NY Times - class warriors or just idiots?

I was reading the NYT's report on Russell Crowe's alleged assault of a hotel employee with a phone. I like Russell Crowe's acting, it seems he behaves badly at times but overall he doesn't give me an unfavorable impression.

So, after authors Michael Wilson and Andrew Jacobs write about Crowe's expensive suite at the Mercer Hotel:

The attack occurred shortly after 4 a.m. in the lobby of the Mercer Hotel, the police said. Mr. Crowe was staying in a $3,000-a-night suite, and, unable to place a call to his wife, went to the lobby and threw the telephone at an employee behind the desk, cutting him below the right eye, the police said.

the authors add this gratuitous comment out of nowhere:

The injured employee was identified as Nestor Estrada, 28, who lives in a building with a broken buzzer and peeling paint on Metropolitan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

What in the hell has that got to do with anything?? And who was the idiot editor who allowed this in the 'paper of record'?

[Click title for rest of article. Crowe certainly over-reacted but was sober and cooperative with police. His side of story that the phone he threw at the wall hit the employee by accident is not beyond the pale. We shall see I am sure. Side note, if a client is paying $3,000 a night, you really, really ought to take care of him which doesn't say much for the Mercer Hotel.]