Juan Bernal, 76, at the time of the August 30 incident.
Juan Bernal was arrested four days after our report about his racist rant and assault against Tanya Young Williams, a Black Upper West Side business owner.
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It happened on Friday, August 30 in front of her store, Tanya Luxury Fashion Boutique at 133 West 72nd Street.
Bernal, whom we hadn’t identified at the time of our September 3 report, first confronted Williams about the Kamala Harris poster in her store’s window. He got aggressive about his political preferences, continued to engage her when it was clear she had no interest in a dialogue, and ended up throwing the n-word at her and spitting in her face.
Tanya Young Williams standing outside of her Upper West Side store. Photo by Bobby Panza.
Bernal, a 76-year-old Upper West Side man, was arrested on September 7 on Assault in the 3rd Degree. However, a press officer for the Manhattan D.A.’s office tells us they upgraded the charges to hate crime charges.
Bernal is currently facing Assault in the Third Degree as a Hate Crime and Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree.
Public records show that he pled not guilty to both charges.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office tells ILTUWS that Bernal was arraigned on September 25. While prosecutors requested supervised release, the judge released him on his own recognizance. The judge also granted a full temporary order of protection.
Bernal is due back in court on November 4. He has hired a private attorney.
The judge presiding over the case is Marva Claudette Brown (Democratic Party, Working Families Party), a former public defender who’s been the subject of at least two NY Post articles about suspects she let loose.
Public records show that Bernal lives on West 85th Street.
Thank you I ?? The UWS for shining a light on this violence. This person is an outlier in our UWS community and does not represent us. My work is to get him off our streets so he can’t hurt anyone else. The community support for me has be tremendous. I thank each of you.
– Tanya
I hate to say he looks pretty good for 76. Now put him in Rikers for 30 days.
Funny
I’m 76 and think he looks bad.
You don’t look a day over 65.