QUOTE
Three teenage punks set a homeless man ablaze outside an East Harlem church on Friday, leaving the victim's anguished girlfriend blaming herself for not protecting him.
Ana Arroyo said she often slept alongside 49-year-old Felix Niajara in front of Bethany Christian Church on E. 103rd St., where he was attacked at 12:15 a.m.
"Maybe if I stayed there with him, they would have [targeted] me," said Arroyo, 73, who lives across the street with her adult daughter. "That's my boyfriend, who I adore. We love each other."
Arroyo said her daughter wouldn't let Niajara stay at their apartment, so he was sleeping in his usual spot on the sidewalk when the teens crept up on him.
While one lit the defenseless man's pant leg, another rummaged through his pocket, witnesses told cops.
"He stood up," a police source said. "This caused him to become engulfed in flames. He sat back down and the suspects fled."
It was not clear if anything was stolen, cops said.
"I'm asking God that he doesn't die. If he is disfigured, it is okay, but please God save him," Arroyo said.
Arroyo and Niajara could often be seen resting together, sharing beer and whiskey and snuggling, neighbors said.
They also frequented an E. 110th St. senior center.
"They used to sit there kissing, and I had to be firm: 'Listen, if you want to kiss, you got to go somewhere else,' " said Brunilda Moreno, the center's coordinator. "They had a wheelchair, and they would push each other around like babies."
"He doesn't want other men looking at her, and sometimes she talks to other people just to get him worked up," said Arroyo's neighbor Ana Lisiel, 51.
Niajara was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell in critical condition with third-degree burns over 40% of his body, cops said.
He used to work in construction before alcoholism led to his downfall. He has two sons in the Navy and an ex-wife, neighbors said.
No arrests had been made as of last night.
Arroyo said the two met about nine years ago on the block.
"He is younger than me, but even so, he keeps tabs on me. And I do, too," she said. "I hope they get [the attackers] and that they put them in jail."
Arroyo last saw Niajara Thursday evening after the two had wrapped up a game of dominoes, she said. "He told me he would wait for me in the morning like always," she said.
Ana Arroyo said she often slept alongside 49-year-old Felix Niajara in front of Bethany Christian Church on E. 103rd St., where he was attacked at 12:15 a.m.
"Maybe if I stayed there with him, they would have [targeted] me," said Arroyo, 73, who lives across the street with her adult daughter. "That's my boyfriend, who I adore. We love each other."
Arroyo said her daughter wouldn't let Niajara stay at their apartment, so he was sleeping in his usual spot on the sidewalk when the teens crept up on him.
While one lit the defenseless man's pant leg, another rummaged through his pocket, witnesses told cops.
"He stood up," a police source said. "This caused him to become engulfed in flames. He sat back down and the suspects fled."
It was not clear if anything was stolen, cops said.
"I'm asking God that he doesn't die. If he is disfigured, it is okay, but please God save him," Arroyo said.
Arroyo and Niajara could often be seen resting together, sharing beer and whiskey and snuggling, neighbors said.
They also frequented an E. 110th St. senior center.
"They used to sit there kissing, and I had to be firm: 'Listen, if you want to kiss, you got to go somewhere else,' " said Brunilda Moreno, the center's coordinator. "They had a wheelchair, and they would push each other around like babies."
"He doesn't want other men looking at her, and sometimes she talks to other people just to get him worked up," said Arroyo's neighbor Ana Lisiel, 51.
Niajara was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell in critical condition with third-degree burns over 40% of his body, cops said.
He used to work in construction before alcoholism led to his downfall. He has two sons in the Navy and an ex-wife, neighbors said.
No arrests had been made as of last night.
Arroyo said the two met about nine years ago on the block.
"He is younger than me, but even so, he keeps tabs on me. And I do, too," she said. "I hope they get [the attackers] and that they put them in jail."
Arroyo last saw Niajara Thursday evening after the two had wrapped up a game of dominoes, she said. "He told me he would wait for me in the morning like always," she said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file...de_east_ha.html
when did it become trendy to set homeless people on fire? serious question. it feels like i'm reading about it all the time these days. anyway i found this entire situation to be at least a bit bizarre.
