A Brooklyn judge awarded $4.5 million to a Black Brooklyn man who was partially blinded in a severe beating in 2013 by members of a Hasidic safety patrol in Williamsburg.
“It’s been nine years,” said Taj Patterson, now 31. “A lot of back and forth. A lot of legal scenarios I didn’t understand. It was a long process.”
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NYC CRIME
New York Daily News
Sep 27, 2022 at 6:05 pm
“You can never put a price on the loss of one’s eyesight,” said Zahra Patterson, Taj’s mother. “This has been a tough fight since day one. You’re dealing with people who have a tight-knit connection to the police and political figures.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/BQ7OIKB43RGWZOBTDVGZVHSZ5E.JPG "Taj Patterson poses for a portrait Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 in the Bronx.")
Taj Patterson poses for a portrait Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 in the Bronx. (Barry Williams/for New York Daily News)
Patterson’s lawyer says he now faces the daunting task of collecting from the Williamsburg Safety Patrol — also known by its Hebrew name, Shomrim. “The Hasidic community was very good at raising money for the defense, but I don’t know how good they will be at doing the same for the verdict,” Andrew Stoll said.
Court records show the safety patrol and each of the five individual defendants stopped responding to the lawsuit and were found in default — defined by court officials as “an official court decision in favor of one side when the other side does not answer or go to court on the court date.”
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/XQS4444EB4AASQUWF5QPLOH3VA.jpg "Taj Patterson was allegedly severely beaten in 2013 by members of a Hasidic safety patrol in Williamsburg.")
Taj Patterson was allegedly severely beaten in 2013 by members of a Hasidic safety patrol in Williamsburg.
Aaron Twersky, the lawyer who represented the safety patrol for years, withdrew from the case in June, and in a letter to the court said the organization stopped cooperating with him and stiffed him on his fees.
“I have had difficulty in securing their cooperation with regard to substantive matters pertaining to this litigation and certain material commitments made to me in relation to this litigation by my client have not been met,” Twersky wrote in a letter filed with the court.
To add yet more complexity, the safety patrol admitted in 2015 in a letter filed with the court that it had no insurance, records show.
Despite the lack of insurance, the city has continued to give money to the safety patrol.
Records show the city has given several hundred thousand dollars to the Williamsburg Safety Patrol and its affiliates since 2014, including $93,250 in fiscal 2023 from the City Council’s discretionary fund.
Among the Council members who approved funds for the current fiscal year were Inna Vernikov and Lincoln Restler, of Brooklyn, and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
Patterson was walking home about 4:30 a.m. along Flushing Ave. on Dec. 1, 2013, when as many as 10 Hasidic men began assaulting him, yelling, “Stay down, f-----!”
Four people gave witness statements, and cops had the license plate of one of the assailant’s vehicles.
Within the first 24 hours, the NYPD’s 90th Precinct classified the attack as a misdemeanor by a lone attacker, as The News first reported., and marked the case “final, no arrests, CLOSED.”
Patterson and his mother Zahra Patterson lobbied the police, and about a week later, the NYPD began investigating the case as a hate crime. A 90th Precinct sergeant was docked 10 vacation days for prematurely closing the case.
Five men were arrested on assault charges. Charges were dropped against two, while two more pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unlawful imprisonment in 2016.
The fifth man, Mayer Herskovic, was convicted of gang assault in 2017, but his conviction was overturned in 2018 by an appeals court. The court held that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/LBEPSAHKFGH5E7JE5F4BJFR33U.jpg "Mayer Herskovic, pictured, was convicted of gang assault in 2017, but his conviction was overturned in 2018 by an appeals court.")
Mayer Herskovic, pictured, was convicted of gang assault in 2017, but his conviction was overturned in 2018 by an appeals court. (Jesse Ward)
Patterson filed lawsuits in state and federal court. The federal case was dismissed in 2017, but the state case continued.
On Sept. 19, after a two-day bench inquest, Judge Miriam Sunshine made the award. The only people in the room were the judge, Patterson and his mother, and Stoll, their lawyer.
“I am going to put it as an award in favor of Taj Patterson against all of the defendants in the sum of $4.5 million of which $3 million is for past pain and suffering and $1.5 million is for future,” Sunshine said, according to a transcript. “Enter a judgment forthwith.”
Sunshine noted that Patterson has permanent vision damage that likely can’t be corrected through surgery, according to the court transcript.
Taj Patterson poses for a portrait Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 in the Bronx. (Barry Williams/for New York Daily News)
Patterson has tried to move on from the ordeal. He now lives in the Bronx and works in fashion retail. He says he can detect light through the injured right eye, but not color or shape.
“I think what they did was barbaric. I don’t understand how people can treat people that way. Any sane or logical person would hopefully think twice before doing it again,” he said.
“But the case showed me the more money and power you have, you can get away with murder. There is no legal system, there’s a class system. It’s a class system.”
“It’s been nine years,” said Taj Patterson, now 31. “A lot of back and forth. A lot of legal scenarios I didn’t understand. It was a long process.”
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NYC CRIME
Brooklyn judge awards $4.5 million to NYC man who says he was beaten by Williamsburg Hasidic safety patrol. The challenge now? Collect
By Graham RaymanNew York Daily News
Sep 27, 2022 at 6:05 pm
“You can never put a price on the loss of one’s eyesight,” said Zahra Patterson, Taj’s mother. “This has been a tough fight since day one. You’re dealing with people who have a tight-knit connection to the police and political figures.”
Taj Patterson poses for a portrait Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 in the Bronx. (Barry Williams/for New York Daily News)
Patterson’s lawyer says he now faces the daunting task of collecting from the Williamsburg Safety Patrol — also known by its Hebrew name, Shomrim. “The Hasidic community was very good at raising money for the defense, but I don’t know how good they will be at doing the same for the verdict,” Andrew Stoll said.
Court records show the safety patrol and each of the five individual defendants stopped responding to the lawsuit and were found in default — defined by court officials as “an official court decision in favor of one side when the other side does not answer or go to court on the court date.”
Taj Patterson was allegedly severely beaten in 2013 by members of a Hasidic safety patrol in Williamsburg.
Aaron Twersky, the lawyer who represented the safety patrol for years, withdrew from the case in June, and in a letter to the court said the organization stopped cooperating with him and stiffed him on his fees.
“I have had difficulty in securing their cooperation with regard to substantive matters pertaining to this litigation and certain material commitments made to me in relation to this litigation by my client have not been met,” Twersky wrote in a letter filed with the court.
To add yet more complexity, the safety patrol admitted in 2015 in a letter filed with the court that it had no insurance, records show.
Despite the lack of insurance, the city has continued to give money to the safety patrol.
Records show the city has given several hundred thousand dollars to the Williamsburg Safety Patrol and its affiliates since 2014, including $93,250 in fiscal 2023 from the City Council’s discretionary fund.
Among the Council members who approved funds for the current fiscal year were Inna Vernikov and Lincoln Restler, of Brooklyn, and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
Patterson was walking home about 4:30 a.m. along Flushing Ave. on Dec. 1, 2013, when as many as 10 Hasidic men began assaulting him, yelling, “Stay down, f-----!”
Four people gave witness statements, and cops had the license plate of one of the assailant’s vehicles.
Within the first 24 hours, the NYPD’s 90th Precinct classified the attack as a misdemeanor by a lone attacker, as The News first reported., and marked the case “final, no arrests, CLOSED.”
Patterson and his mother Zahra Patterson lobbied the police, and about a week later, the NYPD began investigating the case as a hate crime. A 90th Precinct sergeant was docked 10 vacation days for prematurely closing the case.
Five men were arrested on assault charges. Charges were dropped against two, while two more pleaded guilty to misdemeanor unlawful imprisonment in 2016.
The fifth man, Mayer Herskovic, was convicted of gang assault in 2017, but his conviction was overturned in 2018 by an appeals court. The court held that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him.
Mayer Herskovic, pictured, was convicted of gang assault in 2017, but his conviction was overturned in 2018 by an appeals court. (Jesse Ward)
Patterson filed lawsuits in state and federal court. The federal case was dismissed in 2017, but the state case continued.
On Sept. 19, after a two-day bench inquest, Judge Miriam Sunshine made the award. The only people in the room were the judge, Patterson and his mother, and Stoll, their lawyer.
“I am going to put it as an award in favor of Taj Patterson against all of the defendants in the sum of $4.5 million of which $3 million is for past pain and suffering and $1.5 million is for future,” Sunshine said, according to a transcript. “Enter a judgment forthwith.”
Sunshine noted that Patterson has permanent vision damage that likely can’t be corrected through surgery, according to the court transcript.
Taj Patterson poses for a portrait Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022 in the Bronx. (Barry Williams/for New York Daily News)
Patterson has tried to move on from the ordeal. He now lives in the Bronx and works in fashion retail. He says he can detect light through the injured right eye, but not color or shape.
“I think what they did was barbaric. I don’t understand how people can treat people that way. Any sane or logical person would hopefully think twice before doing it again,” he said.
“But the case showed me the more money and power you have, you can get away with murder. There is no legal system, there’s a class system. It’s a class system.”
