The NYPD is investigating whether a Howard Beach cop ticketed a black family to appease local bigots - even as neighbors and a city councilman argued the victims were not targeted because of race.
Kris Gounden, who is Guyanese, said his white neighbors have tried to run him out of his big new house in Hamilton Beach since he moved there 17 months ago.
Gounden said neighbors called city inspectors on his every move, and the harassment peaked Aug. 11 when a neighbor's son threatened him with a baseball bat. Howard Beach has been infamous for racist incidents.
Michael Hussey, 19, allegedly shouted the N-word as he menaced Gounden, who was hosting a large party.
Police made no arrests at the time, but ticketed a Hussey pal for blocking a driveway.
Gounden said Hussey was arrested Aug. 18 on hate-crime charges only after he complained to higher-ups at the 106th Precinct.
Several days after the party, Gounden said, the ticketed young man showed up with a cop who gave Gounden a summons for excessive noise. Gounden said the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau was investigating whether Officer Richard Lennon improperly gave Gounden the summons. Police sources confirmed the probe.
Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), however, accused Gounden of playing the race card after getting written up for an expensive building violation.
"He knew Howard Beach. He knew its history and he used it to try to get around the building code," said Addabbo. "If he had done things up to code, no one would have bothered him."
Inspectors went to Gounden's home nine times in the past year, according to Buildings Department records. Seven of the complaints resulted in fines totaling $10,500. Two complaints were unfounded.
Neighbor Mark Troia, who said Michael Hussey Sr. smacked him with a bat last August, nonetheless blamed Gounden for the strife. "This had nothing to do with color," Troia said. "He's just a low-life that's making all kinds of waves around the neighborhood."
