George Capsis slapped State Sen. Brad Hoylman today at a rally for St. Vincent’s Hospital. (Warzer Jaff)
An elderly West Village activist still upset over the closing three years ago of St. Vincent’s Hospital slapped a state senator and an intern at a rally touting Christine Quinn’s record on the issue.
After hijacking Monday’s press conference and heckling Quinn supporters, George Capsis, 84, who publishes a West Village newspaper, hauled off and slapped State Sen. Brad Hoylman before venting his anger on a young intern. Neither victim was seriously injured.
Later, Capsis explained his behavior.
“I wasn’t prepared to tell you,” a teary Capsis said later outside the building that once housed the city’s third-largest hospital.
“My wife died two days ago. She was at a hospital in the Bronx. I had to travel an hour and a half to get to see her. If this hospital had existed. I could have walked two blocks and spent time with her in the last hours of her life.”
Capsis was unapologetic.
“If you bring him here I’ll hit him again,” Capsis said.
When Quinn intern Lucas Reyes tried to escort Capsis away, Capsis slapped Reyes’ face with both hands at least twice.
“I understand he had a death in the family,” Hoylman said later, “but it’s unacceptable to engage on these types of issues through violence. It’s sad on many fronts.”
It was not the first time Capsis let his hands do the talking.
In May, he was arrested and charged with slapping a police officer at the corner of Bleecker and Leroy Streets, where cops said he continued to struggle while being arrested.
But Capsis, in an email to several people after the May 17 incident, said the cop deserved it. Capsis said he became irritated when a police van cut him off while he was riding his bike in the bike lane.
“Police shouldn’t break the law,” Capsis wrote, describing how cops pinned him to the van, and ordered him to dismount his bike.
“The political deceptions, the arrogance of moneyed power, an irresistible rush of hate welled up and I slapped him,” Capsis confessed.
Thanks for everyone for your concerns. I'm OK. Anti-@Quinn4NY protesters should be ashamed for using violence to try to suppress the truth.
— Senator Brad Hoylman (@bradhoylman) August 19, 2013