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Community leaders and local residents took action this week in response to the brutal beating of Jack Price: from a press conference in front of New York Hospital Queens, where Price is still being treated and is listed fair condition, to a number of events, including a rally and march planned for the upcoming weekend.

Early in the morning on Oct. 9, Price, an openly-gay, 49-year-old man, was approached by two men on College Point Blvd while walking home from a local deli. His alleged attackers Daniel Aleman, of 18-04 College Point Blvd., and Daniel Rodriguez, of 5-02 115 St., College Point, confronted Price with a number of anti-gay slurs and proceeded to punch and kick Price relentlessly for about three minutes.

A video of the attack, captured by a local security camera, has since surfaced. After the attackers fled, Price was able to escape, call 911 and seek medical attention. Price, who at one point was in a medically-induced coma, is still in the hospital recovering from a fractured jaw and ribs, the collapse of both of his lungs and a lacerated spleen.

On Sunday, Oct. 11, Aleman was arrested, charged with Assault and Aggravated Harassment as Hate Crimes, arraigned and ordered held on $20,000 cash bail. He is required to return to court on Oct. 29. Rodriguez was arrested on Oct. 13 by the Norfolk, Va. Police Department. The NYPD is in the process of extraditing Rodriguez to New York to face charges. Both Rodriguez and Aleman face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.

On Monday, Oct. 12, city and state officials gathered to condemn the alleged hate crime against Price. The event was led by Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who is openly gay, and a number of local leaders including City Council candidates Daniel Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer, who if elected will be the first two openly-gay Queens City Council members.

Quinn said news of the attack "smacked particularly sharply" after returning from the National Equality March on Washington the day before, energized and optimistic about equality for the LGBT community.

"You grow tired of having to do these press conferences, of having to stand up and decry a hate crime against someone because they are perceived to be gay or because their race or their religion," Quinn said.

She continued, this "violent, outrageous and unacceptable hate crime" and others like it "rip at the fabric of our decent society" and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Democratic City Comptroller Candidate and current Councilman John Liu said the crimes were "absolutely atrocious."

"This hate has reared its ugly head one too many times, too often, and we're going to put a stop to it with support from the police department and, really, put an end to this kind of hatred, that has no place in our community and our society," Liu said.

Dromm recalled other hate crimes against the gay community that have occurred in Queens, including the 1990 murder of Julio Rivera, the 2000 murder of Steen Keith Fenrich and the 2001 murder of Edgar Garzon, and added, "it's time to say enough is enough."

On Oct. 13, Mayor Bloomberg released a statement about the attack, commending the NYPD for apprehending both suspects.

"Hate crimes like this one are particularly distasteful and won't be tolerated in our City. I have the highest respect for Queens DA [Richard] Brown, and I know he will prosecute these offenses swiftly, sending the message that our City's commitment to tolerance will not be tarnished," Bloomberg said.

At 7 p.m. Tuesday, a Queens Transgender Rights Forum, which had been organized prior to the attack, met to discuss discrimination and hate crimes. Although the event was geared towards the transgender population, throughout the night the most recent wound on the LGBT community, Price's attack, was brought up on numerous occasions.

New York Association for Gender Rights Association Chair Pauline Park, a speaker at the event, said the forum was especially pertinent in light of the incident that just occurred.

"The situation with Jack Price shows that unfortunately street harassment and bias can happen to anyone," Park said. "We're all vulnerable in different ways within the [LGBT] community."

At the close of the event, Brendan Fay, an Irish civil rights activist, stood up and informed the room about two events planned in response to the Price attack.

On Friday, Oct. 16, there will be a youth outreach effort led by Generation Q at College Point schools as they let out. Tentatively, on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. there will be a march on College Point Blvd. starting at 20th Avenue and a rally in the park on 14th Avenue that is being organized by a coalition of groups in the LGBT community. Members of the Price family are expected to attend.

"My hope is that many come out to take a strong stand against anti gay violence and prejudice," Fay said. "We need our New York political and religious leaders to speak out, walk with us on Saturday and find ways to address this and stop the spiral of prejudice and violence against LGBT persons."

Reach Reporter Kaitlyn Kilmetis at kkilmetis@queenstribune.com, or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128.