Gay Singer Attacked While Looking for mr. Black

Posted on September 27, 2008
Filed Under Gay News Blog

When Geo Vaughn asked a group of men on the corner of 22nd Street and Broadway for directions to a Chelsea gay club called mr. Black, they sent him, instead, to St. Vincent’s Hospital. Vaughn said the men physically assaulted him for being gay, leaving him with a sprained ankle, bruised ribs and head, knee and ear injuries.

Despite the injuries, Vaughn called 9-11 then followed his attackers, eventually pointing out the men for the police and leading to one arrest.

“I would have never in a million years thought that something this horrible would happen there,” said Vaughn, referring to Chelsea, the neighborhood known as a gay hub. “I know many New Yorkers can relate when I say that our city streets hold what many of us believe are a safe haven for gays—a place where we can be ourselves and not ‘stand out.’”

Still, it was within blocks of several thriving gay bars that Vaughn, an openly gay singer, became the victim of a hate crime. At least one man was arrested in the incident. Sedat Cagatay, a 20-year-old white male from Staten Island, was arrested and charged with assault and aggravated harassment as a hate crime, according to the New York City Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

Gay Singer Attacked While Looking for mr. Black