UPDATE II: Thursday, April 24 at 4:45 p.m.: An arrest has been made in the fatal stabbing of an Upper West Sider last week, police announced on Thursday afternoon.
David Felix, 43, was arrested and charged with murder in the 2nd degree and criminal possession of a weapon, in connection to a deadly stabbing on April 18 inside of 140 West 104th Street, police said.
Shariff Clindinin, 40, was killed in the attack, police said at the time.
Felix is a resident of a building on 104th Street, and NYPD confirmed Clindinin was also an Upper West Sider.
It remains unclear what led up to the stabbing.
UPDATE: Sunday, April 20 at 1:10 p.m.: There have no been no significant developments as of Sunday afternoon surrounding the fatal stabbing that took place Friday night on the Upper West Side, according to police.
The New York Daily News did report, though, that the deadly attack happened within the building at 140 West 104th Street and that there was a trail of blood found within the stairwell at that address. The publication added that the attacker escaped the building on foot.
There have been no arrests as of Sunday afternoon and the motive still remains unclear, according to police.
The 40-year-old victim has been identified as Upper West Side resident Shariff Clindinin, police said.
Original Story
By Gus Saltonstall
A man was stabbed in the neck and killed Friday night on the Upper West Side, police announced on Saturday morning.
NYPD responded to a 911 call of an assault in progress just before midnight at 140 West 104th Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, within the Frederick Douglass NYCHA Houses. Upon arrival, officers found a 40-year-old man with stab wounds to the neck, police added.
The man was rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead, police said.
There have been no arrests or a description of a suspect provided as of Saturday morning, and the investigation remains ongoing, according to police.
The identity of the man is being withheld pending proper family notification.
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U avoid that block even in the daytime. The scaffolding, the loitering, the fear is real.
Very true…
It was INSIDE a residence
I have also walked through that complex during the day without a problem while enjoying seeing the residents communing, laughing and enjoying life.,
Have walked a friend’s dog through the projects and across that block hundreds of times. Yes I went in daylight or early evening, and I might not have in the wee hours of morning, but there is nothing wrong with the block, the old guys playing cards, the scaffolding, the youth hostel or any of it. (Im a 60 yr old white woman, not a big threat to anyone.) On the north side, the playground is on Amsterdam, at least two churches mid block, and a well frequented grocery store on the east side of Columbus. Absolutely too much violence reported inside Douglass Houses, and some bad characters with bad business that sometimes erupts, no doubt. But mostly, nearly all – residents, working people, minding their families and their business. If you don’t have a beef, don’t be afraid.
“It could never happen to me.”
Duh, if you aren’t caught up in intramural beef, your risks of being affected by it are lower (though not zero). That’s obvious to everyone who doesn’t regard poor brown people as an undifferentiated mass of threat.
Does the concept of innocent bystander mean anything ?
Oh fgs. Im not stupid. I was merely suggesting that a fear-mongering comment about one block was specious (at best), and felt my anecdotal evidence was pertinent, having literally hundreds of times walked up and down that exact block in all weathers and seasons over a couple of recent years.
I read the WSR. A neighbor was knocked down and severely wounded a few blocks from where I live – not far from Lincoln Center. My dad was mugged in his 70s, back in the last century – on Park Ave South near Gramercy Park, as it happened. A high school friend was mugged I think near the “dangerous” border of 96th somewhere on the East side – Lex I think. Also last century. Opportunistic crime does happen in cities, and I’d never suggest it is fun to be a victim, or that anyone is immune from becoming one. But it doesn’t help any victims of real violence, or support any risk analysis, to babble pointlessly about “scary blocks” that just are not.
P.S. Haven’t walked west 104th this Spring, sadly, but I bet the two community gardens just west of CPW are stunning right about now.
Susan M. You have nothing to apologize for and no need to rationalize your feelings. I agree with your words 100%. The city OVERALL is a very safe place to live. Is there crime? Duh, of course there is, but statistically speaking, NYC is a safe city, IMO. Even if the numbers didn’t support my theory, fear mongering is never helpful or useful. Good on ya, Susan!
Delete this comment.
Horrible. When I saw the headline, my first guess was that the stabbing occurred at or near NYCHA housing.
I completely understand why that might have been your first thought, but I think it’s worth being mindful not to unintentionally reinforce the idea that violent crimes only occur near NYCHA housing. In reality, the Upper West Side has experienced serious incidents—stabbings, shootings, and gun-related arrests—even in areas typically seen as more “affluent” or “safe.” Crime isn’t confined to one part of the neighborhood, and it’s important we avoid assumptions that could unfairly stigmatize certain communities.
Here are just a few examples of major crimes in our neighborhood over the past 8 months—many of which occurred outside NYCHA areas:
Nov 20, 2024 – West 86th St near Columbus Ave – Tourist slashed in unprovoked knife attack
Nov 15, 2024 – 65 West 96th St – Fatal stabbing during domestic dispute intervention
Nov 7, 2024 – UWS (location not disclosed) – Store owner shot by former employee
Nov 6, 2024 – 1 Train, UWS – Teenager slashed on subway
Oct 21, 2024 – UWS subway station (unspecified) – Woman assaulted in random subway attack
Oct 7, 2024 – Amsterdam Ave (exact location not specified) – Man slashed in street altercation
Sep 10, 2024 – 248 West 62nd St – Two men shot outside NYCHA complex
Aug 15, 2024 – Riverside Dr near W 72nd St – Gunpoint robbery and car theft (BMW)
Jul 5, 2024 – Central Park West near W 85th St – Attempted sexual assault in the park
Apr 16, 2024 – UWS (location not disclosed) – Attempted rape of 15-year-old girl
It’s a shared neighborhood, and all of us benefit when we stay informed without defaulting to stereotypes.
All of these events that do not involve family disputes
But note that my reflexive suspicion was vindicated. The stabbing did occur in the ambit of NYCHA housing.
Yes, we know that crimes are committed elsewhere, too.
You are worried that “certain communities” may be unfairly stigmatized. Of course I did not say that everyone who lives in NYCHA housing is a criminal. Nor did I say that there are no criminals who live outside of NYCHA housing.
But have you been on this website for the last several years and have NOT seen the many reports of violence at or around NYCHA housing?
A thought: perhaps if laws against low-level infractions were enforced rigorously, then repeat offenders would be caught up. And if those offenders were taken off the scene, maybe there would be more tranquility in NYCHA housing. NOTE: at the same time, bust those real estate and investment criminals. I am NOT saying, only enforce laws that are broken by people in public housing.
INSIDE. It was INSIDE.
Even worse. But the article did not make clear that the stabbing occurred within an apartment. It just says “within the … Houses.” Anyway, what is your point? That law-abiding residents of NYCHA housing should be OK with criminals INSIDE apartments?
Absolutely that was never my point. I was responding to the implication that “everyone knows walking on ‘those blocks’ are unsafe”.
I would be willing to bet that a significant portion of the residents of NYCHA would actually agree. The vast majority of them are good, law-abiding people. They would like to root out the criminal element, which definitely does exist more in NYCHA than elsewhere.
It is the rich, white, virtue-signaling do-gooders who stand in the way of this. They think they know what is best for other people.
Criminals who have been proven guilty should be punished. Criminals who have been proven guilty multiple times should be punished more. If people fear real consequences they are less likely to commit crimes. Really not that complicated. Not sure why some people are so opposed to this.
Some people are opposed to your common-sense propositions because they are ideologically committed to “dismantling the carceral state.” They are ideologically opposed to society’s restraining those who commit crime X if a larger percentage of Group A commits X than is the percentage of Group A within the whole population – the “falls disproportionately on” crowd.
Not “commit,” “are convicted of.” For example–illegal drug use rates are broadly similar across races, yet, somehow, mysteriously, certain races get arrested and convicted more for that crime. Hm….
“ illegal drug use rates are broadly similar across races”
You lost me there.
If you are advocating something, please spell out what you are advocating. If you are advocating justice, I think most or all on here will agree. No justice in giving a pass to one group alone. But it doesn’t follow that law should not be enforced or that violent repeat offenders should not be kept away from the rest of the citizens – in NYCHA housing or elsewhere.
There are those who believe a root cause to this perpetual cycle of crime and poverty is incarceration. Kids grow up without 2 or even 1 parent. There is no stability in their own life and the cycles just repeat. If every male in your family has been in prison, vs finished high school, went to college, got a job that is your normal. How you fit in with your community. So, the thinking is, save prison for the really serious things and don’t disrupt their lives for small offenses.
The problem is – this assumes family structures are otherwise healthy. We have systems that reward single parent households. We can blame mental health, jobs, drugs, education, incarceration, but where does the buck stop? People have to want this to really change and then make decisions accordingly, including reproductive choices.
Shocking
They need many more police and cameras in that neighborhood.
To do what…put their legs up against the wall and stare at their phones?
It’s like you have a great watch dog, but you smack him on the nose every time he barks. That’s what New York did to the NYPD. A smart cop stays out of the way, like a blue potted plant.
You can only murder so many Eric Garners before society is bound to take action, you definitely work for the NYPD so you’re aware of the culture: the compstat meetings, the peer pressures from commanders, the biases from suburban officers, the unchecked rage. Adrian Schoolcraft is a great example of what can happen to someone on the inside who calls this stuff out. If the answer to legitimate issues with the NYPD results in them becoming “potted plants,” this speaks to the level of maturity and comprehension that exists within the department. Enabling bad behavior doesn’t help anyone, especially not the tax payer who pays the salaries of the oath sworn officers.
Claire , you sound like you could be the force of change for the NYPD, you should call 212 Recruit, get off the sidelines and join the cause.
no, not even close.
more like you bought a guard dog that lays around and does nothing, and no matter how much you plead for thier help, they simply don’t care to even lift their head
it’s more like commenters who reveal exactly what cops perceive, all for risking their lives.
The precinct is 4 blocks away
Awful. Condolences to his loved ones.
Prior to the projects the area was a mostly white working class area. Many living in cold water flats since they wanted/needed to keep their expenses low. The so called slum clearance forced those residents out in order to build the projects. New York Post May 24 1956 announces the open ceremony will be broadcasted on the radio hosted by Mayor Wagner. Long Island Star Journal Jan 23 1959 article – William Reid Chairman of the Housing Authority will be sending in more police since the residents reported being under a Reign of Terror by “thugs, purse snatchers, and sex criminals”.
My family was one of those who moved into the Douglass projects when they were built (into this very bldg – 140 W 104 St – in fact). It was a development full of a wonderfully integrated mix of working families. My brother and I had a fabulous childhood growing up there (we both attended PS75 across the street and then he went to Brooker T Washington JHS nearby while I went to Joan of Arc on 93 St after we moved).
Never was mugged. Never had any issues. Had wonderful friends and neighbors and thoroughly enjoyed growing up there. Yet I’ve read countless comments over the years from fellow UPSers in my same age range about how they weren’t allowed to walk on any streets north of 86St or east of Amsterdam anywhere due to fear of being attacked. How insulting to those of us who lived there!!
Even back then there was a massive class distinction between those of us who who lived East of Amsterdam and those who lived West of Amsterdam (Bwy/RSD and including CPW of course). Although we all went to school together (back then white kids attended their local schools) each of us instinctively understood the unspoken class hierarchies that were delineated by where we lived. Some things never change. 🤷♀️
Typo ugh. Of course I meant PS145.
Black working class tenants also had their housing demolished for Park West Village. I challenge your statement using quotes from an older WestSideRag artice:
“In 1903, Payton, spotting a great business opportunity, established the Afro-American Realty Company and set his goals on selling and leasing houses and apartments to Blacks on both West 98th and 99th streets. “White flight” became the rule on the two blocks once the first Blacks moved in, and the area quickly became a magnet for the city’s Black families as well as those from the rural South and the Caribbean.
And so began the half-century-long story of what has more recently been called “The Old Community.” For just a little more than 50 years, this narrow slice of the Upper West Side, from Central Park West to Columbus Avenue, West 98th and 99th Street, was home to 2,000-4,000 people of color, a “village” of small businesses, churches, and families that thrived on the social and cultural life of their shared space. Children who grew up in the neighborhood went to school a few blocks away. They played stickball on the streets and belonged to scout troops sponsored by St. Jude’s church, number 17 West 99th Street. Their parents participated in the blocks’ rich social life –parties, dances, sports teams, and group outings. Families lived there for generations– aunts, uncles and cousins all nearby and all involved in the vibrant life of the neighborhood.”
Don’t erase the longstanding census of black and brown citizens that have always called the upper part of the Upper West Side home.
My condolences to the family for their loss. So sad.
Hopefully the police find the killer (yes, killer) and prosecute to the full extent of the law. One would assume the penalty for murder is quite severe.
Anyone disagree?
It is horrible. My condolences to the family.
However it is amazing but not shocking to see how the fact that it happened in NYCHA caused a wave of virtue signaling. Those will never admit the reality unless it slaps them in the face.
NYC is a very dangerous place! You can see why so many have left. I feel like I’m taking my life in my hands just walking to Zabar’s during the day. I’m very frightened about the future of our neighborhood.
I can’t argue with your feelings – but just to note that I still feel very safe here – and am very glad that I live here of all the places I could live.
Good for you. Statistics don’t lie however. Well maybe it does lie because there were at least two occasions when I felt the need to file a police report after getting threatened and called racist names out of nowhere, yes even in UWS, the police refused to take in reports. That’s how “crime is down.” Don’t even get me started with the amount of catcalls. No, this is not a city thing, I’ll have you know as a woman in her 30s who lived in bigger cities before coming to NYC. Continue being tone deaf to the voices like mine and keep the city degenerate because you “feel very safe here”.