Feb. 20, 2015 Staff Report
A 32-year-old man was beaten to death on the corner of 50th Avenue and Vernon Boulevard this morning, according to police.
The incident occurred near a bodega at about 2:30am when the victim got into an argument with two men who were in a livery cab, the police said. The victim was drinking with his friends at the time.
There were witnesses who saw the event and ran to the 108 precinct station house–about a block away–to alert police, according to the NYPD.
The man, whose name has not been released, lay unconscious on the side walk near Vernon Wine & Liquors suffering from head trauma. He was transported to Bellevue Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
The investigation is ongoing and there have been no arrests.
UPDATE:
Police named the 32-year-old victim as Jose Antonio Cocuyo-Malaga. He lived at 49-16 Vernon Blvd.
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35 Comments
it is terrible what happened but this was an isolated incident
the neighborhood is very safe so relax people
there are issues with car break in’s and some petty burglaries of late
but other than that not much crime to speak of
most newcomers who were not here in nyc in the 80’s and early 90’s
this is the safest the city has ever been so chill out
Unnecessary loss of life. My condolences to the family. This has nothing to do with the proximity of the precinct. People get angry and react suddenly no matter how close the precinct is. The precinct only deters crimes that require planning. I have been living in the neighborhood for 6 years and I can tell you that the neighborhood is one of the safest, cleanest, nicest places to live in NY. It seems to be an altercation between two random people who misunderstood each other and it quickly escalated. It’s a shame that the suspect didn’t show restraint and now someone is gone because of it.
What does a Bodega have to do with it? The police officers need to patrol on foot more and protect the neighborhood. I know it is cold, but that clearly doesn’t stop people from committing crimes. Between 11pm and 5am they should be looking for troublemakers. Bodega has nothing to do with anything. Condolences to the family, I am so sorry for your loss.
Bodegas have been here for decades, so have poor people. Those complaining about them must live in those towers by the water and not get out much to mix amongst the peasantry.
Very well put MAM! They have no clue whatsoever! Ignorance is bliss!
Some of you sure must lead privileged lives according to your comments! Please why don’t uou just go back to wherever you ca
Some of you really have no clue whatsoever! Why don’t you go back to wherever your from! New York doesn’t welcome you! You must lead privileged lives and have no understanding of trying to survive and to strive in this dog eat dog town!
…you are suggesting people should not be upset by someone getting beaten to death blocks from their home?
There have been Bodegas in Lic up by 45th road court house square and no one ever was murdered! And to answer another post yes we also had ladies of the night and yes there are still folks who pick through the garbage for cans to feed themselves, nothing wrong with that!
First, condolences to the family of the deceased. Second, apparently some don’t think too highly of the 108, whether it be through first hand experience or general perception. I for one have an overall favorable opinion based on my experiences with them but that’s me. I get that having a violent crime take place so close to the precient troubles and shocks some but the reality is incidents like this, and worse, occur everywhere and anywhere. Again, condolences to the family, having to deal with such an unfortunate and unnecessary lose. Sad.
To answer Lic Res’s question. What’s next you ask;
illegal prostitution houses with a free beer
illegal gambling
multi-resident (shift families) with many cars
garbage pickers (can/bottle hunters, and clothes hunters)
Oh I can go on and on
We have a bodega in our neighborhood? Great, what’s next?
That isn’t a bodega. It’s a newsstand.
Is the victim’s address correct? That’s the address of the Butcher deli. I didn’t think anyone lived above it.
That is the address provided by the police.
Turns out, via the Daily News, that that is where the victim was hanging out with his friends before the incident. He didn’t live there.
never had any problems growing up around the corner from there. It all started when mayor Koch opened the homeless shelter on Borden Ave. and when the Butcher and the grocery store stayed open 24 hours
Its a damn shame, crime is up here in LIC and the 108 needs to step it up! And the people who are committing these crimes don’t give a rats ass that the police station is right there. Also, the society and the sad state of the world we live in today where a human life mean nothing is pretty sad.
Can’t the 108th just assign some off-duty cops to sit in PJ Leahey’s every night? Oh, yeah, they’ve already tried that.
So horrible. That corner and the little park always has some questionable characters. Always funny considering it is a few steps away from the 108. That is an awful precinct. My car was totaled by a woman who ran the light. I had witnesses and they never took down his statement. They were too busy hitting on my friend. My complaint the next day when I saw the report fell on deaf ears. We had a madman attacking people at my job and it took them over a half hour to show up.
Part of the problem is they are the only precinct in all of Long Island City which is ridiculous. The other part is they don’t give a rat’s ass about us.
When it was the old LIC this would have never been aloud, or even happen. To many new people with to many new faces. When I grew up there we all knew everyone.
I grew up in LIC, right across from the church, and the police at the 108 precinct weren’t any better!
If you hate the new LIC so much, then get the hell out! I’m sick of you “old school” LIC’ers reminiscing about the “good old days.” Jesus Christ!
Would have never been “aloud”? “to” many new people with “to” many new faces? And I’m supposed to take you seriously? Right with this impeccable logic and spelling, you’ve convincd me – we should wall off LIC entirely and not let any people anywhere near here. I’m leaving immediately. And all the new services and small businesses should depart immediately too. Problem solved.
You are from LIC what is your name?
If we had a more visible police presence in the neighborhood — especially within footsteps of the police precinct — then maybe people would think twice before they decided to beat someone to death footsteps from the police precinct. What a truly horrible incident. I’ve never heard of such a bold crime being committed in this neighborhood.
My condolences to this man’s family and friends. Now let’s hope the police get their fingers out of their asses and do something to catch these losers.
I have been saying that. I never see cops walking anywhere. They are either cruising in their cars or sitting reading their cell phones or laptops.
Fingers out of their asses? Try their entire heads and a fair chunk of their shoulders.
Horrific.
Witnessed a car burglary within site of the 108th a 2 years ago.
Recently the Crimson rate went up so high!!! I really don’t know what the police in 108 doing???? so many homeless person being on the Vernon mall Also there were so so many robberies happened in Long Island City, so what police and councilman Jimmy do something about this?
While the crime itself is no laughing matter, the nearby precinct surely is.
When I saw the headline from another source, claiming a man was beaten to death steps from a precinct, I reflexively joked to myself how it was probably the 108th. I almost fell off my chair when I saw it really was the 108!
The precinct is a joke. There have been burglaries and car break-ins/vandalism occurring nearby for years now. What does that say about them?
Their contempt for the public is apparent by the way they park on the 50th Avenue sidewalk and allow their contractor buddies to do the same.
I only see them on foot when they’re walking to/from Dunkin Donuts or E&I. Otherwise, they sit in their cars and look for drivers to pull over.
While they clearly don’t care about the people they’re supposed to “protect,” one would think their own pride and egos would make them wanna at least prevent crime in their own backyard. I guess not.
This is why I teach my toddler that if she senses danger she should always seek out firemen before police.
Every morning when I walk to the subway I’m shocked at the total disregard the 108th has for blocking the sidewalks with their cars. I second you assumption that it is reflective of their lack of respect for the citizenry that they supposedly serve.
The police would probably love a parking deck if the city gave them the resources. I’m wary of linking circumstances likely beyond the precinct’s control to problems within their control (crime nearby).
They don’t “wanna at least prevent crime in their own backyard” because it isn’t their own backyard. These guys (they are mostly guys) have contempt for New York City. They live on Long Island or way out in Queens and have zero connection to the neighborhood or the people who live here. Many years ago most people who lived in LIC had been here for generations, so they had to take at least a little notice of us when they weren’t blowing past us in their patrol cars. Today, people come and go in this area, so the police have no interest in building connections.
The only time you ever see lots of cops in post-Guiliani NYC (besides St. Patty’s Day) is when people gather to exercise their Constitutional rights to protest and assembly, and then the cops come out in hordes. Maybe they should assign the same number of cops to prevent people from committing violent crimes instead.