A hateful jerk set fire to a gay pride flag hanging outside a Harlem bar early Monday ā a month after two of the rainbow-colored emblems were torched at the same nightspot, according to police.
The flag went up in smoke at around 12:45 a.m. outside of Alibi Lounge on West 139th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, around ź©²the same time the previous flag-burner struck on May 31, cops said.
Alexi Minko, tšhe owner of the lounge, saāid he was āpetrifiedā that it had happened again.
āIt seems surreal. I think, for about 10 seconds, I just stood there petrified and shocked. I thought it was a joke ā it canāt be real,ā he said.āI have no words.”
After the first incident, he thought the homophobic haters had learned “a lessonā that thereās āno place for hate anywhere, especially in Harlem.ā
“We really thought that it was over,” Minko said. āIt is difficult to think it would happen again so soon, or happen again period.ā
He said the most recently tošørched flag was given to š¦the bar by an anonymous donor.
On Monday morning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo demanded the arson be investigated as a hate crime, saying New York has “zero tolerance for this despicable behavior.”
“I am appalled by the burning of yet another pride flag outside an LGBTQ bar in Harlem. This act of hate is repugnant to our values of equality and inclusion, and we will not stand by and allow these cowardly acts to continue in New York,” he said in a press release.
“I am once again directing the State Police Hate Crimes Unit to assist the NYPD with its investigation and hold those responsible accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
Neighbors were also stunned by the flag burning.”Where is all the hate coming from?ā said Vy Higginsen, a playwright who lives nearby. “Itās concerning and I don’t like it.”
A 23-year-old resident who lives above the bar added, āItās scaryā¦Iāve never felt unwelcome as a queer [personš] in the neighborhood.ā
Police still donāt know if tā he latest arsonist is connected to the previous incident.
Cops said they are investigatišng it as a possible bias crime.
The NYPD is still searching for the first arsonist and has released footage of a man setting it on fire.