By Gus Saltonstall
A woman was punched in the face early Monday morning, a police spokesperson told West Side Rag.
A 28-year-old woman was walking, around 4:40 a.m., out of the train station exit near West 94th Street and Broadway, when a man punched her in the face, police said. NYPD could not confirm whether the punch happened when the pair were still within the station, or if the assault took place just outside of it.
The attacker then fled the scene, police said. There is no known motive for the punch at this time, NYPD added.
The woman was treated for an injury to her face at the scene, NYPD said.
There have been no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing.
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Description of perpetrator?
It happened to me, too – on 81st St. Never saw the guy before. Fortunately, I was fast enough to take it on the shoulder. But crime is down on the UWS, right?
I’m sorry that happened to you. Did you report the incident to the police?
Yes. I immediately called 911 while the guy was still in my sight. I told them that a man was randomly punching people and that he punched me. They asked, “So, what do you want us to do about it?” “Do you want us to send a police car? Are you reporting a crime?”
NOT SURPRISING, BUT DISHEARTENING.
Sorry that happened to you. That’s ridiculous…these people and their bosses should be fired on the spot. Which, of course, will never happen, despite all of this being recorded.
If they can’t recognize an obvious crime like this, and act accordingly without prompting, I hate to think what they’d do if a scared, confused kid/victim of more serious crimes calls them…
So you said yes and reported the incident?
I wonder if the person is on camera? Probably not! How much more efficient the whole system would be if there was a record of an attack on someone ?
The whole system sucks! How can the police nail these creeps if there’s no record of who they are / what they l look like.
Cameras cant cost so much money that they’re not worth putting everywhere …. ?
So when do you think our legislators and elected officials will finally do something about the mentally ill walking the streets day and night? Still not important enough after people have been shoved onto subway platforms and women being punched in the face? With all the billions being spent the last 2 years on the immigration crisis, we could have built 2 mental illness hospitals by now with beds galore. They always say, there aren’t enough beds. Isn’t it time to dedicate money to this?
Some may be mentally ill. But they’re still criminals when they assault innocent people. They need to be caught, prosecuted and punished.
Rehab. Rehab. Rehab. For all the perps.
Unfortunately i wouldn’t expect anything good at that exit at 4am. Most of the time it’s got homeless people or panhandlers hanging around. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see a clerk in the booth there Saturday afternoon. Maybe an improvement is on the way
I agree but some people don’t have that luxury. There are many shift jobs (healthcare, food service, many others) that require people to utilize public transportation at odd hours. I agree there are probably safer times to be alone in the city but for many people that’s just not an option and I don’t support victim blaming — the city should be a reasonably safe people for all (other countries can do this, Japan, Singapore etc, so why can’t we?).
To be clear I am not victim blaming. Simply pointing out that the 94 street entrance is a problem all the time – let alone when few people are around at 4am
What can one say?
Where are all the cops on the trains and stations?
Why is police morale so low?
Do you want to pay for one cop for every subway car, bus, and subway exit in NYC? They can’t be everywhere.
Easier solution: have meaningful penalties for crimes like these. So that perpetrators know there will be real consequences. If they do it a second time, have a more meaningful penalty. And more for a third. And so on.
Meanwhile take those who are 100% clearly not capable of taking care of themselves off the streets. There are plenty of people out there where it is obvious to anyone. And to counter the ACLU types, this is actually doing them a favor, rather than letting them rot away. Get them services. These services can be provided elsewhere if necessary – doesn’t have to be in expensive NYC. This is a win-win.
“NYPD could not confirm whether the punch happened when the pair were still within the station, or if the assault took place just outside of it.”
I wonder if the police asked the victim where it happened.
Interesting that there are always broken store windows right on that block in front of the Subway exit. TD Bank had to replace another one this week.
Mental illness has become the default excuse for allowing criminals to attack people. It is the behavior that counts, not the excuse/reason for doing it. I agree with the writer who commented that criminal behavior must be prosecuted and punished. And the perp population has to understand that if you can’t do the time, then don’t do the crime.
I also agree that there should be a lot more cameras and they should be equipped with facial recognition software to repeat perpetrators can be identified.
Anyone who would so harm another person has by definition SOME mental illness. I’m not excusing it. But stop treating it as benign, and hospitalize (locked/involuntarily) when these people are diagnosed/discovered. No more catch and release.
Yes. I agree. I really firstly care about the brain of the person connected to the fist pummeling me.