A Malba couple was injured when they were attacked by a crazed mob who took part in a 50-car “meet-up” drag-racing and doing donuts on their street when one of their neighbors tried to put a stop to the mayhem early Sunday morning.
The neighbor drove his company car into the gathering and tried to reason with the crowd who set the vehicle alight with fireworks, an NYPD spokesman said Sunday.
Police from the 109th Precinct responded to multiple 911 calls of a motor vehicle on fire at 114th Street and 11th Avenue at around 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 23. The FDNY was already on the scene and extinguished the blaze in an unoccupied 2009 Ford Fusion sedan, which was severely damaged. A 50-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman were approached by a group of unidentified individuals when one of the strangers punched the woman in the face, while a number of other attackers forced the man to the ground, where he was punched and kicked multiple times throughout his body, police said.
The woman sustained pain to the left side of her face but refused medical attention at the scene, according to the NYPD. EMS transported the man to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. He sustained scratches to his neck, a laceration to his nose and right knee, and bruising to the back of his head, the NYPD spokesman said, adding that there have been no arrests and the investigation continues.
Council Member Vickie Paladino took to social media, blaming the riot on “a large group of individuals from outside my district,” she wrote on X, saying the responses from the 109th Precinct were “less than ideal,” and that “these violent street takeovers should be met with force by the police department.”
The NYPD’s Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI) put out a statement explaining that police were assigned to a 911 call for a possible crime of drag racing at 141st Street and 11th Avenue at 12:37 a.m., and a sergeant was responding to the job when officers had a car stop resulting in an arrest at another location. The sergeant rerouted to the arrest situation to assist the officers because a supervisor was needed for the arrest.
 At approximately 12:50 a.m., the 911 call for drag racing was upgraded to a crime in progress — criminal mischief — which is a higher priority job. The 109th Precinct patrol supervisor then responded at approximately 12:53 a.m., and arrived at the scene at 1 a.m., a seven-minute response time.
“The 109 covers a large geographical area, and this was a busy Saturday night,” the DCPI statement said. “At the time of the incident in question, other units from the 109 were handling multiple priority jobs, including an arrest for an individual who was driving while intoxicated, transporting someone to the hospital, an assault, and a vehicle collision with injuries.”
Paladino met with Inspector Kevin Coleman, the commander of the 109th Precinct and Assistant Chief Brian Hennessy, the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Patrol Borough Queens North, at the scene later on Sunday morning and said they assured her that Malba would receive four dedicated patrol cars going forward as well as additional security upgrades, which she would not disclose. Paladino said the injured man had sustained a broken shoulder and nose and several fractured ribs during his assault.
“The city must do something to stop this lawlessness,” Paladino continued in her X post. “All the speed cameras in the world do absolutely nothing to prevent these incidents – we need police response and the most severe consequences for these criminals, not to simply allow them to drive away after they’ve completed their mayhem.”
Paladino followed that with an ominous message to future perpetrators in her district.
“You are risking your lives bringing this chaos into our neighborhoods,” she said. “I know for a fact that there were multiple armed residents who exercised extreme restraint last night, however that level of restraint is not guaranteed. If the city refuses to do what is necessary, the people might.”
Paladino directed another message to her constituents.
“Once again I want to urge any residents of my district who are interested in obtaining their carry or premises permits to contact my office,” she wrote on X. “We are offering assistance with the application process and legal fees to all who wish to exercise their constitutional right to self-protection.”
Senior Reporter. Reach me at bparry@schnepsmedia.com
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