According to police and media reports, the victim works as a caretaker at Immaculate Conception Church, where the suspect was also trying to use a wall as a urinal. The two men got into an argument. The unidentified suspect returned just after 5 and slashed the church worker while he was helping a woman in a wheelchair, according to the Post.
The victim, identified as 54-year-John Mach, was taken by EMS to Mount Sinai Beth Israel. He needed 16 stitches to close the gash on his neck. (ABC 7 has an interview with Mach here.)
Police said that the suspect is a regular in the area, "usually pushing a cart."
Anyone with information about the incident can contact the NYPD through the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
There have been ongoing concerns about drug use/sales and general quality-of-life issues along 14th Street and First Avenue.
32 comments:
Lived here all my life, never have seen so many crazy people in the area.
A homeless man kicked me in the stomach while I was crossing over 14th along 1st Ave. He then proceeded to start punching people in the face at the bus stop. 3 police officers parked ~30 feet away, completely unaware. That intersection is an absolute zoo.
Never thought I'd say this, but would voting republican help get some of these violent people off the street?
Anon @7:16: Back in the fall, I was at the 137th St station on the 1 train and there was a disturbed individual walking up to random people (including a mother and her terrified children) and shouting obscenities at the top of his lungs right in their faces. There were three NYPD officers standing in a little circle (of course) by the turnstiles and I walked over and asked them if they didn't see what I was seeing or if there was another reason they couldn't intervene. One of them looked up from his phone and said "why don't you do something, if you're so worried?"
That's the police force you get in NYC now. It's unbelievable.
The only way to fix this is to invest in social services and mental health (and to allow people to choose how many children they can responsibly have). So, no, voting Republican would be a bad idea.
Amazing the number of crazy people slashing, kicking, pushing people around the neighborhood. Do NOT let your guard down.
This is disturbing news. I hope the victim who was slashed will heal and be okay. I send my best to him. That is a lot of trauma to unpack. Man, this neighborhood is not in the best state. I avoid that stretch at all costs. I also deliberately cross the street in the opposite direction to prevent anything from happening. I've had a few close calls on this block previously, so that is a big no from me. Why is this area especially prone to seedy behavior and crime? Inquiring minds would like to know.
@9:01am: NO, voting Republican will NOT help this situation. Why would you imagine that it would help? B/c the Republicans are so good at controlling crime? Or b/c you want a heavy-handed government that slaps everyone into jail for looking the wrong way at someone, which tends to backfire on innocent people?
If you vote in Republicans, all that happens is that NYC gets a Flori-duh style of dictatorial government, where you're told what you can do & think. And where being gay is illegal, and women have no rights at all.
What's needed is for Alvin Bragg to come to his senses and not just let criminals waltz out the door immediately after they're arrested. THAT, to me, is the literal definition of insanity.
Or else we need someone other than Bragg, someone who isn't riding around in a city-owned SUV with a security detail everywhere they go. Bragg doesn't have a clue what is really going on in the streets, and for reasons I can't comprehend, he doesn't seem to care or want to know.
.the mayor said the city is safe and we are just imaging the crimes
We’ve been asking Councilmembers Carlina Rivera & Keith Powers to address the conditions on this corner (as well as 13th & 15th street) for well over a year now. All we’ve heard back from them are ideological platitudes about the need to improve underlying social conditions. The chaos on 14th Street includes daily assaults, stabbings, slashings, rampant shoplifting, fentanyl overdoses, EDPs, encampments, etc. Business have shuttered in this area. Unfortunately many residents have nowhere else to go. The only help we have received is from former politician Anthony Weiner who lives nearby.
There's no solution to Street Crime irrespective if one votes Dem or Repub. Random attacks and violence are simply a nasty part of urban life ebbing and flowing sans rhyme or reason. The money and programs are there for those mentally impaired who seek treatment. Former Queen Chirlane requisitioned something like a billion dollars to help sort out people's mental stuff. The only thing that I think that could help would be to screen kids early and often for mental and emotional issues and remove any societal stigmas that might be associated with these issues. Early and often educate kids about the negative and deleterious effects of drug abuse. For older people who are addicted something like the Paterson NJ Dope Hotline gives opioid users medication within 90 minutes to take away their urges and prevent withdrawal. Follow up counseling is also included.
Immaculate Conception is my church. John, who was wounded, is a kind and helpful person. This church has been robbed, vandalized and visited by many disturbed people in the area.
I don't believe it's as simple as "voting republican" but one party rule in this city also isn't working. John seems like an honest and decent man and it further seems that our local politicians could care less about honest and decent people.
Forced institutionalization would do wonders.
Wouldn't locking up violent offenders instead of catch and release limit the amount of emotionally disturbed violent people on the street? Bragg is a true democrat who has failed his citizens miserably already. There are obviously root societal problems, but those take generations to fix. Locking up violent offenders seems like an obvious solution to immediately increase the safety and security of the neighborhood. I honestly don't care if there is a D or R next to their name anymore, safety should take precedent over political nitpicking.
The comments on this post are a perfect representation of how the Democratic party is going to shoot itself in the foot. I'm sure a ton of people who vote Democrat are the ones expressing these concerns. Wish we could get some actual solutions and not just platitudes. We can't ignore these type of issues because of underlying "social conditions"
Any question is worth asking, but how might it help?
@1:41pm: The real underlying issues are many, including lack of mental health services, the use of illegal drugs (and the legalization of drugs!), failure of people to parent their children (including parents who have no idea where their children are at any given time, and some of those parents don't much care), children who don't bother going to school & who are simply truant.
If Eric Adams announced that truant officers were going to be checking on school attendance, that would have no effect, IMO. The kids have learned they can "get over" on their parents, grandparents, teachers ... basically anyone in authority. They're out alone or in packs, on bikes, scooters, in stolen cars; they're happy to threaten anyone just for "fun" as they would put it.
Please let me know when the Republicans have SOLUTIONS - b/c all they offer are brainless pro-NRA platitudes like "stand your ground, shoot to kill".
IMO, the genie is out of the bottle courtesy of most forms of social media, and it will never get put back into the bottle. We are witnessing, in real time, the genuine decline of our civilization. Video games, TikTok, and similar sites are influencing what should be the "up and coming" generation into being more shallow, stupid & irresponsible every day.
I don't see how putting faith into either side of the political spectrum is something that is going to help at this point. What has either side done to fix anything? 14th street needs to be purged with fire. Let the out of town philosophers figure it all out in a think tank later. People who live here need to have some level of safety when walking around in broad daylight. If you believe leaving mentally ill drug addicts outside to hurt themselves and others is OK, you are part of the problem.
Of course it makes a difference who is elected. Until voters elect real leaders who are willing to make difficult decisions regardless of the criticism, things will get worse. Our elected leaders currently are feckless panderers and more interested in posting on social media than solving problems.
Both parties suck these days but voting Republican is a really bad idea.
"Our elected leaders currently are feckless panderers and more interested in posting on social media than solving problems."
SO TRUE
Our "leaders" seem to be in a competition to see who can be the MOST feckless. What a bunch of useless losers we have representing us, from Eric Adams on down.
Install loud speakers playing Bach and Brahms on loop, and set up lawn sprinklers on the roofs of McDonalds, Panda, T-Mobile and CVS to gently spray water over the sidewalk all day. The place would clear out in hours.
Beautiful music, clean sidewalks, and peace.
When the Administration and City Council consider the NYPD to be the problem and do everything in their power to curtail its ability to be effective, criminal activity once again becomes the major issue with zero solution in sight.
NYC is in peril. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
Voting R might bring a clampdown on this sorta nonsense, but what else? I don’t want to live in a MAGAoplis.
But thanks for the photo. I’ll keep an eye out for this POS and take the necessary action.
"if voting made any difference they wouldn't let you do it."
-Mark Twain
What's needed is for Alvin Bragg to come to his senses and not just let criminals waltz out the door immediately after they're arrested. THAT, to me, is the literal definition of insanity.
AGREED!!!!!!!
that is terrible- i’m so sorry! one of my friends was punched in the face right near that bus stop too- just before the new year. when did this happen to you? it sounds like it could be the same guy- i wonder if they could have caught him by now?
We know they caught the perpetrator, but do we know if he is being prosecuted? Any updates?
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