Queens Woman&Lambda Sues Sizzler over Mger's Homo. Remarks
BY Thomas By Edgar Sandoval and Thomas Zambito
nydailynews.com
nydailynews.com
Liza Friedllander filed a suit against a Queens Sizzler, accusing the manager of pushing her and calling her homophobic slurs.
A major gay rights group says in a lawsuit against a Queens Sizzler steak house that a manager spewed homophobic epithets at a customer and shoved her to the ground.
Lambda Legal charges in the suit that the frightening encounter ensued after the manager accused Liza Friedlander of not paying for the buffet during brunch with friends at the Forest Hills Sizzler last September.
The suit, filed in Queens Supreme Court, says the manager shoved Friedlander in the chest and kicked her in the legs while calling her a "f...... dyke" and other epithets.
The suit contends the attack set off a frenzy of hateful chants from other patrons, spurring Friedlander's friends to frantically dial 911 out of fear she would be killed.
One male diner called Friedlander a "he-she freak" and demanded she leave.
Friedlander said it left her shaken.
"Just because I don't appear to be the Sizzler manager's idea of what a woman should look like doesn't mean that gives him permission to attack me and allow other customers to join in," Friedlander said.
"My friends and I went in for Saturday brunch, just like everyone else in the restaurant that morning, but it turned into a nightmare. No one should have to go through that."
The suit does not name the worker who allegedly shoved Friedlander, but Edgar Orellana, a manager at the restaurant on Metropolitan Ave. said he was the one involved in the confrontation. He vigorously denied the allegations in the Lambda Legal suit, insisting he neither touch nor verbally abused her.
"I'm Hispanic. I respect people of all ethnicities, races or sexuality," he told The Daily News in Spanish. "I'm here to work, not hurt anyone."
He described Friedlander as "violent from the start" and said she freaked out when the brunch period ended.
"We told her she could continue eating from the buffet. She tried to hit me with her plate. I jumped back," Orellana said. "A customer grabbed her so that she would not hit me. I didn't touch her. I went to my office and called 911. I did not come out again."
The suit is believed to be the first test of an anti-bias law passed last year that allows victims of anti-gay violence to sue their attackers in civil court.
It accuses Sizzler of violating Friedlander's civil rights by the alleged verbal and physical attacks.
"What was supposed to be a relaxing, enjoyable brunch at Sizzler turned into a horrifying ordeal of discrimination, violence and degradation," Natalie Chin, Friedlander's lawyer said Thursday.
The suit seeks unspecified damages.
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