A Queens man is facing hate crime charges after he allegedly targeted a Jewish-owned bagel shop, knocking over plant stands and hurling dirt at the storefront and its Israeli flags, officials said.
Authorities identified the man as Dawood Faisal, a 22-year-old resident of Fresh Meadows, Queens.
Faisal allegedly targeted Bagels & Co., a kosher shop on Union Turnpike, on two occasions in May, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
On May 15, Faisal allegedly knocked over nine metal plant stands outside the shop around 6:18 p.m., spilling dirt and plants onto the sidewalk. Prosecutors said he then picked up the debris and twice threw it at the storefront.
The district attorney’s office also alleged Faisal returned to Bagels & Co. roughly a week later, on May 23 around 1 a.m., when he pushed and kicked over 11 metal plant stands, emptied their contents onto the sidewalk and uprooted plants in a nearby clay pot.
Faisal was arraigned Monday on an indictment charging him with two counts of third-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, authorities said.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Faisal targeted the shop “specifically because it is Jewish-owned and featured Israeli flags.”
“Bias crimes are an affront to our entire community and will not be tolerated,” Katz said in a statement Monday.
Faisal is also facing manslaughter and assault charges in a separate case stemming from a deadly three-car collision on May 25.
Prosecutors alleged Faisal was driving more than 75 mph on Francis Lewis Boulevard, where the speed limit is 35 mph, when he ran two red lights and struck two vehicles. One of those vehicles was propelled into a crosswalk, striking 71-year-old Cara Trager and her husband. Trager died from her injuries.
State Assemblymember David Weprin, whose district includes the bagel shop, praised the hate crime indictment and noted that Trager was one of his constituents.
“This was yet another incident of antisemitism in Queens, and this indictment further demonstrates that we will never back down to hate,” Weprin said in a statement.
Faisal is scheduled to return to court Nov. 12 in the hate crime case.
Bagels & Co. did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Gothamist. In a May 29 social media post, author and activist Hen Mazzig said hundreds of Jewish customers had gathered outside the bagel shop the previous afternoon to show their support for the business following the alleged vandalism.
An attorney representing Faisal did not immediately respond to requests for comment.