A Jewish man is recovering Friday after being attacked, punched and robbed in the front yard of his Crown Heights residence by an attacker who spewed antisemitic profanities at him on the first night of Hanukkah.
Joshua Merenfeld, 40, told NBC New York he was standing outside of his building when a man walked up behind him, punched him, pushed him over, kicked him and then took his phone.
"It was a real beating," Merenfeld said. "It wasn't just one punch and left, it took quite a while. At least a minute of punches which is a long time for punches."
The man who attacked Merenfeld "used a bunch of antisemitic terminology and profanities," he said.
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"Definitely doesn't feel good to have this happen in your own front yard," Merenfeld said.
Merenfeld said he has boot prints all over his jacket where he was repeatedly stomped. He has a visible wound on the left side of his face. Police said he was taken to Mount Sinai Beth Israel for treatment.
"It's a little blurry, but that's because of the swelling," he said. "The doctor told me that my eye is fine and it's going to be fine."
Police released a photo of a suspect, which was obtained at the Kingston Avenue and Eastern Parkway station.
"I want this person caught," Merenfeld said. "This is a dangerous person. It's didn't happen at twelve o'clock at night at a back alley somewhere. This happened in front of a well-lit building on Eastern Parkway at seven in the evening."
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He said he chose to speak to NBC New York to get the crime as much attention as possible.
"That's why I want as much attention on this as possible, so nobody else gets hurt," he said. "I already got hurt so it's not going to do anything for me."
The attack is being investigated by NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force. Police ask anyone with information to call NYPD CrimeStoppers.
