{"id":360376,"date":"2026-09-30T02:20:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T02:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/360376\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T02:20:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T02:20:21","slug":"q-e-d-astoria-owner-calls-for-more-police-action-on-harassment-after-individual-repeatedly-erases-venues-sidewalk-art-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/360376\/","title":{"rendered":"Q.E.D. Astoria owner calls for more police action on harassment after individual repeatedly erases venue\u2019s sidewalk art \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

The owner of comedy club Q.E.D. Astoria<\/a> has called on the NYPD to take action after an individual allegedly spent several months erasing sidewalk chalk art outside the venue and making numerous derogatory statements about her on social media.<\/p>\n

Hannah Lieberman said she is happy to be the \u201ccanary in the coal mine\u201d if her months-long experience can inspire a change in how the police respond to similar allegations. Many of Lieberman\u2019s allegations fall under second-degree harassment, which is generally considered a violation and does not result in a criminal record. Officers are often unable to make an arrest unless the harassment is carried out in their presence.<\/p>\n

Lieberman took over as Q.E.D. owner in March 2025, taking over from longtime owner and founder Kambri Crews. She said she aims to run Q.E.D. as \u201cso much more\u201d than a comedy club, offering a public meeting space for the local community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hold charity events, storytelling shows. We have a free weekly toddler story time,\u201d Lieberman said. \u201cI love to advertise our more than 100 monthly events by doing sidewalk chalk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lieberman said she had been advertising events at Q.E.D. all summer through \u201csidewalk chalk,\u201d where she would draw colorful artistic notices on the pavement outside the comedy club.\n<\/p>\n

In an interview with QNS, Lieberman said it takes her around two hours to complete the sidewalk chalk art but said she loves carrying out the regular artwork, stating that it gives her an opportunity to connect with her neighbors.<\/p>\n

However, she added that an individual had been erasing the sidewalk art all summer long, alternating between coffee, water, and bleach to remove the notices.\n<\/p>\n

This summer, Lieberman also hosted a \u201csidewalk chalkaton\u201d with neighbors and artists to paint the whole block in chalk art. The event helped raise $250 for the Queens Community Defense Fund providing financial relief to local immigrant families through a cookie sale.<\/p>\n

\"Q.E.D.Q.E.D. hosted a \u201csidewalk chalk-a-thon\u201d in response to the repeated erasure of the notices. Photo via Hannah Lieberman.<\/p>\n

But the chalk was once again erased \u2014 this time with detergent.<\/p>\n

Who did it? Q.E.D. Astoria points finger at Facebook troll<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, I thought maybe it was some bored teenager,\u201d Lieberman said in a video posted on Instagram last week. However, surveillance footage at the club revealed the individual to be a middle-aged man.<\/p>\n

She identified him as Ian Jensen, though he has not been charged by police with committing the vandalism.\n<\/p>\n

Jensen had been previously arrested on suspicion of placing Trump stickers on the club\u2019s facade in August 2024, damaging the club\u2019s vinyl sign. He was charged with making graffiti, possession of a graffiti instrument and criminal mischief in connection with the incident, according to the NYPD.<\/p>\n

Lieberman reported the more recent issue to the police but said she was informed that, because the sidewalk chalk was on public property, there was no case against Jensen.\n<\/p>\n

Lieberman added that several local residents had confronted Jensen over the sidewalk chalk vandalism, with Jensen allegedly revealing that he removed the notices in response to a \u201cWe Stand With Immigrant Families\u201d poster in the Q.E.D. window.<\/p>\n

Jensen has not responded to a QNS request for comment.\n<\/p>\n

But a Facebook account purportedly belonging to Jensen, under the Facebook alias Ian JDawg, included a post in which the author called Lieberman as a \u201cpuppetmaster,\u201d accusing the Q.E.D. owner of manipulating her supporters into criticizing him.<\/p>\n

Many other posts about Lieberman and Q.E.D. on the account used, at times, language that Lieberman and others have described as antisemitic or anti-LGBTQ. The posts are still available to view on the Facebook page as of Monday.<\/p>\n

In one post, the author referred to Lieberman\u2019s last name as \u201cLiebermanstein\u201d and \u201cLiebersteinshitz.\u201d In another, the author described sidewalk chalk art with LGBT flags as promoting \u201cgay sex flags.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lieberman reported the Facebook activity to the 114th Precinct and said she was informed that if she commented on one of the posts telling Jensen not to mention her or Q.E.D. by name, she would have a \u201cbig case\u201d for harassment if Jensen continued to do so.<\/p>\n

Soon after, the author behind Jensen\u2019s Facebook posts began referring to her as \u201cHandjob Liebershitz\u201d after Lieberman had explicitly told him to stop mentioning her.\n<\/p>\n

No help from cops?<\/p>\n

Lieberman again reported the incident to the police but said she had \u201cno luck\u201d reaching the officer who had advised her to make the initial comment. Eventually, she received a phone call from a different detective, who allegedly denied that the comments were antisemitic. Antisemitic speech is generally protected under the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

The detective, Lieberman alleged, also informed her that the \u201csolution\u201d to the issue was to stop drawing chalk art on the sidewalk. When Lieberman argued that this would be \u201cletting Ian Jensen win,\u201d the detective allegedly told her that both parties were being \u201cpetty.\u201d She further alleged that the detective indicated that he did not want to \u201cpick a side\u201d in the argument.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just felt like being told \u2018you keep wearing that mini skirt, so they\u2019re going to\u00a0keep catcalling you,’\u201d Lieberman told QNS.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was at this point that Lieberman posted her most recent video about the situation, naming Jensen publicly for the first time as well as posting several photographs that appeared to catch him in the act of erasing the sidewalk chalk.<\/p>\n

Crying what she described as \u201cangry tears,\u201d Lieberman blasted the 114th Precinct<\/a> for what she described as its lack of support throughout.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI never once cried over Ian Jensen. The only time I cried was when the detective talked to me the way he did\u2026 It felt like he didn\u2019t have my back. I felt super dismissed,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cI think it\u2019s indicative of a much bigger problem where people\u2019s complaints are not being taken seriously by the 114th\u2026 It\u2019s disappointing, but for some people, it can be dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NYPD has not yet responded to a request for comment.\n<\/p>\n

She described Jensen\u2019s frequent comments about her on social media as \u201cabsolutely vile\u201d and expressed fears that the situation could escalate before the police intervene.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel protected,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n

Harassment in the second degree, which covers online behavior without physical threats, generally results in a violation and does not result in a criminal record. Police generally cannot arrest an individual for a violation unless the act was committed in the presence of an officer.<\/p>\n

Lieberman\u2019s post, meanwhile, has drawn significant support from the local community, including from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Assemblymember Diana Moreno.\n<\/p>\n

Ocasio-Cortez, who described the situation as \u201cunacceptable,\u201d pledged to contact the 114th Precinct in order to \u201ckeep everyone safe.\u201d Moreno, meanwhile, told Lieberman that she has \u201cgot your back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lieberman said the support of the local community has been \u201cthe most heartwarming and encouraging thing\u201d about the situation.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sidewalk chalk-a-thon\u2026 was this just incredibly heartwarming, beautiful community gathering, and it\u2019s the thing that makes Astoria so special,\u201d she said. \u201cAs much as it\u2019s been disappointing from the police side, it\u2019s been so incredibly heartwarming from the community side, and I leave this experience with much more positivity and hope than negativity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n