By Gus Saltonstall
A man randomly punched two women Tuesday night on the Upper West Side, according to police.
Around 8:20 p.m., near West 60th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, a man walked up to a 31-year-old woman and punched her in the face with a closed fist, knocking her to the ground, police said. A minute later, he approached a 27-year-old woman and also punched her in the face, cutting her nose, NYPD added.
The 31-year-old woman sustained minor injuries but was not hospitalized, and the 27-year-old woman was treated by medics at the scene, police said.
NYPD provided no motive for the attacks.
The man ran away traveling eastbound on West 60th Street toward Amsterdam Avenue, police said.
NYPD released photos on Wednesday night of the suspect.
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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Glad no one was seriously hurt. Hopefully the NYPD will pull their best detectives off the snowball investigation and catch the suspect.
Well, next time you have to do an eight hour shift in freezing cold weather, let me dump cold water all over you and down your clothing and see how entertained you are by being soaking wet for said hours.
If people are emboldened to throw snowballs at police with no consequences , what else will they be emboldened to do ?
And then what?
Immediately released with no charges. That’s what. Because, racism or something….
the police are powerless to clean up the streets as long as there is no prosecutions. the Manhattan DA’s office downgrades charges and releases the people who are doing things like this.
When they get to 131 arrests then they go to prison.
Among others, I voted against Bragg. MANY more people need to vote against Bragg.
Totally agree. But I would appreciate the opinion of an active lawyer or judge about exactly what they think will happen (I would particularly appreciate knowing what the likely sentencing would be a) if he has priors and b) if he does not have priors). Thanks.
Interesting question.
you’re making things up
Once again, the police need to make an arrest before the DA can prosecute anyone.
the police make plenty of arrests
Are you saying that our DA has nothing to do with crimes not prosecuted?
I think it’s fair to say that they can’t indict/try/prosecute anyone for crimes like this unless they’re arrested first.
Vote better next time.
Thank you for your attention to this matter
Same with violent insurrectionists who are then pardoned and let out. Vote better next time.
Or pardoning your family members,vote better next time.
Now do the summer of 2020 …… situational outrage is faux outrage.
Ok. Sounds good.
I’m preemptively writing the first of what will surely be dozens of anti-Mamdani comments. With a sprinkle of Alvin Bragg and scooters and “transplants” for good measure.
And what exactly is your point? As the saying goes “the truth matters”. I was walking down 57th St…my home of 25 years last week and was hit by a delivery guy on the sidewalk. Sadly the delivery people don’t come from places with sidewalks and they reality is all pediestrians are at risk. The location of this incident is hardly surprising. My exit from NYC…my home for 75 years is nearing. I feel like I have been run out of my own home.
Vote for Pricilla’s law! License plates, insurance, and training for all e-bike users.
It’s the state that legalized ebikes. And, though illegal motor vehicles in the early 2000s, Bloomberg let them in, then did nothing to apply regular bike laws to them.
What does Mamdani have to do with this? Violent crime against women has always been a thing in this city.
Lorna, that was Kirk’s point: that Mamdani has nothing to do with this crime, yet that doesn’t stop some commenters from making predictable “anti Mamdani comments.”
…and worldwide!
But were these crimes?
WHAT!?!
Just a kid playing
“Boys will be….” assailants.
until the marxist running the DA office starts prosecuting people who are the problem these types of incidents will continue.
cool story kort
Correct.
There are many criminal incidents in that vicinity. Can we stop pretending that there isn’t a NYCHA project there?
Also Mt. Sinai
And if we allocate extra resources to these areas where much of the crime actually occurs we are “racist” rather than using our brains and doing basic math. I’m guessing the large majority of those in the NYCHA community who are good, law abiding people don’t think it is racist – they want to be safe and would love to see more police. But the virtue signaling Ivory tower white folk know what is best for them so won’t let this happen.
I’m on both sides of that fence you just built; I grew up in a NYCHA project and I’m a homeowner on the UWS. And I can tell you with utter certainty that there’s no one (with the exception of those committing the crimes, of course) who doesn’t want a more comprehensive police presence in high-crime areas. What they don’t want is a police presence that harasses residents or violates their rights.
I think many know this. It’s one of the first correlations that occurred to me. But in a span of a few years, I think more will be accomplished if we can get new DA leadership, since NYCHA isn’t going to go away. Even in order to try to crack down on gang activity in NYCHA complexes, the DA’s office will be key.
We cannot stop pretending.
Virtue posing is big business these days.
Seems like there have been an increased number of random “punchings” on the UWS (and maybe elsewhere). I wonder what’s precipitating this.
I wonder about the use of “random” in the headline and elsewhere. Whatever was going on in the twisted mind of the assailant, he had a reason for choosing these two specific victims: their age, their clothes, their race, their gender, the fact that they resembled his mother, whatever. Not random at all.
Yeah, the precipitating reason is such a mystery…what could cause law-abiding, peaceful citizens with no record to start punching women passing by…
Your sarcasm and unstated comment are noted. However, it is not just women. Men have also been punched randomly.
He will be caught. The charges will be reduced. He will be released on cashless bail. He will do it again. Progressive apologists will continue to make excuses for the failed system.
it’s a freebie. if you punch someone and they don’t have very serious injuries, nothing will happen.
Correct with one change: he will do something worse next time. He will still be released. Rinse and repeat until he kills someone. And then he will get a reduced charge and be out in a few years to do it again.
Again, close proximity to massive the housing project.
Anyone want to keep suggesting no correlation between that and crime?
Okay, but where are the increased patrols by the NYPD?
That’s merely a bandaid to a more fundamental problem.
To your way of thinking, what is the fundamental problem?
The subway?
https://www.westsiderag.com/2025/01/28/easy-come-easy-go-uws-20th-precinct-sees-new-police-officers-diverted-to-transit
The 20th Precinct only has 117 cops, the third lowest in Manhattan North with the 30th Precinct having 2 fewer and Central Park with 96.
Do precincts patrol the subways?
Also, there are other big NYCHA complexes elsewhere in NYC.
No, they do not. They might do a “vertical” up and down the stairs, but Transit Bureau patrols the subway system.
You asked where the “increased patrols” were so I pointed out that 15 rookies went to the Transit Bureau and another 12 went to a different precinct. Thats about 23% of the current strength of the 20. Then I referenced the overall low staffing level of the 20 compared to other precincts in the patrol bureau. The point is some place may be getting increased patrols but it isn’t the UWS. Big commands drive big swings in the city’s overall crime numbers, up or down, and its important for people to know that staffing doesn’t follow something like a per capita population formula. A crime backwater like the UWS gets and keeps cops based on political clout, and there are other even smaller neighborhoods with far more cops assigned.
Your comment, not the link, implied that the 20 patrols the subways.
I’d not call the UWS a crime backwater, given the muggings, stabbings, and assaults over the last 5 years.
The NYPD has the data. Safest thing to do is avoid the projects. Cross the street.
You should know better.
At most he will be charged with assault in the third degree which is a Class A misdemeanor and not bail-eligible so he’ll be back on the streets to resume his boxing career. Funny how they so rarely choose to punch a dude. Enjoy!
Thank you for saying that.
Get your eyes off your phone, take your earbuds out and get your head on a swivel. Pay attention to your surroundings at all times.
Thank you for saying the most sensisble thing so far in this chain..
Look around you.
That can help, but probably not in this instance.
Unless you mean cops, not the victims.
Way to victim blame. . .
Such a white knight you are. It sounds like some common sense advice that isn’t so common anymore. Walking down the street 90% of the people are looking at their phones.
It’s practical advice for a hostile world.
I wondered how long it would take for someone to post this. How do you know that either of these girls were doing these things? It takes less than a second for someone who appears to be ‘safe,’ to turn on you. Don’t even get me started on how we’re supposed to see what’s happening behind us. It’s happened to me and I’ve witnessed it happen to other women. A man/woman can be walking right beside you, coming out of a train, even strolling leisurely toward you with what appears to be their daughter…you don’t KNOW until it happens. How about focusing on the criminal behavior?!
I’m absolutely in favor of focusing on criminal behavior. Unfortunately, until the ‘please stop punching strangers’ initiative really takes off, basic self‑defense still includes things like situational awareness, no earbuds, and not being glued to your phone. I don’t need to know what those specific women were doing to suggest habits that make anyone harder to ambush. It’s not blaming victims; it’s giving people tools in a world that isn’t as safe as it should be.”
I think we can agree that by definition 31 and 27 year old women are not “girls.”
What’s the difference whether they catch him or not? The way that the UWS voted he’ll be released in a hot second anyway and right back on the street to punch others.
Just another kid throwing snowballs at cops. Nothing to look at or think about.
Weird how they’re all so “mentally ill” and yet always choose victims who can’t fight back.
You are SO right. It is not weird at all, as Joe said, they rarely punch another dude…
Exactly. It’s not “random” assaults. Big strong men are never “randomly” assaulted.
Yet, they keep electing the same people.
That the guy who sits in front of grocery on 91 and Bway?
He will be CAUIGHT!!!! He will face the full weight of New York social work treatment. He will face group and individual therapy and trust falls. People like this one will learn that the gloves are on and they will be treated with love and respect.
Please remove from society – A person like this has no business walking the streets or taking up our tax payer $$ in prison or social services.. Bye Bye
Let me take a wild guess…priors?
The reporter should follow up. This attack was indeed worse than the police blotter story for at least one of the victims. Victims almost always declare themselves fine in the moment and then face the after effects alone. Concussions and trauma don’t just disappear. While it does no good to grab the pitchforks and look for the monster – that’s why we have police – it does help for the community to rally around the victim with support for their recovery. The most important thing is to remind them that the greater part of humanity is good. If the victims want to speak, it will help them to be heard.
There is a safety survey being conducted by CB 7 going on now. A link was in Gale Brewer’s latest newsletter. Please fill it out. Hopefully dara drives decisions that lead to change.
Nearly 40 comments were elicited by this report in the Rag; maybe one or two expressed sympathy for the victims. The rest trout out the same old data-free blather about Bragg, the lackluster NYPD , blah, blah.
Enough already.
You think Bragg is doing the DA job right?
I agree. People need to stop talking about fighting crime.
When is something going to be done about the violent, mentally ill roaming the streets?
And, when will males teach each other not to attack women?
The Mayor and Bragg are a disaster! I wish that I could move but I am 79 years old and stuck in this Democratic hell hole!!!
It was no better under any Republican Mayor. The mentally ill don’t really care about anyone’s political affiliation.
Society needs to do a better job of raising boys so that millions can stop being the victims of violence, and the rest of us can stop paying the police, court and jail costs. If members of families have a mental illness, see that they get the help they need before the rest of us pay the price. FINALLY a father was held responsible, along with his teenage son, for a killing rampage in school. Let’s expect more from parents as that’s where this starts, especially with boys. I understand that there are also violent crimes committed by women but the vast and overwhelming issue is with boys and men, so let’s try to provide the help where it’s needed and hold all those accountable for violent crimes.
Well, consider who is president and who is the sec. of defense.
And let me remind you of the 3 women who have been sec of state. 2 of them are outright war criminals.
Motive(s): Another resentful, vengeful guy who feels entitled to “date” any woman he speculates about. So far, he also seems to be targeting women of a perceived different level of economic privilege.
When you “randomly” punch someone of a specific race and gender,that’s not random.
Surely this man is known to the NYPD. I live nearby and have seen him several times over the past few months, often menacing passersby. Once he screamed curses at me outside the Morton Williams on West End.
He’s probably just frustrated the length of time it takes to open Amsterdam access to Lincoln center
Prosecute as a hate crime? Never. Yet Bragg was reelected.
“Hate crime” as a label is used far too often and gets thrown into the mix whenever someone in a certain demographic group is attacked. If a female perpetrator attacked a man and screamed “I hate men,” that should be considered a hate crime. Good luck with that. Assault is assault and should be treated as such, whether or not you agree with how it’s prosecuted and how it’s resolved in the courts.
We encourage this by allowing these horrible people to go free and implementing feeble punishments if we ever catch them. Stronger deterrents are needed and they need be made public so that people will think twice before hurting others.
He attacked someone closed to me. This man is still out there. I hope they make an arrest soon!!!