By West Side Rag
An 81-year-old man was attacked Sunday on the Upper West Side, police said on Monday evening.
The 81-year-old man was walking around 8:45 a.m. in front of 2049 Broadway, near the corner of West 71st Street, when a man punched him multiple times in the face, police said. The attacker then fled the scene on foot toward Amsterdam, and the victim was treated by medics after being taken to the 20th Precinct station house, NYPD added.
There was no clear motive in the attack, police said.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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If found and arrested, with be immediately released, most likely without bail
Don’t let facts get in the way of your right wing fearmongering.
It’s called reality. Bragg isn’t going to prosecute if the victim is White or Asian.
Comments like this just add fuel to the fire. Not necessary and not true. It’s horrible that this should happen…why drag all this other stuff in ..not fair to anyone!
When caught, these assailants are typically released quickly and without bail only to do it again. Fearmongering has nothing to do with it. Accept reality and move on.
Josh – what do you think will happen to him if he’s caught?
There’s nothing right wing about criticizing the left wing.
It’s not fearmongering. As Leon said, it’s reacting to facts. Do you WANT the perp to be roaming around, maybe to attack you or someone you care about?
The issue is not about locking up or not locking up because the perp being released after arrest has nothing to do with punishment. The consequences for the crime come AFTER TRIAL AND CONVICTION. Posting bail is a means of ensuring the accused presents themselves at trial when the time comes for trial. Bail reform makes it so that everyone has the same rights and privileges before trial no matter their socioeconomic status. It has NOTHING to do with the actual prosecution of the crime.
No, I want my family to be safe, so I care a lot about the actual facts around crime: 1) The number of people in jail peaked 25 years ago 2) Crime has declined basically every year since then (except during Covid) and 3) crime is lower today than it ever has been.
Harsher sentencing makes it harder for people to get jobs and a stable life after they get out of jail. Locking more people up for longer creates more repeat offenders than it prevents. We’ve tried locking up everyone who commits a minor crime (like shoplifting from the CVS) and the city was objectively more dangerous.
If harsher punishment worked, crime would have gone up as we punished less. It didn’t. Locking people up feels good, but it doesn’t work.
(Keeping people scared helps Rupert Murdoch sell tabloids, but the NYPost is entertainment, not a serious way to keep your family safe.)
You are muddying the waters as a rhetorical technique. No one here is suggesting we lock people up for shoplifting. People are rightfully suggesting we do so as a consequence of violent crime. Some people need to be sequestered from civilized society if they cause active harm to it. What do you mean locking people up doesn’t work? It absolutely does work to keep people safe from violent assailants.
An old man was punched in the face – that’s a fact. What does the New York Post have to do with it? I don’t feel good about locking people up, not at all. It is awful, but necessary to keep the rest of the population safe. Seems like common sense is completely lost in partisan rhetorics even in comments here. Sad.
So what would an appropriate punishment be for this kind of crime?
And what do you think will happen to this person?
You seem worried about the criminal’s welfare more than the victim. If the criminal is worried about his employment prospects he probably shouldn’t be committing violent crime.
You seem more focused on punishment than safety. How do you justify returning to the policies that lead to crime rates 2-3x what they are today?
Nonsense. Rising crime rates is due to a myriad of reasons, and to say that removing criminals by jailing them leads to an increase in crime is to display an ignorance of statistics.
You still haven’t described what you believe to be the proper punishment for someone who physically assaults a random stranger.
I’m a lifelong Democrat and I agree with Moe. If found guilty, he should face serious consequences. If this is a second or third offense, the consequences should be even more serious. No leniency for this type of crime. Bragg said on day one that he doesn’t see these types of crimes as an issue and that he wasn’t going to prioritize them. So this is not “fear mongering.” It is reacting to facts.
I’m not sure what you people want? Sing kumbaya and bake cookies for them? Do the crime, do the time. And again, before all of the UWS know-it-alls nitpick me, I fully respect his right to a full trial – I am saying that once he is found guilty in a court of law.
I would also like to spend more money on courts so that those on trial for these crimes can be processed more quickly. And thus those who are found not guilty can more quickly return to their lives. And those who are found guilty can start their terms.
You want consequences for bad acts. Makes sense. Locking people up pending a trial to determine guilt is a hardship on the poor. Judges should be able to determine whether the circumstances. One consideration should be the level of violence and the number of arrests/convictions. Bail should also take into account count the ability to afford it. The person is only a suspect, and should not be incarcerated simply because he is too poor to afford a “get out of jail” card. If the system functions properly. speedy trials, lower jail populations, and rehabilitation instead of retribution, we are all safer. Whether that level of criminal justice can be achieved depends on whether there is more profit in just locking people up or spending the resources to help people overcome what might be a single bad act.
Accusing liberals of wanting to “sing kumbaya” with criminals (without any evidence) = tell me you’re a conservative Baby Boomer without saying you’re a conservative Baby Boomer.
That’s the favorite talking point of people who deny there’s a crime problem. Any time you point out that crime is rising or even that it exists at all, you get written off as a racist, a Trump supporter, or something worse.
I’m a Democrat, and I’m sick and tired of this nonsense.
Crime is not rising.
Nope. Please leave your super far left wing shtetl and realize that there are many of us lifelong Democrats who believe in core Democrat values but are more moderate, pragmatic and sensible.
I find people like you to be almost as bad as MAGA (but definitely not as bad). You jump to ridiculous conclusions and refuse to consider anyone else’s perspective or compromise. And you are Fox News’ dream as they highlight extremists like you and that empowers Republicans because they are afraid of this country swinging to the extreme left. Though most of Trump’s supporters are brainwashed lunatics, there are a lot of people who voted for him (not including me) who did so because people like you scared them.
And your post basically proves my point. I have lived on the UWS long enough to know plenty of people who fit exactly the definition I described. They post here all the time.
You never once mentioned the victim. Why? Because you’re a progressive, white, self loathing UWS liberal who supports criminals. You could care less about a senior citizen being assaulted on the street.
I really have to laugh at your pseudo-psychiatric psycho-babble. In 1924, William Randolph Hearst offered Sigmund Freud one million dollars to psycho-analyze Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold for what was, at the time, considered their commission of “The Crime of the Century.” Freud said he was too sick to travel from Germany to Chicago. Hearst said, no, do it from afar. Freud said that was impossible. In order to psycho-analyze anyone, he explained, the doctor had to sit face to face with the patients/subjects for months and months on end. But here you are, trying to tell us that someone is “self loathing,” when in reality you are insulting a total stranger. You also are assuming someone is White, too, as if we should believe you’re a psychic. And for the charge of “supporting criminals” — well, you simply pulled that out of some bottom body location, didn’t you? The inanity never ends and it never ceases to amaze me how people can function in total fiction of their own making. And before you reply, I’m a senior citizen (70), and work (for the past 29 years) for a major NYC police union.
I think you mean “couldn’t care less”. People say it incorrectly constantly.
Yes I made a mistake.
You seem to rely on calling people names. Does that tell us that you are a young liberal?
Do you dislike baby boomers in general or just conservative ones?
Do you believe that anyone who disagrees with you is a right-winger?
This will be plea bargained down to misdemeanor harassment and adjoined in contemplation of dismissal.
thanks for your bot-like reply
A very well functioning bot then.
Bot-like, but accurate.
I don’t see why you feel the need to speculate, judges have discretion to set bail/release terms. Most importantly, NYPD needs to catch the guy first, lets hope they do their jobs.
No, no, that’s not what’s most important.
The top priority should be prosecuting criminals and making sure they’re not released right back onto the streets. The police keep catching them, and Bragg—who I’m sure you voted for—just lets them walk
Then you are not familiar with cashless bail.
This would be assault in the third degree which is generally not bail-eligible unless it’s charged as a hate crime (which it won’t be). So it doesn’t require any speculation to say that he’ll be released “under non-monetary conditions.” Hopefully his hand isn’t too sore so he can resume his punching the elderly career.
Why aren’t old people protected as hate crime victims??
This was probably an old white person. This is a hate crime. But Bragg isn’t interested in white crime victims.
Jason, In the welter of other reader comments, I must tip my hat to acknowledge your ability to focus on what matters. Particularly in this cold weather, the perpetrator’s hand could be painfully sore for several days. There are many bony surfaces in the victim’s face that could adversely impact the assailant’s fist. Hopefully the assailant received prompt medical care at taxpayer expense.
Was this a hate crime?
Maybe: If caught, poss. even tried and punished, ask him why he did it. The survivor’s appearance is not described. There seem to be numerous resentment-based attacks because of race and presumed economic privilege, esp. on older, paler, easy targets. Certainly it could be other presumed demographic qualities. The attacker looks too old for this to be a gang inititiation.
He’ll be found, arrested, and promptly let go with at best a slap on the wrist. Hopefully the WSR will follow up and we will have an opportunity to learn how any, if any, other times this individual has been found, arrested, and promptly let go with at best a slap on the wrist. Prayers that the innocent victim of this violent unprovoked attack recovers quickly.
You are exactly correct.
Yes, prayers will definitely help him recover. Let’s add “thoughts” as well.
Tots and pears.
When caught, arrest his mother and father for raising this gem of a human being. Of course, that’s not possible but, if it were, we might finally see a decline in these violent crimes because there would be some real accountability.
Definitely hold parents partly accountable for younger attackers perpetrating these “adult” crimes. This older-looking gem’s mother may not be at fault here. The current permeating subculture of viciousness is full of macho, resentful, inadqeuate-feeling (mostly, ~99%) males, who probably do know better. Violence — do any bad thing you feel like, to anyone, especially the more vulnerable — most recently encouraged by the Current Occupant, is more satisfying than intelligence and empathy.
Shock to an elderly person of any kind can lead to the onset of senility.
Ah, McDonald’s.
Glad Wells Fargo moved.
Wait, he’s on CRUTCHES but got away?!
Boy these Maga guys know how to disguise themselves
Sincerely, what is to be done with this person? He is clearly unfit to live in civilized society. For the safety of all, he needs to be removed from it for a lengthy period of time. There is no political will to do so.
Are the crutches just propped against the display? Did the perp steal them from someone else? What in the world???
My exact thoughts…probably stolen crutches. And to the other comments, most probably will get released even if apprehended, only to commit more crimes. Our wonderful “justice” system.
Maybe he uses them as props and begs for money.
Yea outside a 7-11
In 6 weeks there have been 30 assaults on the UWS. A 60% increase. I think our 20th precinct needs new leadership. Comm Tisch says crime is down. Not where we live.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/20th-precinct.page
I don’t see that anywhere on the pages you linked.
Interesting though to see that in the year to date the precinct has written exactly *5* tickets for double parking and 5(!!) speeding tickets. In that same time there have been five pedestrian injuries. We are completely ignoring traffic crimes and people are getting hurt because of it.
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/traffic_data/traffic-statistics/ts-en-us-020.pdf
Felony assaults are up 87.5% and misdemeanor assaults are up 13.6% year to date, not a great trend given the weather. Overall “7 major” felony crime is up 23.08%. Patrol cops don’t write many parking summonses because that is the primary function of the army of metermaids the city employs. They don’t write speeding tickets because most patrol cops were never trained to do it. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was only one functional radar gun for the entire precinct and one cop trained to use it. The precinct did write 560 summonses for moving violations, including 74 for running a red and 61 for failing to yield the right of way to a pedestrian, so no they are not “totally ignoring traffic crime”. And they did it while answering 3,885 911 calls and 797 311 calls.
The man in the photo has crutches. What’s that story?
Put cops at and beautify this area.
Note that his right foot is blurred out in the photo. I wonder why. As far as I can tell, no one has even mentioned the possibility of mental illness, which doesn’t diminish what he did, but should be considered.
It is sad that this has happened, but all we have as fact is the assumed victim’s statement to the police, evidence that he had wounds, and a photo of an assumed suspect. I did not read why that person is a suspect. The article did not mention another person’s eyewitness account or any other incriminating evidence as of the article’s publishing. Yet, both sides are willing to make inferences, calling them facts, and levy accusations with nothing else to go on. In making their arguments, both sides seem willing to insult and demean each other. Objectivity has gone out the window. Wait for more info.
Horrible. I hope the victim is going to be ok.
I applaud this substantive debate without getting personal. Good job upper west siders. As for the case – I share both belief this type of crime should be punished, after conviction, AND that cash bail can be regressive leaving poorer people in jail – but my question is does anyone have a simple(ish) suggestion on how to make sure people show up for their hearings? The poor (maybe mentally unwell) person who punched an old man, has every incentive not to come back to face justice. Facial Recognition? which scares me personally but we already have pieces in place. Or the benefits of non cash bail outweighs the negatives. I know I am a day late to this discussion
Thats a great passport quality photo of the perpetrator!