Beloved, long-time Hell’s Kitchen resident Thomas “Tommy” Constantin was viciously attacked on the evening of Monday, January 27th in the vicinity of his W 44th St. home. He was left for dead with severe injuries to his skull, face, and neck.  Following the attack, he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he remains in a comatose state. 

There is good news, which is that Tommy has shown some real progress lately, and may be beginning to come around. Sadly, however, his road to recovery will be long, difficult, and expensive.  He has already incurred two weeks worth of medical bills for his stay in the ICU, and he will have to stay in the hospital for a long time to come. After that, he will have physical therapy bills, further medical bills, and cost-of-living expenses which he will have difficulty meeting. He currently resides in a sixth-floor walk-up, which will surely be untenable in his condition. Many other costs are sure to arise.

The silver lining here is that Tommy has a lot of friends and loved ones. He has been a fixture in his neighborhood and beyond for decades, and has touched the life of countless people with his quick wit, his kindness, his generosity, and his irascible nature. Now it is the time to give something back. Even if you can only afford a few dollars, every little bit helps. Please help Tommy in this time of terrible need, and, when he recovers, he is sure to pay you back in manifold ways. Trust me, as Tommy himself would say, “ I know what I’m talking about!” 

Thank you all so much.