He had great potential and he was a kind and gentle being, and he will be missed.

Here's some pictures and information about our friend J.B. from facebook...

http://photos-582.facebook.com/n12/114/107/802152/n802152_30907582_5093.jpg

http://photos-575.facebook.com/n12/114/107/802152/n802152_30907575_5267.jpg
J.B. gives us his most heartfelt Led Zeppelin

http://photos-199.facebook.com/n13/0/34/802837/n802837_30714199_8012.jpg

http://photos-194.facebook.com/n13/0/34/802837/n802837_30714194_6547.jpg

http://photos-193.facebook.com/n13/0/34/802837/n802837_30714193_6260.jpg

http://photos-188.facebook.com/n13/0/34/802837/n802837_30714188_4748.jpg

http://photos-907.facebook.com/n13/0/34/802837/n802837_15142907_3743.jpg

http://photos-883.facebook.com/n13/0/34/802837/n802837_15142883_3138.jpg

http://photos-823.facebook.com/n13/0/34/802837/n802837_15142823_1315.jpg

http://photos-816.facebook.com/n13/0/34/802837/n802837_15142816_1123.jpg

The irony is according to his facebook he was taking a course in Urban Violence in America. For the thugs that were chasing him, I have to ask for what? Is his life worth a monetary value? I realize the system is complicated and the thugs have a mountain of injustices working against them. That said, reading what J.B. posts he was someone who would try and change these injustices. The truth is that the thugs could probably careless about the death of a first-class young man. The obvious lesson is not to run from thugs and just participate in a hold-up. But things aren’t as simple as they seem and things shouldn’t be the way there are. The big picture is simply this sucks, this hurts, and this is a harsh reality. I would however like to see J.B. remembered. I don't think I'm alone in my thinking that he would have amounted to something great. All of us saw it, whether we knew him in life or just on these boards. J.B.'s makeup, his character was off the charts. J.B. is already yesterdays news and in this city his name will not be long remembered. I do not think he deserves such a fate. And I do not it is too much to ask that his name is somehow memorialized on this forum, he was without question one of this forums greatest assets.

I would like to hear suggestions?

[ablarc]

Good thought, Stern, but best would be his recovery.

Is there any hope of that?

[ryan]

Thanks for the photos Stern - he obviously knew how to enjoy life, and I echo all the compliments - he really was one of the best.

I feel for his family - with his mother passing away in the fall they must really be in a horrible place. If anyone has any idea at all for helping them I'm in (drawing a blank at the moment).

[Schadenfrau]

It's so soon, but JB loved this city so much that a public memorial only seems fitting. A bench, a mural, I don't know. This is just heartbreaking.

[ryan]

From JB's friend on Livejournal:

JB was in Harlem on a way to see his friend Patrick. He was going to see him before going to dinner to see our friend Abby, and I was to join them for drinks. On his way, JB was noticed by either a person or a few people, and was going to get mugged. JB tried to run, and ran east of 125th street. While passing underneath the underpass, a car came and hit him. The car couldn't avoid him, and JB couldn't see traffic from the right.

[Derek2k3]

Just terrible.

[Stern]

Good thought, Stern, but best would be his recovery.

Is there any hope of that?

No there is no hope of that. A friend of JB has confirmed that he has infact passed away. He is no longer with us. He has told me that his organs were harvested, so that even in his death JB was selfless.

It's so soon, but JB loved this city so much that a public memorial only seems fitting. A bench, a mural, I don't know. This is just heartbreaking.

Thats an excellent idea, Im not going to let him just pass and be forgotten. He was hit at 125th and Park, why not put a mural on the wall that used to hold ads for Harlem Park. Ironically Harlem Park at 125th and Park was a development JB supported and actively followed...

http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2004/08/29/realestate/harlem.184.2.space.650.jpg

I would like to hear some more feedback...

[infoshare]

SWIFT has sailed into his rest;
Savage indignation there
Cannot lacerate his breast.
Imitate him if you dare,
World-besotted traveller; he
Served human liberty.

By William Butle Yeats

[JMGarcia]

My last interaction with him from the day the accident. This is so very upsetting.


If you ask me, the average Miami apartment tower is vastly more interesting than the average New York one.


I'll second that. At least they don't used exposed floor slabs in the facade as architectural details.

[Ninjahedge]

/Me gets the heebie jeebies.

I am sad about him and the loss we all are experiencing. I am also livid about the guys that caused this to happen.

This is senseless.

And the impotence to do anything about it is equally frustrating as the sense of loss of a valued community member.

To all his family members and friends, my feelings are with you.

:(

[ManhattanKnight]

This is really sad.

My heartfelt wishes go out to JB / TLOZ and his family.


I hope they know what great value he's brought to the wired new york community -- and how much he's missed.
A couple of years ago, someone in another online forum that I frequent noticed a several days’ absence of postings by one of the forum’s most brilliant, prolific and generous members and learned of his death (in a bicycle accident) in an online obituary in his hometown newspaper. That discovery prompted dozens of postings about our memories of this man and his contributions to the discussions and messages to and from his wife and children, who, as it turned out, knew nothing about his participation in the forum. By the time that some members thought it might be appropriate to assemble his writings and present them to his family, many had been archived off the forum beyond recovery because of software limitations.

If someone here knows TLOZ's family and friends and believes that they would appreciate having a collection of his postings here, putting together a CD with them should be easy enough.

[Kris]

I am shocked and saddened by this loss.

Here is an eloquent post by TLOZ Link5 from this thread (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5562):

New York has had many golden ages. They just take different forms and affect different aspects of the City.

From the 1890s to the 1920s New York came into its own by founding great institutions of culture, digging the first subways, and erecting the first skyscrapers. The Great Depression and World War II formed the era of "classic" New York, architecturally speaking (Art Deco) and culturally speaking (Broadway plays like 42nd Street, etc). This era might have ended with the 1939 World's Fair or with World War II.

From 1945 to 1964 was a period of great prosperity, the time when the City bore witness to the era that could be, taken at face value, be unanimously classified as a true "golden age." Suburbanization, rising crime, and the assassination of JFK hastened the end of this golden age, whose true end might have been the 1964 World's Fair.

The mid-to-late '60s, in addition to the early '70s, was a time when the arts and counterculture were both in full swing. This was the era of Fiddler on the Roof, the beginnings of Greenwich Village as we know it today, and a high-water mark for fashion and the arts, rivalling and possibly surpassing Paris itself.

Despite the apocalyptic aura of the City in the '70s, arts and nightlife boomed; this was Andy Warhol's finest hour; the years when Talking Heads, the New York Dolls and the Ramones lit up CBGBs; when the parties at Studio 54 lasted till noon the next day. Socially and financially, the City was dying fast in the disco years, but it evoked Rome in the last days as hedonists consumed themselves in one last reckless orgy without fear — or knowledge — of the consequences.

The '80s were when the City began to come back from the edge, slowly but surely. Breakdancing, the Mets winning the World Series, the beginnings of revival in many Lower Manhattan neighborhoods. New York University was shedding its image as a backwater commuter school (N-Y-Jew was the popular moniker of the time) to a presitigious university to rival the Ivies. The population decline had stopped, businesses moved back in, and real estate boomed. Battery Park City, a new neighborhood, rose out of the Hudson. It seemed that the City was going to make it. After the crash of the stock market, it all seemed to unravel — into another golden age.

The late '80s and early '90s were The Bonfire of the Vanities come to life. The City was falling apart yet again, yet signs of tentative rebirth were seen as residential real estate continued to boom and the arts and cultural scenes became the patrons of sophisticated City dwellers as opposed to tourists. It was a wild, historic era; a true tale of two cities who shared the same land, a fascinating study.

The mid- to late '90s saw a decline in crime, a real reinvestment in many downtrodden neighborhoods, a new image for a City once written off as a decimated relic of a bygone era. People across the nation and around the world truly wanted to move here. However bourgeoisie-oriented this new golden age was, the City maintained its position as the beacon of civilization — and unofficial capital of the world — that it was always meant to hold.

This golden age came to a crashing halt after 9/11, which spawned a new golden age. There was a sense of people coming together to comfort one another, to share in their experiences and losses. Many New Yorkers began to truly appreciate and love where they lived and feel a deep pride for a City they took for granted. (I was one of them.) That era lasted a few months, but we all remember it poignantly.

This new golden age continues to heal the City's social problems, while racial tensions that were prominent in Giuliani's mayoralty are also easing. But this golden age seeks the resurgence of all of the City's neighborhoods and boroughs, from the Bronx to Brooklyn and from Staten Island to Hollis. It's no longer simply about Manhattan anymore; "New York" now regularly brings to mind Brooklyn and Queens as well. It is this New York that embodies the urban success story in this country, as Americans began to believe in many of their cities once more.

[BrooklynRider]

Wow! This is both shocking and incredibly sad. What a terrible loss for us and, of course, his loved ones. If there is anyone here who knew him well? I would be very interested in contributing to any memorial fund.

I am just so overcome with sadness for him. His mom just succumbed to cancer recently. I'll throw the first $100 toward any fund we can create to honor his memory. I think a tree in a park or perhaps a sponsored bench in Hudson River Park.

I had some PMs with him during the release of the movie Rent and while he was mourning his mom's passing. I know he was a supporter of a non-profit called Friends In Deed in SOHO.

www.FriendsInDeed.org

They do great work with people facing life threatening illnesses.

I'm rather surprised by how strong my reaction is to this news. Again, another clear indication of the true communiity we have here at WNY.

I hate to be questioning this again, but it is absolutely certain that there is no chance of recovery? My God. He was (is) a good soul.

[BrooklynRider]

I contacted Hudson River Park. They do not have a program to plant commermorative trees.

Anyone know the area where he was hit? Are their parks or perhaps some green-street type ares we could beautify with plantngs and a plaque?

[BrooklynRider]

Thats an excellent idea, Im not going to let him just pass and be forgotten. He was hit at 125th and Park, why not put a mural on the wall that used to hold ads for Harlem Park. Ironically Harlem Park at 125th and Park was a development JB supported and actively followed...

I would like to hear some more feedback...

I'm in if we can get permission for a mural.


FYI from NY Post:

AUTO HITS MAN AS HE FLEES THUGS

By SARAH GARLAND & TATIANA DELIGIANNAKIS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 3, 2006 -- An NYU student was clinging to life yesterday after a gang of robbers chased him into a Harlem street where he was hit by a car, shaken relatives said.

John Broderick "J.B." Hehman, 20, was in critical condition in Harlem Hospital's intensive-care unit with a fractured skull and a broken leg. Doctors were also monitoring Hehman for possible brain damage, relatives said.

His sister, Marisa, said he was on his way to meet a friend at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday when the horrifying events unfolded.

She said he was being chased down the street by several would-be robbers.

Cops said Hehman, who lives in Manhattan, was struck at Park Avenue and East 125th Street by a Mercedes going east on 125th.

The driver stayed at the scene of the accident and is not expected to face charges.

"When we heard the crash, we thought it was two cars - it was such a loud noise," said a man who works near the scene. "I couldn't believe it was a person."

Marisa Hehman said her brother is an urban-affairs student at NYU. "We're very distraught, very worried," she said. "This is our worst nightmare."

Their mother died of cancer six months ago, she added.

Additional reporting by Larry Celona

[antinimby]

Well, if it is confirmed that he is no longer with us, then it is truly, truly, very sad.
But we should now look past his awful passing and rejoice in knowing that he is now in a much better, happier place.
Joining to be, once again with his beloved mother. It was only yesterday, when someone brought that up did I realize the pain and sorrow you must have been through when you lost your cherished mother only just recently and how it seemed from your posts that you had seeked emotional support from this forum (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7564). TLOZ, you will be missed tremendously here and no doubt by all your family and friends.

I'll always remember him for his clever, yet always well-informed and certainly entertaining posts but most of all for his tireless defense of New York, a city that is a little bit worse off today than the day before you left.

TLOZ, I have the utmost confidence that the city that you loved so much will have the brightest of future ahead with you looking out for it from above. Farewell and best wishes.

I would like to hear some more feedback...Does anyone have any idea what NYU is doing? Maybe people here can join in whatever they may have planned. As for this site, I think there should be a day devoted to his memory by locking out all new posts for just one day so everyone can reflect and be aware of his significant contributions to this forum.

[Strattonport]

I caught this story only now, I also heard it on 1010 WINS, although I didn't know it was actually a member here until I caught the story here.

I pray for him and his family and friends. I hope those thugs are caught.

[BrooklynRider]

We can also create a reward fund to help capture his assailants.

[ablarc]

We can also create a reward fund to help capture his assailants.
Great idea. You can count on my $100 toward this.

[BrooklynRider]

Anyone else up for this?

[Comelade]

all my condolences has its family and her friends. hello sadness, foul weather

[ZippyTheChimp]

Anyone else up for this?
An admirable thought, but let's face it, the prospect of getting a satisfying result in court is very limited.

Maybe we should concentrate on something more uplifting. TLOZ was an NYU student, and Washington Square is scheduled to begin renovation. Maybe Parks Dept would allow us to pay for a new tree (my choice) or piece of park furniture - with a plaque.

[Fabrizio]

A tree would be nice.

[JMGarcia]

An admirable thought, but let's face it, the prospect of getting a satisfying result in court is very limited.

Maybe we should concentrate on something more uplifting. TLOZ was an NYU student, and Washington Square is scheduled to begin renovation. Maybe Parks Dept would allow us to pay for a new tree (my choice) or piece of park furniture - with a plaque.

Great idea. I'd go for either but I think a piece of park furniture, a place to sit and talk, would be best IMO. Hopefully a conversation about urban issues would take place there at times.

[ablarc]

An admirable thought, but let's face it, the prospect of getting a satisfying result in court is very limited.
Sad commentary on the state of our justice system, if true.

What's the best plausible outcome: found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, followed by suspended sentence or probation?

[Schadenfrau]

I think the biggest problem might be that the kids won't be tried as adults.

Since they were in the process of committing a felony when TLOZ was hit, it will be easier to bring harsher charges.

[ManhattanKnight]

I think the biggest problem might be that the kids won't be tried as adults.

Since they were in the process of committing a felony when TLOZ was hit, it will be easier to bring harsher charges.

The sketchy facts about this horror-story related in the press do not support conclusions about whether any criminal activity occurred here, what it was, or how it might be punished. Anyone who, while commiting a felony, chases a victim into oncoming traffic resulting in his death could, under NY law, be guilty of second degree murder. Something like that happened in a notorious Michigan case a few years ago, Michigan v. Welch (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n1_v90/ai_18308730),that inspired a Law & Order episode involving a victim who jumped to her death from the Brooklyn Bridge after her car was deliberately rammed by a hired thug trying to frighten her. But, again, the known facts are too few to support any informed speculation.

[Edward]

J.B. Hehman - TLOZ Link5 – joined our forum on 13 November 2002, three and a half years ago, he made 3,320 posts since then, his last post was on Saturday, 1 April 2006, at 06:06 pm.

His death is a tragic and painful affair, and every aspect of it multiplies the pain – the bewildering circumstances of his death, his young age, his involvement in this forum, the unfulfilled promise of his talents, the suffering of his family, and our helplessness in front of it all.

[Ninjahedge]

4½ hours........ :(

[Stern]

I think we should seperate threads. One thread should be about JB's life and remembering him another should be about an appropriate memorial/finding the thugs that were chasing him.

That said I found this article rather refreshing...

Washington Square News:

Students mourn friend's death

By Barbara Leonard

April 06, 2006

CAS junior Broderick John Hehman — whom his friends called “JB” — passed away on Tuesday from injuries he sustained when he was hit by a car on Saturday.

Hehman, 20, was in Harlem Saturday night when he darted into the path of a silver Mercedes-Benz at the intersection of 125th Street and Park Avenue, police officials said.

The accident occurred because Hehman was attempting to flee muggers whom he encountered while walking to meet a friend in the neighborhood, according to the weblog of his close friend, Paco Secada, a Gallatin senior.

After being hospitalized for skull and leg fractures at Harlem Hospital, Hehman slipped into a coma and was pronounced brain-dead on Monday, his father, Thomas Hehman, said.

A resident of the Upper East Side, Hehman graduated The Summit School in Queens, N.Y. in 2003. At NYU, he was a metropolitan studies major and peer educator at large for NYU residence halls, his friend CAS junior Antonella Inserra said.

Becoming a peer educator was very important to Hehman, said Inserra, who lived on the same Brittany residence hall floor as Hehman during their freshman year.

“He told me, ‘I really want to help do what I can for people,’ ” she said. “When he got it, he was so excited.”

Memories like Hehman’s friendly enthusiasm, weekly bubble tea get-togethers and penchant for Prince will serve as a constant reminder of what Inserra said she will miss about her friend.

“All I can think about right now is just how amazingly open a person he was,” Inserra said. “As soon as he’d see you, it’d be instant hugs — always, constantly.”

For CAS junior Carrie Kaidan, Hehman’s devotion to Prince music demonstrated his uninhibited personality.

“I hosted a kareoke during Welcome Week this past Fall — he came and sang Prince like it was his job,” Kaidan, who first met Hehman at an NYU pre-college writing course in 2003, said in an e-mail. “He never let people judge him. Anyone who knew him respected his talent, his intellect and his humor.”

Hehman’s friend and CAS senior Diana Gonzalez said she met JB a few summers ago when they worked together raising funds door-to-door for a nonprofit organization.

“JB was a treasure, and what happened is nothing short of an absolute tragedy,” Gonzalez said in an e-mail. “He was too young, too good and caring, had too much promise to die. I keep thinking over and over that this really is proof that there is no justice in this world.”

Inserra said she bonded with Hehman over his love for opera and “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien.

“He was really good at talking or listening,” she said. “He would always say something either hilarious or something that would make you sit back and think.”

Secada, one of Hehman’s closest friends, said he and his late friend’s family decided not to comment about Hehman’s life to the press because they would be unable to do him justice.

“We just want to grieve and that’s it,” said Secada, who is planning an open memorial for those who want to commemorate Hehman’s life.

Inserra said the memorial will likely be held after Easter when more people will be available to “remember him and celebrate the life he had.”

Before the accident, Hehman recently told those close to him that they should not cry over his death, Inserra said. She added that such discussions probably arose from the fact that his mother died in October.

“He didn’t want people to feel sad if anything should happen to him,” Inserra said. “He wanted to assure people that it was OK to laugh. He said, ‘It’s okay, and you can still live.’ ”

[JMGarcia]

I saw a blurb in the Post on this and it seems as if the police are treating it as a hate crime. :(

Its just so sad.

[Stern]

Remembering JB:

http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8910

[czsz]

http://a.abclocal.go.com/images/wabc/cms_exf_2005/news/NYUstudentHOR_040606.jpg

NYU student hit by car dies Eyewitness News

(New York -WABC, April 6, 2006) - An NYU student hit by a car during a robbery attempt over the weekend has died.

Twenty-year-old Broderick Hehman was taken off life support yesterday. He'd been in critical condition since being hit by a car in Harlem Saturday night. Police say he was running from a gang of teenagers who may have been yelling racial slurs at him.

No arrests have been made. Police are aggressively searching for the teens who were chasing Hehman.

[czsz]

(NY Post article)

'HATE' KILLED NYU KID
By LARRY CELONA, ERIKA MARTINEZ and CYNTHIA R. FAGEN

April 6, 2006 -- The NYPD hate-crimes unit is probing a report that a white NYU student killed by a car in Harlem was fleeing a gang of black teenagers screaming "Get whitey!" sources said yesterday.

If the report proves true, the violence could turn out to be an eerie replay in reverse of the infamous 1986 Howard Beach murder, where a black man was chased into traffic and killed by a group of white bigots.

The 20-year-old student, John Broderick Hehman, died yesterday, six days after the attack.

The sources said Hehman might have been targeted as a soft mark for robbers after the teenage gang spotted the caring urban-studies major handing pocket change to a wheelchair- bound man near the corner of 125th Street and Park Avenue Saturday night.

The gang of youths, some of them as young as 11, had been smoking pot inside a nearby Popeye's fast-food eatery at 8:30 p.m. when they spotted Hehman walking by and then stopping to help the handicapped man.

An anonymous caller later tipped the CrimeStoppers hot line that a group of youths screamed, "Get Whitey!" and ran toward him.

Witnesses said Hehman fled into traffic against the light and was hit by a Mercedes-Benz traveling east on 125th Street.

The 38-year-old driver remained at the scene and was not charged.

"When we heard the crash, we thought it was two cars - it was such a loud noise," said a witness.

"I couldn't believe it was a person," he said.

Hehman, known as "J.B.," had been in a coma since he was struck.

He died of massive head trauma at Harlem Hospital.

His sister, Marisa, said he had been walking to meet a friend when he was attacked.

His father, Manhattan investment banker Thomas Hehman, lives on the Upper East Side.

On a student Web site, Hehman joked his off-campus interests included "doing laundry."

Meanwhile, cops yesterday fanned out around the area where the attack occurred looking for witnesses and putting up fliers.

In the notorious Howard Beach case, John Lester, 17, confronted a group of three black men whose car had broken down in the predominately white Queens neighborhood.

Lester, shouting, "Kill the n-----s," chased one of the black men, Michael Griffith, onto the Belt Parkway where he was struck and killed by a car.

larry.celona@nypost.com

[Fabrizio]

"... spotted the caring urban-studies major handing pocket change to a wheelchair- bound man."

[Ninjahedge]

I was afraid to ask, and I still am.

But fear is not the reason why I am not asking. I just do not think it is appropriate. NO reason that results in this would be an appropriate one.




Problem is, I keep sitting here thinking about all the "what-if's" as if I could have done a damn thing to have prevented this. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but it is very frustrating.

I hardly even knew the guy! But he is akin to the light fixture you notice more when gone and realize how integral he was to the room. There were places he lit up that few of us saw and we will be hard pressed to see them again without him.

I hope his pain was short, and that his family is taking this well.

[BrooklynRider]

Ninjah-

I sense you are articulating how we all feel. It is a genuine loss for us. We're all anonymous on here, but we are all real and develop our own quirky on-line personalities. He was someone I think most of us felt a great deal of affection for. For me especially, when he explained the TLOZ stood for The Legend of Zelda. I hope people jump over to the remembering JB thread and help us find a way to memorialize his life and contributions to the forum.

[BrooklynRider]

Reading this post from March 9, 2004 is like a punch in the gut...

Most of New York is very safe to walk around at night, but you should always be wary of your surroundings because even the nicest of neighborhoods have some crime. I've never been mugged, even in notorios neighborhoods like Harlem, but always be on your guard.

Here are a few tips:

Walk assertively, confidently, briskly and close to the curb, like a native New Yorker. Like in any city, pickpockets and the like prey on anyone who looks like a tourist; easy marks. If you must look around or above you to take in the sights, try and be nonchalant about it.

Always have a MetroCard, enough money for cab fare, and loose change to use a payphone if you don't have a cell phone on you. This isn't necessarily due to staying safe, but if you're stuck in TriBeCa when your hotel is on 57th Street you'll want to be able to get back without having to walk.

At night, walk on the avenues or major streets (examples would by 59th, 57th, 42nd, and 14th) where there are more people and lights; random crime more often occurs on sidestreets that don't have as many nightspots or streetlights. If you think you're being followed, several options are available to you: pretend to call someone up on your cell phone (if you have it) and have a pretend conversation that would make passersby believe you're just about to meet someone. You could also duck into a restaurant, shop, hotel, "doorman" apartment building, or other place along these lines and wait until the person you suspect passes. If they wait outside or go inside with you, ask to speak to a hostess or manager and have them call the police (be sure to do this in a nondescript way if you're followed in). Often this will turn out to be a false alarm, but safety should come first. If the option of going into a place of business is not available, draw attention to yourself while you still have the option of doing so—going into a psychotic/schizophrenic fit has actually worked for a lot of my friends when they're in a sticky situation.

Even when you have the light or there don't seem to be any cars around, look in the direction traffic is coming from, (or both if it's a two-way street) as well as where it's turning onto. For example, if you're on the southeast corner of Ninth Street and Broadway and crossing to the southeast corner when you have the light, make sure that there is no crosstown traffic turning from Ninth onto Broadway. And always give taxi drivers the right of way.

The subways are safe, but stay away from the edge of the platform if you're worried about being shoved in (probably won't happen, of course, but be on the safe side if you have doubts). Late at night, ride in the more-occupied cars, namely the middle one where the conductor is or the front car where the driver is.

The parks are also safe, even at night, but it's not a good idea to go in them after dark. Joggers and people walking on their way home will do this with no problem, but there's always a chance of being mugged (though that chance is increasingly slimmer, thank God); or if you get into some other kind of trouble like get lost or hurt yourself, there probably won't be any people around to help you.

It's generally advised to visitors lodging in hotels, no matter the destination, to flip their deadbolts in addition to the automatic locks on their doors. I'd do this here, as well.

Use your common sense, above all things.

Have fun!

[Schadenfrau]

It's a tragic irony that TLOZ was one of the more pragmatic and kind people you could hope to meet in this city.

I think it's important to read TLOZ's words as he intended them, and not project your own ideas of how he would phrase things now. He spent twenty years building up his opinions and ideas, and it's a disservice to his life to throw that away.

[BrooklynRider]

It just eats at me that someone who seemed to try to find and emphasize the positive side of things falls prey like this. I think it goes back to Ninjah's post and the "what if's."

I have to admit to finding this whole experience extremely odd and disturbing. We come to these forums cloaked in anonymity, which lets us post without much recourse from others other than criticism. We think we are anonymous and then here we (or "I" anyway) realize that where ever we choose to inject our spirit and energy - even without a physical persona - we are not anonymous and we are no longer unaffected.

It's an interesting sociological study. He we all are in a virtual mourning, sharing it with the only people who would understand - none of whom we actually know. It is all "virtual", but it seems to me that we are all sharing a very real place that we all created together.

Being somewhat older, I think the youth of JB and seeing a bright light go out so tragically is just touching something in me.

[antinimby]

In hindsight, it would have been better for him to confront those thugs than run from them. Getting beat up and robbed would've gotten him some bruises and cuts but he'd still be around today and who knows, might even be telling us about it right now just like the time he was in Bushwick (http://wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4478):

Funny thing is, the trouble for me started when I got off the subway in Bushwick. Three guys were walking ahead of me and my friend, and they kept looking over their shoulders at us, as if plotting their next move to coincide with ours. It was obvious enough to my friend, who is from Washington Heights, that they were plotting whether to mug us, and even naïve little old me could tell something was off, too.

On our way back to the subway, a gaggle of hipsters — there must have been 30 of them; why do they always travel in packs? — swarmed out of the darkness — there are practically no streetlights there — just as we reached the station. It was surreal.

In most parts, Bushwick needs a lot of work. There's very little active streetlife like in the Village or even in Willimsburgh; truly residential areas aside, the dense concentration of warehouses create blank walls at ground level with little opportunity for retail without serious renovations: housing projects for hipsters. By comparison, I felt safer in Bed-Stuy because the area I went to was mostly rowhouses with front stoops, with a main commercial strip just a few blocks away.

In any case, I don't judge Brooklyn by what happens in Bushwick, and no one with any sense would do that either. It's like judging Boston by what happens in Dorchester.

[sonhomeu01]

I read that one of you thought it would be nice to collect all of JB's postings and put them on the cd. I think his father and sister would both like that. If you want to do that, you could send it to me and I would give it to them. I am a friend of the family.

[ZippyTheChimp]

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com

Harlem thugs tied to vid

BY RICH SCHAPIRO and TONY SCLAFANI
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, April 7th, 2006

The Harlem hooligans who killed an NYU student by chasing him into the path of a car were videotaped trashing a nearby McDonald's, law enforcement sources revealed yesterday.

The footage could prove crucial in the hunt for the teens who screamed "Get the white boy!" as they chased John Broderick Hehman, 20, into traffic Saturday, the sources said.

At least two dozen punks were caught on video terrorizing workers at the E. 125th St. McDonald's on March 24 - a week before Hehman was fatally injured a block away, sources said.

The suspects - including black teens who sources say attacked Hehman - kicked over trash cans, hurled trays through the air and knocked around registers, a witness said.

"I was terrified. I literally thought they were all going to jump over the counter and come after us," said McDonald's manager Maria Prandy, 33, who was hit in the face with a tray. "I've never been as scared as I was that night."

Cops recognized some of the faces on the video, and homicide detectives and investigators from the Hate Crimes Task Force were scouring the neighborhood for witnesses yesterday. Police also plastered posters in storefronts and on poles asking for the public's help. One witness has already come forward.

Investigators believe the three teens who confronted Hehman are part of the roving gang that has wreaked havoc in several stores along 125th St. One teen was arrested after the March 24 incident, sources said. Five other teens involved with the McDonald's ruckus were in custody last night, sources said, but the three who accosted Hehman were still on the loose.

"They're punks. They're destroying these places," a police source said. "They pretty much prey on anyone in the neighborhood."

Chatting on a cell phone on his way to visit a buddy, Hehman was confronted outside a Popeye's fast-food joint at 125th St. and Park Ave. at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, sources said. "I'm almost there," he told the pal before the line went dead, sources said.

After Hehman handed a wheelchair-bound homeless man a dollar bill, one of his attackers asked him, "What about us? Where's our dollar?' " the sources said.

They then pushed Hehman and screamed "Get the white boy!" as the frightened NYU junior darted into the street where he was run down by a silver Mercedes.

Hehman died Wednesday at Harlem Hospital. His death is being probed as a possible hate crime.

The attack echoes the infamous Howard Beach case in 1986 when a group of racist white thugs chased a black man onto the Belt Parkway where he was struck and killed by a car.

[lofter1]

It looks like some good detective work might flush these guys out.

I hope so -- I've been thinking a lot over the past couple of days about who could have caused JB's death. And how could they just walk / run away from the scene?

It's sad that, even though there was video from an incident with this gang one week before JB was killed, it was only after JB's death that the video was looked at in a serious way to get these punks off the streets.

Ironic that even in his passing JB might end up doing a lot of good for a lot of people.

[BrooklynRider]

The greatest assest to him in life and death is the seemingly positive and productive people he surrounded himself with. I think there's A LOT of energy being generated for his good and ultimately his justice from this site alone. I think he would be pleased to know what a unifying force he has become.

[Fabrizio]

I can´t get this story out of my mind.

Is it continuing to get coverage in NY? It should be a cause célèbre. This was a hate crime... there were racial taunts. There should be zero tolerance for this stuff. It´s happened before and should never happen again in NY. This story should be getting a lot of coverage...it should be an example... with a major effort to get these punks.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The case has been moved to Homicide at the NYPD.

April 8, 2006

Chase Led Man Into Car's Path

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

A 20-year-old college student who was struck and killed by a car last week in Harlem was chased into a busy road while fleeing a group of young men during what may have been a bias attack, the authorities said yesterday.

The death of the student, Broderick Hehman of Manhattan, a junior at New York University, was ruled a homicide by the city medical examiner, who found that while the direct cause was head trauma, Mr. Hehman had been fleeing assailants when he was struck, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner said yesterday.

On April 1, Mr. Hehman darted into the intersection at 125th Street and Park Avenue, where he was hit by a silver Mercedes-Benz, the police said. A witness, a homeless man named David Jones who sells used goods at the intersection, said that just before the collision, he saw a group of men trying to attack the student. Mr. Hehman died on Tuesday.

Investigators have two theories concerning the killing, a law enforcement official said yesterday: that about eight young men, some of them teenagers, were trying to rob Mr. Hehman; or that the group, at least one among them using a racial epithet, singled him out because he was white.

Police questioned a few men yesterday, the official said, adding that no arrests had been made.


Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

[lofter1]

I found this post from JB in reply to THIS (http://www.amren.com/news/news04/03/31/nycrimestats.html) , a posting about Crime Stats:
At a news conference at his union’s Manhattan office, Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, cited a Newsday report in which police officers alleged that the Bronx 50th precinct commander intentionally downgraded crimes for three years. Lynch maintained that was not an isolated instance.

Comments from Readers

From: J.B. Hehman

Having read your March 31 issue's reprint of a Newsday article about the supposed fraudulent crime reports in ONE precinct in New York City, I can't help but wonder how much the editors at American Renaissance are gloating.? All right, so perhaps a dirty dozen precinct commanders might end up with altered crime statistics.? So what?? Did that warrant an enclosed link to the twelve-year-old article "The Late Great City of New York" beneath the caption "Perhaps things in NYC haven't gotten so much better since this article was written"?? Fugheddaboudit!

Corruption is, unfortunately, inherent in every American city; I am sure that there are many other cities whose police departments also neglected to report certain crimes.? Having lived in New York City for all of my eighteen years and having NEVER been a victim of crime no matter what neighborhoods I've gone to (including Harlem), I cannot grasp the logic behind American Renaissance's drawing a line from some cooked books to an overall lie kept under wraps by the police department for the past eleven years.? (1993 was the year that the NYPD's CompStat system was first implemented.)

There are some crimes that are quite hard to keep under wraps, like murder; and it is quite hard to keep murders, which have declined dramatically in New York, from being reported.? To deny this fact you will also have to deny declines in crime in cities like Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland and other American cities to prevent from leaving yourself open to accusations of bias.
Is crime still a major problem in New York City?? Without a doubt.? But it is in no way as bad as it was in the '70s, '80s, or early '90s.? You can see it, feel it, if you've been and/or lived here through the good times and the bad alike, like my family, my grandparents, and my friends.? Look at Harlem, Brooklyn, the subways, Times Square, Union Square, the Lower East Side--even the South Bronx.? The evidence, police corruption or not, is incontrovertible.

[czsz]

It should be a cause célèbre. This was a hate crime... there were racial taunts.

Don't hold your breath for Jesse Jackson to hold any rallies...

[czsz]

New clues in NYU student's tragic death
20-year-old John Hehman died afer he was chased into traffic in Harlem Saturday

(New York-WABC, April 7, 2006) - There are new clues tonight as to who may have chased an NYU student to his death. Now, police are stepping up their search for his killers.

20-year-old John Hehman died afer he was chased into traffic on 125th Street in Harlem Saturday night. Investigators now believe the group of teens responsible for his death - may also be terrorizing several businesses in the area.
Eyewitness News reporter N.J. Burkett is in Harlem with the story.

Apparently for the past several weeks, a pack of young men are going in and out of a number of local businesses terrorizing shopkeepers and their customers. Tonight, detectives say these may be the same people who chased the victim to his death.

Detectives hit the streets this afternoon armed with new leads as posters went up on street corners across Harlem.

One woman said she knows some of the young men questioned by police.

"That vehicle hit that white man and killed that white man. They're around here grabbing all our kids ... these kids had nothing to do with it," she said.

John Broderick Hehman was 20-years-old and a junior at NYU. Witnesses say he ran headlong into traffic and was struck by a silver Mercedes in the middle of 125th Street on Saturday night. The driver did not flee the scene and has not been charged.

Earlier this week, one witness told us Hehman was chased into the street.

"I saw the guy run out into the street ... a bunch of people were chasing him," the witness said.

Now, police are investigating reports that Hehman's pursuers shouted racist threats -- and may be the same young men who harassed and in some cases terrorized merchants and their customers along 125th Street.

The manager of Popeye's Fried Chicken told us that it happened at her restaurant several times.

"Mostly kids, about 20-22," she said.

Tonight, Harlem residents overwhelmingly want this case solved.

Police say their eyewitness accounts so far may not be reliable. The motive in this case is still not entirely clear, and for that reason this has not been classified a bias crime. Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD.

[infoshare]

It's sad that, even though there was video from an incident with this gang one week before JB was killed, it was only after JB's death that the video was looked at in a serious way to get these punks off the streets.



I am angry about what happened,,,,,,but I try to keep positive and look at the bright side fo things.;;;;;;; and not feed into racism and negitivity.

I liked this guy (just seemed like a good/special person) his profile had as his hobby ---- BE'in all clever! OR someting like that..... he was a cool kid.

I hope I can do something.....and send me A PM if you know how I can help.

[ablarc]

THE POLITICS OF BLAMELESSNESS:

One woman said she knows some of the young men questioned by police.

"That vehicle hit that white man and killed that white man. They're around here grabbing all our kids ... these kids had nothing to do with it," she said.
The vehicle. The vehicle did it. Probably driven by a white man.

"Mostly kids, about 20-22," she said.
Kids? Age 22. Well, I guess it's possible if you never grew up... Maybe this is just evidence of immaturity.

If you do this at age 33, are you still a kid?

[Schadenfrau]

I'm pretty sure that quote, as repugnant as it is, refers to the number of kids involved, not their ages.

I agree that it's inexcusable to blame JB's death solely upon the actions of an inanimate object, but given his past statements, I don't think he'd appreciate some of the racial generalizations some people are throwing out there.

[infoshare]

THE POLITICS OF BLAMELESSNESS:

Kids? Age 22. Well, I guess it's possible if you never grew up... Maybe this is just evidence of immaturity.

If you do this at age 33, are you still a kid?

There is a "gang" in my area that meets in a local courtyard....the group is 20-25 in number and 16 - 25 in age......not saying this is the gang;;;;;;;just that they are not "all KIDS".

[ManhattanKnight]

The lead story on today's 6:00 pm news show on WNBC (Ch. 4) was the investigation into TLOZ's death and the assertion at a news conference held today by Norman Siegel and others that the NYPD is being insufficiently aggressive in pursuing it as a hate crime. I wouldn't be surprised if the story is reaired during today's 11:00 pm newscast.

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/9550/tyr00352ao.jpg

[infoshare]

I called the hotline....gave them what I have on the area......thanks MK for the posting the phone number.

[Schadenfrau]

I just saw Eric Adams from 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement calling JB's murder a hate crime on the Fox5 10PM broadcast.

Here's the WABC story:



Was the murder also a hate crime? Suspects may have yelled 'whiteboy'
By Stacey Sager

(Harlem-WABC, April 8, 2006) - The search continues for those who allegedly chased a 20-year-old NYU student John Hehman into the street where he was hit by a car and killed one week ago. Though police say there are many witnesses, so far, there is no one in custody. Some are now wondering if the motive behind it all was race.

Should this murder also be considered a hate crime? That's what some community activists were suggesting today. They were pretty critical of how the NYPD is handling this case.

Talk to people along 125th Street in Harlem and you'll find out most of them are well aware of what happened here last Saturday night. Witnesses reported to police that 20-year-old college student John Hehman was chased into oncoming traffic where he was struck and killed. What's a little more perplexing to investigators is exactly why he was chased after.

Norman Siegel, Civil Rights Attorney: If the reports are accurate, that one of the people in the group said, 'Get the white boy,' that's a hate crime.

Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel and the group known as 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement stood in Harlem on Saturday demanding some more clarity from the NYPD. Police are still investigating the motive for the killing whether it was robbery or whether one or more of Hehman's attackers referred to his race as they chased him down.

Eric Adams, 100 Black in Law Enforcement: Not only is this incident some form of denial. I believe that the historical denial in the police department not wanting to classify hate crimes when they are hate crimes.

In response, a spokesman for the police commissioner called that assertion "flatly untrue" He said, "The matter was immediately referred to our hate crimes investigators and is being treated as a possible bias crime."

Meanwhile, posters remain up around the neighborhood as detectives continue to ask the public for help. Investigators are still trying to determine if the suspects were part of a group of teens that had trashed a nearby McDonald's and threatened others around the neighborhood.

Andrea Wade, 125th Street Shopper: I think it's a disgrace because it just shouldn't happen nowadays. It's 2006 and things like that shouldn't happen.

Police in Harlem have made no arrests in this case. Community leaders tell Eyewitness News the reward money has now been increased. It's now $13,000 to anyone who can provide police with information leading to an arrest and conviction in this murder.

(Copyright 2006 WABC-TV)

[ablarc]

$13,000? OK guys, if twenty of us chip in $100 we can bump that to $15,000.

BrooklynRider, would you be up for organizing the effort? Or Edward?

[lofter1]

I just called the Crime Stoppers number on the poster (1.800.577-TIPS) and asked about how to donate to JB's Reward Fund. I was told that the $12K Reward comes from within the NYPD and that private individuals can't donate to that Fund.

In order to set up a Private Fund for reward we'd have to get in touch with one of the detectives on the case (contact can be made through the 1.800.577-TIPS line). Then the detective would give info on how to set up the fund.

The operator told me that it is a somewhat complicated process to set up a Private Fund.

But it might be worth a try ...

[ManhattanKnight]

Ch. 4 did reair the piece during its 11 pm newscast, and Chs. 2 and 7 had their own slightly different versions at the same hour. Implicit in all of them, but expressly mentioned on Ch. 7, was the truism that a hate crime is just that, even when the races of the perps and the victim are reversed from what we're accustomed to expect.

[BrooklynRider]

$13,000? OK guys, if twenty of us chip in $100 we can bump that to $15,000.

BrooklynRider, would you be up for organizing the effort? Or Edward?

I will check into the details and see what it takes. We've all seen rewards bumped up. If we do establish the fund, I hope we can pull together to get the word out to the press and keep this out front on the news. I need to PM Edward and see if it is okay to set it up as a WiredNewYork reward fund - for lack of a more appropriate name. It might also bring people to the site who have any bits of info. Here they can post anonymously. We might want to seek out other message boards and post links to this thread to drive a little traffic from area residents.

Any thoughts?

[Merry]

I don't visit this Forum very much any more, but it was fate that I chose to click on the "Moving to Harlem" thread today, which is where I learned of TLOZ's tragic, pointless, wasteful death.

I am shocked, I'm hurting and I'm crying. I'm very surprised at how this is affecting me. I'm not a "people person", so maybe the passion for NYC we all share here has a lot to do with it. Despite the anonymity and, in my case, insignificant presence, there's still a very strong connection.

I always really liked JB's wonderful avatar of Peter Green. After seeing the photos of him, he, of course, looked quite different and connecting with his true self, even if just through photos, makes it hurt all the more. But I'll always remember him by that avatar. I'll miss seeing it and I'll miss JB's wit, his wisdom and his intellect, but, above all, what I'll really notice the absence of is his unconditional friendliness and gentle disposition. JB was easily the nicest person on this forum. I feel privileged to have "met" him here, but I wish I could have really "known" him. Please don't let anyone else use that avatar, Edward.

I wish JB's family and friends all the strength and courage they will need to deal with their loss.

Although I live in Australia, I would like to contribute to whatever you all decide to do. Please let me know how I can help, money towards a memorial, whatever.

[ZippyTheChimp]

1010 WINS - On-Air, Online, On Demand

Posted: Sunday, 09 April 2006 5:40AM

Four Teens Arrested in NYU Student's Death

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Police say they have arrested four teenage boys in the death of a college student struck by a car in Harlem earlier this month.

Authorities believe the suspects chased the victim, Broderick Hehman, 20, into the busy street.

Hassan Mayfield and Andre Johnson, both age 15, face second-degree murder and attempted robbery charges. Charges are still pending against the two other suspects, both age 13.

Hehman, a junior at New York University, was struck by a silver Mercedes on East 125th Street near Park Avenue, on April 1. He died three days later.

Police say the driver of the vehicle is not facing any charges.

© 2006 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO & EYE Logo TM & © 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc.

[ablarc]

It might also bring people to the site who have any bits of info. Here they can post anonymously.
Intriguing thought.

[infoshare]

1010 WINS - On-Air, Online, On Demand

Posted: Sunday, 09 April 2006 5:40AM

Four Teens Arrested in NYU Student's Death

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Police say they have arrested four teenage boys in the death of a college student struck by a car in Harlem earlier this month.

Authorities believe the suspects chased the victim, Broderick Hehman, 20, into the busy street.

Thanks Zippy, made my day ......... I have not been able to stop thinking about this issue.......I am not going to ignore it......I know that corner well......it is crowded and busy at that time.....I think he had to run because no one around him was willing to help him.....I am not going to be one of those people......PM me if I can be of any help....I live in that area.

[Comelade]

article and video on ny1.com

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=58478

[Schadenfrau]

I'm glad to hear that those monsters are in custody. It seems very likely that charges will be upgraded.

ETA a quote from a NY1 article:

"Eric Adams of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement says Hehman died for two reasons.

"One, because he made a decision to do a kind act for someone. Second because of his ethnicity; that's unacceptable," he said."

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=58478

[Schadenfrau]

Jinx, Comelade.

[Fabrizio]

What a tragedy these kids are so young ...and in groups kids can do the wildest things... pack mentality. But they´ll have to be an example.... zero tolerance. No more of this.

[lofter1]

...and in groups kids can do the wildest things ... pack mentality.
NYC was confronted with something like this a few years back.

The REACTION (http://www.cjr.org/issues/2003/1/rapist-hancock.asp) of the City at that time was not one of our better moments, to say the least.

[MidtownGuy]

I awoke this morning and read this thread for the first time. I could not immediately post because I was too upset. After several hours I can't stop thinking about this over and over again, and the tears keep coming back.
My deepest sympathy to his loved ones.
I could say so much about Harlem, America, hate, racism, Whites, Blacks, problems of gentrification, or whatever, but for now I will hold my angry words and try to
calm down.
He represented the very best of what a young man should be.

Rest in Peace, my friend.

[czsz]

From WCBS:

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_098215027.html

But the group, "100 Blacks in Law Enforcement" claim the police have been reluctant to report hate crimes in the past and members said the case may have caused more public outrage if the victim was black and his attackers were white.

[ablarc]

^ Even here, if he hadn't been family.

[antinimby]

I'm glad to hear that those monsters are in custody.Yeah, but are they the right monsters? Nothing can be more tragic than to not only lose TLOZ, but to have innocent people in custody while the guilty is roaming free and having a good laugh at the justice system. We can only hope those truly responsible for this crime are captured and punished.

[Schadenfrau]

^ Even here, if he hadn't been family.

I don't think that's necessarily true, and I really don't see what good snarking about the intentions of black civic leaders or community members of any race is going to do.

I had a friend who was murdered in Harlem in December of 2004. He was shot in his apartment. He wasn't in the area to buy drugs and he wasn't engaged in any criminal activity. No one knows why he was killed, and unless you knew him in life, you would probably not recognize his name now.

Should I blame the lack of attention paid to his murder on Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? And if so, why should that be? I can't see any reason other than to make myself feel better by beating my breast and shouting about so-called "reverse racism." Maybe I could wonder why in the world someone who's not looking for trouble would dare walk down a street, much less live, in Harlem.

If I wanted to do that, I'd head on over to FreeRepublic.com and join in the chorus. In case you haven't paid attention, that's exactly what they're doing about JB's murder over there right now. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to have such an intelligent and rational group of people picking up his mantle.

Unlike many murders, victims of all races included, JB's murder actually is picking up a significant amount of public attention. It has been slow in coming, but this is a somewhat complex case. Let's not reduce this case, and in turn, his memory, to the lowest common denominator.

[Schadenfrau]

Yeah, but are they the right monsters? Nothing can be more tragic than to not only lose TLOZ, but to have innocent people in custody while the guilty is roaming free and having a good laugh at the justice system. We can only hope those responsible are captured and punished.

And I'll agree with you there.

[lofter1]

Maybe I could wonder why in the world someone who's not looking for trouble would dare walk down a street, much less live, in Harlem.

If I wanted to do that, I'd head on over to FreeRepublic.com and join in the chorus.
Gotta say that the gang here seems much more thoughtful and better informed than the posters over there ...

[Schadenfrau]

Gotta say that the gang here seems much more thoughtful and better informed than the posters over there ...

Now there's an understatement if I ever saw one.

[Libby]

I somehow found this site the night that JB died. I was searching for articles about his death. I am his dad's cousin and of his dad's generation. We are one small entity of his family that lives in Dallas. I last saw JB at his mom's funeral in October. I had not seen him prior to that since he was elementary age. When I visited with him a few months ago I immediately knew he (and his sister) were exceptional. I have been reading what everyone is posting about him. I spent several hours reading many of his posts. I learned a lot about JB. From all of you I learned that he knew how to love and to live life to the fullest. From his posts and yours it became evident how brilliant he was. He obviously took life and all it has to offer and lived it to the fullest. You also spoke of his inspiring compassion. It seems like we could all learn a considerable amount from JB about making this world a better place. I hope we will keep his rememberance by trying to be more like him.
This site allowed me to feel like I have had a conversation with JB and a conversation with many of his friends and for that I am sincerely grateful.

Thank you. Libby

[BrooklynRider]

Greetings all-

I am following the news on the arrest of the alledged assailants of JB (our TLOZ). I have not yet heard from the parks department on creating a living and / or lasting memorial in a Harlem or Washington Heights park to JB. The situation seems fluid and has made me hesitate in pursuing the reward fund option.

I wanted to see if we still want to pursue creating a reward fund with people now in custody or do we want to see what the arrests bear out and continue to consider a memorial of some type. It is fair to say that we want to do something, but is a reward at this moment where we want to focus our efforts?

Any thoughts?

[lofter1]

4 Harlem Teenagers Charged in Student's Death During Robbery

By ANDREW JACOBS (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/andrew_jacobs/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
NY TIMES
April 10, 2006

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/nyregion/10harlem.html

The police have arrested four Harlem teenagers and charged them with the robbery and murder of a New York University (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/new_york_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org) student who died earlier this month after he was chased onto 125th Street and hit by a car.

Although law enforcement officials had been investigating the incident as a possible bias crime, citing an anonymous witness who said he heard one of the attackers, who were black, yell, "Get the white guy," they determined that the assault on the student, Broderick J. Hehman, was instead a robbery gone awry.

Mr. Hehman, a 20-year-old junior who lived on the Upper East Side, was hit by a silver Mercedes-Benz the night of April 1 as he tried to escape five teenagers who had accosted him as he walked to a friend's apartment to play video games. He died four days later, never having regained consciousness.

Over the weekend, investigators arrested four friends who they say tried to rob Mr. Hehman and may be responsible for other street robberies in East Harlem. Authorities are still seeking the fifth attacker.

The youths, two 13-year-olds and two 15-year-olds, will be charged as adults, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office. They face nine years to life if convicted.

Based on interviews with witnesses and confessions from three of those arrested, investigators decided that bias did not play a role in the selection of Mr. Hehman as a victim, said Deputy Inspector Michael Osgood, the commanding officer of the Police Department's Hate Crimes Unit.

"The purpose was to take his money, not to assault him because of his identity," he said, adding that although one of the attackers may have used racist language during the chase, that in itself did not make the incident a bias crime. "It was a gratuitous slur," he said.

The events that led to Mr. Hehman's death began at 8:15 that Saturday night, when the youths, according to police, gathered on the corner of 126th Street and Lexington Avenue to plot a robbery. They quickly spotted their mark — another man, the police said — but backed off when a patrol car passed. A few minutes later, when Mr. Broderick emerged by the Lexington Avenue line subway station at 125th Street, the boys decided that they had found an easy target.

As part of their tactic, two of them moved in front of Mr. Hehman and three lingered behind, the police said. One block west, as he walked beneath the Metro-North Railroad tracks on Park Avenue talking on his cellphone, they made their move. After the teenagers surrounded Mr. Hehman, investigators said, one of the youths placed him in a bear hug, while another rifled through his pockets.

The police say they believe that another of the youths punched him in the face. Moments later, Mr. Hehman broke free. With his attackers shouting and in pursuit, he darted into 125th Street, heavy with traffic, and was hit by a car. The driver stopped and the youths fled. According to their own accounts, they came away with nothing.

For more than a week, the police were stymied in their investigation. On a hunch, they viewed surveillance tapes from a McDonald's on 125th Street that had been damaged by a group of teenagers eight days earlier. Although the police said that none of the arrested youths took part in that melee, some of those identified in the videos had heard about the attack on Mr. Hehman and led police to the suspects, who were taken into custody on Saturday.

Friends and relatives of the accused youths described them as well-behaved and unlikely participants in a violent assault. Rodney Jenkins, a grandfather of one of the 15-year-olds, said he spoiled his grandson so he would never be lured into the thuggery that upends the lives of so many young black men.

"He has a jacket for every day of the week and stack of jeans," Mr. Jenkins said. "We do that so he won't have to go to the street to sell drugs."

Diana Fox, 23, who lives across the hall from one of the 13-year-olds, said he was a bookish boy with a stutter who once helped her rid her apartment of a rat. She said, "I can only say good things" about him.

Mr. Hehman's father and sister, stopped as they entered their building yesterday, said they did not want to talk. According to an online profile Mr. Hehman, known to his friends as J. B., was a karaoke enthusiast, a Prince fan and self-effacingly neurotic about his health. Before his death he had been awaiting word about an internship with the city's Parks and Recreation Department. One of the last papers he turned in for his major, metropolitan studies, was about urban violence.

Norman Siegel (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/norman_siegel/index.html?inline=nyt-per), a civil rights lawyer and former executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, expressed disappointment at the department's decision not to treat Mr. Hehman's death as a bias attack. He said he thought the police were shying away from the hate-crime designation for political reasons.

"They don't want to have increased racial tension, racial divisiveness and violence," he said. "They'd rather ignore what's painfully real, which is that there are still racial tensions in this town."

Mr. Siegel said he would ask Robert M. Morgenthau (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/robert_m_morgenthau/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the Manhattan district attorney, to consider reclassifying the crime as bias-motivated. A spokeswoman for the district attorney declined to comment on the case but said it was still being investigated.

New York State's hate-crime law, passed in 2000, metes out harsher penalties for those who single out victims based on race, religion or sexual orientation.

Frederick M. Lawrence, the author of "Punishing Hate: Bias Crimes Under American Law" and the dean of George Washington University Law School, said the state's hate-crime statute places a high burden of proof on the authorities. Prosecutors have to prove what someone was thinking when they committed a crime, he said, "and that's not an easy thing to do."

Janon Fisher and Kate Hammer contributed reporting for this article.

Copyright 2006 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html)The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[tone99loc]

Just wanted to share my thoughts -

I'm obviously not a frequent poster, but I've read the WNY boards regularly since 2002 and was very familiar with TLOZ's insightful postings. I hadn't checked the forum this week and am just now learning that TLOZ was the victim of this terrible tragedy which I've been following all week. I've been especially drawn into this story because the fact that JB was struck down in a sketchy neighborhood reminded me of myself - I grew up in Jersey City and have always loved exploring hoods off the beaten path. I often went to grimey areas against the advice of others and know what it's like to be taunted by packs of teens looking to start trouble. When you're outnumbered, you're at the mercy of the bullies and can only wait calmly for the situation to simmer down on its own.

I guess it was no surprise that TLOZ was a member of the very same forum. Anyway, I am still in shock and deeply saddened that TLOZ lost his life so senselessly. I'll be happy to donate money in his memory or otherwise contribute to a memorial in his honor. I work in the Financial District and, if there's a meet-up to discuss plans for a memorial, I'll be able to meet up.

REST IN PEACE TLOZ, YOU WILL BE MISSED

- AP / tone99loc

[Fabrizio]

"investigators decided that bias did not play a role in the selection of Mr. Hehman as a victim."

"It was a gratuitous slur," he said.


Ridiculous.

[Schadenfrau]

From WNBC:


Reports: 5th Suspect Sought In NYU Student's Death

UPDATED: 7:18 am EDT April 10, 2006


NEW YORK -- Police are searching for a fifth suspect in the death of a university student who was hit by a car last week in Harlem while fleeing a group of youths, according to published reports.

Broderick Hehman, 20, a junior at New York University, darted into traffic at 125th Street and Park Avenue on April 1 and was hit by a silver Mercedes-Benz, police said. He died Tuesday.

The existence of a fifth suspect was reported in Monday editions of multiple city newspapers.

A witness told police that just before the accident he saw a group of youths trying to attack Hehman and shouting, "Get the white boy!"


But prosecutors so far have declined to label the case a hate crime, which would bring added penalties.

"The purpose was to take his money, not to assault him because of his identity," Deputy Inspector Michael Osgood, the commanding officer of the police department's Hate Crimes Unit, told The New York Times.

Hassan Mayfield and Andre Johnson, both 15, and Denzel Fell and Bobby Guzman, both 13, were arrested Saturday on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted robbery, police said. The four, all black or Hispanic, were being charged as adults, police said.

All were in custody and booked Sunday.

Johnson's lawyer said his client claims he's innocent.

"What he's maintained to me is that he's not involved in this in a way that would implicate him in any kind of murder," attorney Adam Freedman said.

A relative of Guzman, who identified himself as Uncle Louie, said his nephew is a good pupil who never missed school and had awards for attendance.

"He's not a murderer," the uncle said while fighting back tears outside a Harlem police station. "He's a straight-A kid."

No telephone numbers could be found for the other two boys.

[ZippyTheChimp]

From The NY Daily News (http://www.nydailynews.com/front/v-pfriendly/story/407617p-345026c.html):
Hehman was jumped after an earlier plan to mug a Latino man was foiled when the teens saw a passing police cruiser, cops said.

From Washinton Square News (http://www.nyunews.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/04/10/4439f1ddbec3c)
Norman Siegel, a former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union and civil rights lawyer, told the New York Times that the police department’s decision not to treat Hehman’s death as a bias crime was politically motivated, and said he would petition New York district attorney Robert Morgenthau to reconsider the charges.

“They don’t want to have increased racial tension, racial divisiveness and violence,” he told the Times. “They’d rather ignore what’s painfully real, which is that there are still racial tensions in this town.”

Close friends of Hehman, however, said they are unhappy that media outlets are attributing unfair racial overtones to the crime. The New York Post, for example, ran an article on Hehman with the headline that read “Hate Killed NYU Kid.”

“J.B. would have frowned upon his death being turned into a headline that perpetuates racial violence,” said a friend of Hehman, who spoke to WSN under the condition of anonymity. “His death as a spectacle would have only pissed him off.”

[infoshare]

"investigators decided that bias did not play a role in the selection of Mr. Hehman as a victim."

"It was a gratuitous slur," he said.


Ridiculous.


Fabrizio...... You will find the following quote instructive as to "why" this "ridiculous" statement can stand unchallenged in NYC.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City Journal 06
by Michael Knox Beran

The double standard is apparent in the 1996 Romer v. Evans case, in which the Court struck down an amendment to Colorado’s constitution that prohibited the creation of special rights (beyond those which all citizens enjoy) for gays. In his dissent in Romer, Justice Scalia argued that the Court, forsaking its role as neutral umpire in a pluralist society, had chosen “to take sides” in a “culture war” and impose upon the nation values “favored by the elite class from which the Members of this institution [the Court itself] are selected.” The old standard of “equal protection of the laws” was being superseded, Scalia maintained, by a “novel and extravagant constitutional doctrine” of “preferential treatment under the laws” for views at odds with “traditional American values.”

P.S. The issue here is the Double Standard.....that upsets me: the fact that this case deals with gay rights is irrelevant to the subance of the matter. He was the victim of Hate crime....just as I have been on several occosaians in the same vicinity. This is WRONG.

[Fabrizio]

For me:

My faith follows that people are forgiven. Personally I forgive these kids. I also don´t feel that they should be tried as adults. To me that´s just weird. Immoral. They should be tried as juveniles... as children and given treatment proper for their age....and their parents should be investigated as well. On the other hand, if a racial taunt was used, or race was the motivating factor, then that should not be glossed over. It should be noted... talked about...preached about. Calling it a "gratuitous comment" ....is flaming racial tensions.

[lofter1]

He was 'easy mark'

Race not main motive in student slay: cops

BY NICOLE BODE, TAMER EL-GHOBASHY, TONY SCLAFANI and NANCY DILLON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
NY Daily News
April 10, 2006

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/407617p-345026c.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/782-nyustudent1.jpg

These are kids accused of causing Harlem traffic death

http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/541-nyustudent2.jpg

http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/205-nyustudent3.jpg

Four young teens busted in the slaying of an NYU student were an "organized robbery team" that stalked and pummeled the 20-year-old before chasing him into the path of a car, cops said yesterday.

" 'We were trying to rob this guy and he got hit by a car,' " one teen allegedly blabbed to a witness after the tragic mugging-turned-murder of John Brod.erick Hehman on E. 125th St.

Hassan Mayfield and Andre Johnson, both 15, and Denzel Fell and Bobby Guzman, both 13, all of Harlem, were charged as adults yesterday with second-degree murder. Johnson and Mayfield were arraigned last night and held without bail. Another teen was being sought.

The gang of five had sized up the slightly built Hehman as "an easy mark" - and at least one shouted "Get the white boy!" before chasing him into the path of a Mercedes-Benz about 8:30 p.m. on April 1, cops said.

Hehman, a popular metropolitan studies student who lived on the upper East Side, died four days later at Harlem Hospital.

"He was a very gentle and docile person," said Deputy Inspector Michael Osgood, commander of the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force. "He's never been in a fight. We believe they sized him up to be an easy mark."

A police source described the roving teens as a band of neighborhood toughs "who thought they owned the street."

Osgood said the youths grouped as an "organized robbery team" and set on making a quick - and dirty - buck.

"The substantial reason (for the attack) was economic, not the victim's (racial) identity," said Osgood, adding that three of the four teens had made "full confessions."

Hehman was jumped after an earlier plan to mug a Latino man was foiled when the teens saw a passing police cruiser, cops said.

The teens allegedly targeted Hehman after he emerged alone from the train station at Lexington and 125th St., police said.

A source said the youths followed Hehman to a Popeyes Chicken on 125th and Park Ave. After Hehman gave a dollar to a homeless man, the young thugs pounced, officials said.

Two of the five moved ahead of Hehman and the other three trapped him from behind, cops said. They grabbed and punched him - and chased him into the street .after he broke free of a bear hug, officials said.

Police said they nabbed four of the suspects after grilling a different group of teens who were caught vandalizing a McDonald's last month.

Cops said they know the identity of Hehman's fifth attacker and were looking for him.

Relatives described the troubled teens as neighborhood buddies who played basketball together. The two oldest boys attend A. Philip Randolph High School.

"He's just a young naive kid who was with the wrong crowd. . . . He's no murderer," said Louie Rodriguez, 42, Guzman's uncle. "He's never been in trouble before," said Johnson's grandmother Bernice Johnson. "It's a gang of boys, and each one of them is putting it on the other."

Hehman's father and sister declined to comment yesterday, but an upper East Side neighbor described Hehman as a "polite, respectful young man."

"I saw him leaving the night it happened," said neighbor John Barnes, 45. "It's truly a case of 'Only the good die young.' "

With Tanyanika Samuels and Jess Wisloski

All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.

[Ninjahedge]

Guys, try not to get too passionate in the discussion here.

We may need to split it off into another thread if we start talking about the issue rather than TLOZ and than night....

[infoshare]

For me:My faith follows that people are forgiven. Personally I forgive these kids. I also don´t feel that they should be tried as adults.

I agree Fab,,,,But this must go down as a hate crime as a matter of LEGAL RECORD.

To Libby (the family member) you must make this event KNOWN in your local community and RALLY support for TLOZ.....nobody THAT DAY stood up for him.......I Will.

Libby please PM me for any support......I am prepared to Testify regarding TWO racial incidents.......and YES .......one was on 125th STREET.

This matter can not be dismissed.

P.S. .......And lofter....you should be ashamed of your self......THat article you posted is towing the "party line" and YOU know it. SHAME

[MidtownGuy]

I am sorry, but I personally am not able to discuss forgiveness yet. Those "kids" aren't kids the way a 15 year old in the year 1800 was a kid. They are elements dangerous to society, as evidenced by the murder of our dear friend. They knew right from wrong. They knew it was wrong to gang rob somebody. A fierce, uncompromising response to "juvenile" crime is necessary to set an example of intolerance. Perhaps I need forgiveness for thinking,"Too bad it has to be these worthless thugs. Their parents are probably as messed up as they are, and I don't care if they rot." That's how I feel right now.
Maybe it is the anger talking. I'm familiar with the soft stance toward juvenile crime in Brazil, and look at the result. Kids literally get away with murder every day.

[BrooklynRider]

As much as this tragedy pisses me off, I can't help but think that TLOZ would want to see these kids rehabilitated - not hardened in an adult facility. Their actions and the result are unforgivable, but they, as human beings, are forgivable. Let's seek justice not retaliation. I think TLOZ was incredibly sympathetic to situations like this and we, like the friends cited in the articles, ought to advocate for punishment TLOZ would find just.

Also, can you folks let me know what to do with regards to the reward fund? Am I correct in assuming that is not the track we want to follow with four full confessions made by the alleged assailants?

Parks Department has still not called, but I thought we might pursue a donation and possible renaming of a community garden, should there be one, in the neighborhood. Any thoughts? I can look into this. I'd like to give my frustration with his death and mourning his loss here at WNY some positive outlet. So, please let me know your thoughts.

I have created a hotmail account that we can use for communication once a plan of action is determined...

[MidtownGuy]

I would like to see a tree or bench, with a plaque, near the spot where it happened. Maybe just one youngster or would-be criminal will read it and have a second thought about what they are about to do.

[ryan]

I'm very interested in adding to some kind of memorial. I've googled some on my own, but I haven't found anything useful to share.

[infoshare]

As much as this tragedy pisses me off, I can't help but think that TLOZ would want to see these kids rehabilitated - not hardened in an adult facility. Their actions and the result are unforgivable, but they, as human beings, are forgivable. Let's seek justice not retaliation.

Yes....these kids........should NOT be punished......but released ONLY "after" being charged with a "hate crime".....this is about fairness/justice for TLOZ and all citizens.

We can not let this "citys" leagal system get away with sweeping the ISSUE under the rug......

One kid screemed GET the WHITE BOy! end of story....that is sufficiend evedence that they had hatred of his whiteness////period. Lets get real here.
It the DOUBLe STandard.....at issue.....and this is what I am TALKING ABOUT.

They must be charged with a hate crime .......slaped on the wrist like the children they are.........but it is the matter of LEGAL RECORD that is at issue with me.

I have found many on this forum to be people of sober judgement, high principal and keen inteligence.......you can see this is a matter of principal.

[BrooklynRider]

I'm not saying they should not be punished or that it should not be treated as a "hate Crime," which still isn't clear from what I'm reading. "Let's get the white boy" can be easily interchanged with "let's get the guy in the red pants." "White boy" was an identifyer not the reason. To me, it really doesn't seem like they were looking for a specific race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender for their victim. Anyone would have done.

Regardless, I think these kids need to be punished and taught a lesson, as opposed to being punished with no attempt to educate and improve their situation. If it were up to me, the parents would be hauled before the news cameras right along with them. The kids seemed to have done this, but we have these apologist parents talking about police picking on their kids who are running in packs unsupervised and who clearly have a history of bullying people in the neighborhood. I'd like to see the video of them in the fast food joint. The comment about one of the boys getting mixed up in the "wrong crowd" is classic - as if he himself ain't the wrong crowd to begin with.

I hate to wax philosophic on a subject that is emotional for all of us, but no one knows what kind of karmic justice was or will be dealt with this incident. Personally, I don't think anyone dies a minute before or after they are intended too - even in these most tragic situations. Of course, the situation is horrendous, but death is in the cards for all of us. The fact that JB seems to have been loved and appreciated by so many people speaks volumes about how much he actually accomplished in his short time here. There are people who die alone with no one to notice after scores of years on this planet. His death was sad and maddening, but his life was a success and an example of how to live. His family ought to be incredibly proud of him. He left this planet an accomplished human being - accomplished in compassion, accomplished in kindness, and accomplished in making a difference in other's lives. It's a much more impressive obituary than he was an Ivy League graduate, who made a billion dollars and had homes in Zurich and New York.

[Stern]

It just eats at me that someone who seemed to try to find and emphasize the positive side of things falls prey like this. I think it goes back to Ninjah's post and the "what if's."

I have to admit to finding this whole experience extremely odd and disturbing. We come to these forums cloaked in anonymity, which lets us post without much recourse from others other than criticism. We think we are anonymous and then here we (or "I" anyway) realize that where ever we choose to inject our spirit and energy - even without a physical persona - we are not anonymous and we are no longer unaffected.

It's an interesting sociological study. He we all are in a virtual mourning, sharing it with the only people who would understand - none of whom we actually know. It is all "virtual", but it seems to me that we are all sharing a very real place that we all created together.

Being somewhat older, I think the youth of JB and seeing a bright light go out so tragically is just touching something in me.

To go against or perhaps to go along with what you're saying part of the reason why this hurts so much does have to do with anonymousness but more with this forum being an escape from reality. I know for my self I post at Wired New York to escape all the troubles of the world, the hunger, the poverty, the crime, a corrupt government and all the other disgusting aspects of this world. I post about architecture and NYC, ignoring the other unpleasant aspects of life that I am forced to deal with in my every day dealings. And than BAM! My refuge was turned on its head, JB’s death shows that even on this online forum, where every thing should be an escape through our anonymous identities and common interest, an ugly reality still dictates beneath the surface. I think we need a greater awareness of this reality, to perhaps talk about it, not to run and escape from it, as I subconsciously was doing in almost all my posts here. Needless to say I think my involvement in this forum will change. This forum will for me never be the same escape from reality.

[Fabrizio]

I had some of the same thoughts. Suddenly a mask was removed... TLOZ became a real person and the spell of the virtual landscape was broken. I´m 50 and there I was joking around with a kid who was 20. 20!!?? What am I doing here? Ribbing Nick-Taylor about London....chiding Czsz or Mid-townGuy about something or other.... something suddenly started to feel creepy. I work long hours in this office, at this computer...often late into the night.... on another screen I keep the forum... it´s a great diversion and excuse to slack-off.... but... those ARE real people out there.

And BTW: where´s LondonLawyer these past few days? See.... now I even get nervous.

[ryan]

Nice post Stern.

It is disorienting to experience such a tragedy among what are usually very trivial conversations - even more so given how lighthearted TLOZ was. I wondered if it was even valid to feel a loss for someone you know only online. I don't have many answers, but I'm also struck by a new feeling that there are real people connected to all the names here, so I imagine I won't experience it in the same way either.

[lofter1]

And lofter....you should be ashamed of your self......THat article you posted is towing the "party line" and YOU know it. SHAME
I'm not sure if you mean the NY Times article or the Daily News article.

I wrote neither article.

Remember that there are many people who check this forum who are not from NYC and therefore might not have access to what the NY press is writing -- as low as some of that writing might seem.

I also previously posted a LINK (http://www.cjr.org/issues/2003/1/rapist-hancock.asp) to an article that was very critical of press reports of the so called "wolf pack" attack of a Central Park jogger a number of years ago.

I see this afternoon that the Daily News -- to their shame -- has once again trotted out the old "Wolf Pack" headline in bold red print.

I believe that when the various reports are read in conjunction with each other that people can see more clearly what is going down. And better understand NYC.

[BrooklynRider]

To go against or perhaps to go along with what you're saying part of the reason why this hurts so much does have to do with anonymousness but more with this forum being an escape from reality...

The other side of that issue is that in THIS on-line community we are different, because of the very fact that we do care. Look at the separation anxiety we all felt when the forum went down. I think this tragedy is offering us a magical moment. Pardon the comparision, but it is as shocking within this virtual world as the WTC attacks was in our real world. Our sense of safety and self was shattered and challenged.

This is the worst possible thing that we can experience, but this is the challenge of community - the challenge to really, sincerely care about all of its members. Look at this out-pouring. If this is not one of the most special places and one of the most genuine on the Internet, then there are none to be found out there.

The beauty of this forum is that the beauty (and occasionally ugliness) of each member comes through with no baggage to cloud our perception. Was I surprised that a 20 year old could be so rolific in his posts and wise beyond his years? Absolutely. But, I was PLEASANTLY surprised. I am equally surprised that Fabrizio is some 50-year-old man who confesses to feeling old when his posts are some of the most exhuberant. All bets are off here. All preconceived notions disappear.

Look at how we are coalescing around this issue, the same way communities pulled together in New York neighborhoods following 9/11. Its a paradigm shift. We are the unarguable evidence that there are community's online that are real, cohesive and meaningful.

Stern, don't toss in the towel on this. Look at the response to JBs passing. If our outpouring for him doesn't prove that this is as real as the people outside your window, then the people outside are just as unreal. There are things in our lives that spur us on to see, believe and accept things that didn't seem possible. Our commitment to maintaining a level of maturity, respect and decency on these boards has worked brilliantly.

JBs death is tragic, but these emotions we are all feeling are EXACTLY why we need to go out into the REAL world and memorialize him. He wasn't anonymous on here. He was TLOZ and we all probably have had access to reaches of his mind and spirit that people who knew him all his life never knew. It does work both ways. Jesus, I post stuff on here that my sisters and friends would stick their fingers in their ears if I started talking about it. This is a great social experiment. We post and react and get angry and laugh - and the next day we get to reread exactly what we were thinking and see how we said things. We are at once anonymous and simultaneously totally transparent if we are typing our truth.

But speaking to that interesting footnote of forum anonymity, I have added a paragraph in the JB Memorial thread that hopefully can address everyone's concerns with anonymity in a fun and playful way. Please reread the initial message there and read the paragraph. It is in red. I do hope we all show up for a memorial day in all our anonymity. Please consider it and, Stern, we will hunt you down and drag you back here if you abandon us. Me and Fabrizio, the two old men.

[BrooklynRider]

...I see this afternoon that the Daily News -- to their shame -- has once again trotted out the old "Wolf Pack" headline in bold red print...

Yet, I believe the comparison is perfectly logical. None of these kids would have attempted this alone. What was Kipling's line?

"The strength of the wolf is the pack and the strength of the pack is the wolf."

[infoshare]

In reading the more graphic accounts in the post about his being held from behind while another beat on him infuriates me.....imaging what horror he must have felt.....he would have given them his money.....they were beating him and he had to run for his life.......to run in the direct path of a speeding car tells me he was consumed by fear for his life.......this is not a simple robbery......do you think they would have been beating him if wasnt white....why were they beating him........can someone answer that for me.....i do not want to talk about this anymore......I am just sickened by this incident......how can anyone easily dimiss this a "nothing more" than a robery...I think it the lack of outrage over this incident that I am surprised at.

P.S. BRider...the difference about this forum is that we (most of us) cross paths on any given day....I rembember when you posted about you walking along HRpark one day..I may have been there too that day and met you.....I often walk thru washington sq park and see the collage kids (I old) and think that one may be who posts at nywired,,,,,,lofter talks about areas that I go to everyday....and so on.....and even peple who are not living in the area are likey to come to nyc and arrange to meet someone here....any way that is one of te reasons (for me) that makes the critical difference from some of the other forums.....mabe why I am so deeply affected by TLOZ tragic death....

[Schadenfrau]

Honestly, I think those criminals would have beaten anyone who had something they wanted, regardless of color. Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't pay much attention to the news.

[BrooklynRider]

...I think it the lack of outrage over this incident that I am surprised at...

Info, I do understand and sense your strong feelings about this and I do think we are all sharing the same feeling and outrage. Perhaps, we are communicating it differently. But, we need to be careful that our outrage does not turn to blind rage. We know nothing about these kids other than they did this. I think I am more upset at the parents of these kids. I'm upset that right before this they were tearing up a fast food place and no one called the cops and/or the cops did nothing. I'm plenty mad, but I need to channel it into something productive. I am so mad that I've spent my entire workday on the phone trying to find an organization to collaborate with on a memorial project. I can't obsess over stuff out of my control, but I can utilize that energy for something that I have control over.

[infoshare]

Honestly, I think those criminals would have beaten anyone who had something they wanted, regardless of color. Anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't pay much attention to the news.

The very first news event I saw was the televised "on scene" report from the rep of NYPD blacks - he stated that TLOZ was selected for 2 reasons "one was he made a kind gesture by giving mony and two the color of his skin" -------- did YOU pay attention to the NEWS.

I walk on 125th street a lot less frequently these day because I have been approached subject to racial comments and attempted assualt on more than one occasion....I know the scene he was in....color had "a lot" to do with why he - as the NYPD rep said - was selected and particulary why he was beaten.

But my main concern continues to be about people "like you" who seem to have a somewhat dismissive attitude about this.....the racial comments that were made by his attackers and the beating is sufficient to charge these people for a hate crime.....and its "publics" lack of insistence on this point that angers me most.

[Schadenfrau]

Infoshare, please don't insult me. I posted the Eric Adams quote pages earlier in this thread. Clearly, I read it.

Adams is not the representative of "NYPD blacks," he's the speaker for a group by the name of 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement.

[BrooklynRider]

...But my main concern continues to be about people "like you" who seem to have a somewhat dismissive attitude about this.....the racial comments that were made by his attackers and the beating is sufficient to charge these people for a hate crime.....and its "publics" lack of insistence on this point that angers me most.

The factor you are omitting from all of this and that the news also omits is that Harlem is being gentrified. There is no justification for violence - period. But, when communities are displaced or faced with displacement, violence and serious crime escalates.

Info, I think you are getting ahead of the story. We have no idea how these kids will be charged, what defense they might use and what evidence is in hand. Luckily there seem to be confessions. I am very pleased and satisfied that they are no longer on the loose. I think I am particularly sensitive to ensuring that hate