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When you put it that way it sure makes me think of those crazy parties thrown downtown by Grace Church!

It would be interesting to see what the teen party mentioned in the article was all about.Where was this teen party held and if there are many problems that come about in Newark because of this location of the teen party.Don't know what time this horrible beating happened but sounds like it was late at night after the concert.Wonder if Newark has some type of law they could use to keep these attackers off the street late at night being they are young.

Hopefully they have a speedy recovery.

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This board frowns on jokes I've noticed. Give the guy a break its not like he was condoning what happend.

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Yikes, sorry! I didn't mean to offend any Britney fans!

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Would this be an example of the "like" crime mentioned above?

What a brilliant comment. Such empathy.

If any of my friends went to a Britney Spears concert, I would be tempted to beat them whether they were gay or straight, black or white.

Newark's future is not bright if it tolerates this type of savagery!

you'd think the area around the Prudential Center (on the day of any event) would be a total police state, like i have seen down in Camden at the Tweeter Center (or whatever bank its named after now). Fourty-five minutes for cops to show up? Thats ridiculous.

Why is there even a question of "was this a hate crime" or not? Its obvious it was, but I hear a lot of this sort of thing when its an anti-gay crime, as opposed to other races/religions/whatever that already have protection at the federal level (lgbt people do not have federal hate crimes protection). If you call someone a faggot, then beat them, its a hate crime. Its pretty simple.

I guess the word of the victim and the injuries they suffered are not good enough for the cops, in this case. What more do they need? I just know they don't give other groups the hard time that the lgbt community gets when it comes to protection, maybe we need a Sharpton type to make them worry about looking bad in the press? Only not a con artist swindler, hopefully.

Gee I don't know, I guess I'll have to survey your girlfriend next.

This is why I would never go to see anything at the Prudential Center. I went to see the Spice Girls last year and before they announced they had a NYC event, I had gotten tickets for Nassau Coliseum. I am from there and got a ride from my dad and he gave me a ride back to the train.

If i had gone to the Prudential Center it would have been so much quicker. Instead, I took the LIRR to Penn Station and then the Path to Grove ST. and drove back to my apt.

Newark is just plan dangerous.

"Do they keep stats on "like" crimes? You know, when you beat on a certain group of people because you like them?"

That is actually pretty funny.

Do they keep stats on "like" crimes? You know, when you beat on a certain group of people because you like them?

The best remark on saw on this was a commenter on Gothamist who said: "This is why Newark can't have nice things."

Pretty much sums things up I think. When the arena first opened, it was a corridor of police between Penn Station and the Prudential Center. I think everyone hoped the arena's presence eventually, all on its own, negate the need for that many police. Apparently not.

Statistically, certain types of hate and more prominent in certain groups. For instance, the stats on the anti-defamation leagues site clearly show that blacks and hispanics are bigger anti-Semites then the whites in the U.S.

Ignorance has many faces as there is no monopoly on racism.

It is interesting....

I am part of a group in NYC that looks at power and privilege across policy and legislation in the city. The conversation is always dominated by the African American perspective - as if no other inequality matters.

When it comes to other forms of diversity and inequality people seem to turn their heads - it completely disappoints me.

Should anyone be surprised that a alpha male dominated organization, like the Newark police, would provide no credence to these guys story? I guess I am irritated further the media outlet (nj.com) would stand behind the bias of this police department. I have no doubt these two men were targeted and the group of teenagers enjoy beating up on 'homos.'

This also sounds a bit like... 'You were in Newark late at night... what did you expect?'

*Shaking head in disappointment*

What would they call it if a gang of white kids beat up a black couple? They'd be charged with a hate crime in 2 seconds. Sharpton would be out there with Corey Booker demanding retribution. (He'd probably be demanding "donations" too-scum sucking money grubbing pig).

GAY BIAS ATTACK?
Kearny couple cite slurs; cops say just a beating

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
By RALPH R. ORTEGA
THE STAR-LEDGER

NEWARK - Police are investigating after a gay couple from Kearny complained they were beaten by a crowd a few blocks from the Prudential Center in Newark after attending a Britney Spears concert there Saturday night.

Joshua Kehoe, 25, said he and his partner, Bobby Daniel Caldwell, 36, were returning to their car near Raymond Boulevard and Broad Street when a group of 15 to 20 youths surrounded them and began beating them.

Kehoe said the attackers deliberately targeted him and his partner because they were gay, but Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said that police did not believe the incident was bias-related.

"They were saying words like 'faggot'," Kehoe said, "No matter how you look at it, it is a hate crime."

Kehoe said a security guard at a nearby building and two passersby called the police. They waited about 45 minutes for police to arrive, according to Kehoe, even though about three squad cars passed the scene. When cops finally arrived, Caldwell was taken to University Hospital with his jaw broken in two spots.

"Half of his jaw is in the back of his mouth," Kehoe said. "It happened so fast, they were just kicking and kicking us. I've never seen anything like this."

Police Chief Garry McCarthy said last night that the criterion for determining whether a bias attack occurred is not whether a slur was used, but whether the attack was motivated by group bias.

Police say the same attackers assaulted and robbed four young women a block away before encountering the couple.

Police say the violence began with a fight at a teen party Saturday night attended by more than 400 young people in the city's downtown entertainment district. Investigators believe a group of more than 15 young people left that event and committed the crimes.

Kehoe said he is hopeful that the attackers will be found and brought to justice.

"They said they have cameras on all of the buildings, and that they could view it, and see faces," he said. "I just want the cops to do something."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.