Injured transgender woman dies

A transgender woman found unconscious and with head trauma on a Seventh Avenue sidewalk late on April 25 died Thursday afternoon, police said.

Paramedics found the woman in front of 343 Seventh, a Five Guys outlet on the east side of the avenue just north of 29th Street, at about 10:30 p.m. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital where she died, police said. Her name was not released pending notification of her family. In a press release, the NYC Anti-Violence Project said the woman was 59 years old.

A police statement said the medical examiner would determine the cause of death.

The southern portion of the block where the woman was found is draped by scaffolding and while well-travelled daytimes is relatively empty of commerce during the evenings and at night. The restaurant was closed at the time the woman was found. Employees of a deli on the corner of 29th Street, next door to the Five Guys outlet, said police had been inquiring of the night in question but that workers that Tuesday night had not noticed any commotion outside.

A spokesman for Chelsea Council Member Corey Johnson said Johnson’s office had little information about the incident. “Details are pretty scant on our end,” David Moss said.

“I don’t think they’re calling this a hate crime yet,” Moss said, adding that police assured Johnson’s office they would inform Johnson of any new developments.

In a statement, Johnson said he was “saddened and angered” to hear of the woman’s death.

“If criminality is involved, all resources must be deployed to apprehend the person or persons responsible. There must be zero tolerance for acts of violence, particularly against transgender individuals, who are disproportionately targeted by hate crimes and discrimination,” the statement said.

He urged anyone with information on the incident to call the NYPD’s Crime Stopper hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477).