(Photo: Harrison Leong)
Jan. 5, 2018 By Tara Law
A 59-year-old man was punched in the face and had his forehead slashed on a Manhattan-bound N train last night, police said.
The victim got into an argument with the perpetrator as he was boarding the train at the Ditmars Boulevard station at around 10:50 p.m., police said. The victim claimed that the suspect blocked him while he was walking onto the train.
The men then started to argue and “physical altercation” began as the train began to move, according to police. The assailant allegedly punched the victim in the head and face. He then took out an unknown object and slashed the victim across the forehead.
The two men exited the train at the Astoria Boulevard station and the assailant fled, police said.
The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he is in stable condition.
The police didn’t have a description of the suspect.
Police are investigating the incident.
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30 Comments
If you think getting punched and slashed in the face in any neighborhood is just one of those things that just happens then I would say you have become desensitized to cruelty and crime around you. People can make extreme comments as far as “how safe a place is” on both sides but what about the UPS incident last month that was all over the news? Residents have every right to be alarmed and careful. Crimes that happen (here and there) need to be looked at, discussed and prevented because they may escalate to bigger crimes/problems. Our precinct had a press conference a couple of weeks ago telling people to lock their windows and not let their guards down around here because they saw a spike in break ins and robberies. You do not react to crime by ignoring it and walking around comparing it to other places which are worse off. My block had many break ins last year and i live in a row of 2 family homes. Thus, neighbors installed surveillance cameras and lock their windows and doors. The community and law enforcement needs to react as a whole to prevent crimes like this from happening. You do not wait until you are the target to be concerned about crime in the neighborhood.
Astoria is like any other neighborhood in Queens (just more expensive due to its demographic population which is changing). Do not let your guards down.
Astoria just like anyother place in Queens ??? ???Why don’t you visit….South Jamaica….Ozone Park…Queens Village…Far Rockaway and let’s see how you do ???….. You must be BRAINDEAD !!
Dude I am from Ozone park and my family still lives there. Many of my friends also live in the areas mentioned above that I frequently visit. You sound prejudice and ignorant with your sweeping generalizations and bullying comment.
And many people would argue that Astoria is crap compared to Bay Terrace, Little Neck, Douglaston, Whitestone, Floral Park and much more!
The future of Astoria is the smell of Kebab mixed with hookah smoke. We all see who the growing and permanent residents of Astoria are today. You’re lucky some developers found interest around here and managed to jack up the housing market value because no one else is interested in these old homes for the amount they are asking.
the fact that this guy had a close altercation that started at one station and ended at the next and he DOESNT have a description of the guy? means he doesnt want to offer one.
ever since they turned hotels into homeless shelters Astorias crime has gone up everyone is makeing excuses for someone slashing another person is ridiculous dont matter what the arguememt is about be intelligent to fight with your word only a coward pulls out a blade to physically hurt someone the one who pulled out the blade is a looser to society and I know alot of you wont agree until a family member of yours gets hurt
I don’t disagree that the assailant is a coward, but I don’t think it is fair to mention local homeless shelters when it is not clear that the assailant is homeless or if he is an inhabitant of one of the shelters nearby. I’ve also seen no reports about crime spiking due to the existence of homeless shelters in Astoria. It’s all speculation and let’s be honest, it’s easy to just blame the homeless for everything.
No sane person can honestly argue that the presence of a homeless shelter in a residential community presents no irreparable harm. Wherever a homeless shelter is located, it attracts more people which makes it easier for criminals to blend in with the community and commit crimes and harder for residents and law enforcement to prevent crime before it happens.
With all the CRAZIES around Astoria, he’s lucky he didn’t get his head blown off.
Alright, lived here since 1990’s. Astoria has been relatively one of the safest parts of NYC I have been in. If it was as dangerous as some of you exaggerate, real estate wouldn’t be running rampant here. This event is not mutually exclusive. For all we know, neither individual lives in Astoria and the person who had a knife could have been visiting a store or his friend. Anyhow, this is a minor incident in which two individual’s pride got in the way and it escalated into something that became a bigger problem. Lesson here today is if you get into an argument that isn’t worth defending, suck it up and call it a day. What was achieved here? Nothing. Just an idiot who will go to jail when caught and a man with a scar that will stay in his face forever.
The victim is 59 years old! He was punched and slashed in the face. Stop the excuses and stop victim blaming!
That’s about it. Astoria is not a hotbed of violent crime. You are more likely to get run over by an idiot driving down 31st street, between the GCP to the QB Bridge and yacking on his cell, than get attacked on a train. This ‘paper’ reports police blotter items — it is not representative of a huge jump in crime, which has actually gone down. Common sense, people.
This is one incident of crazy incidents that have been going on in Astoria.
Dangerous!!! astoria…really??? oh come on you gotta be kidding i aint sayin dont be carefull!!! but it is nothing like it was in 70s the 80s and beginning 90s..crime has gone down 10 fold..and astoria is getting to trendy to popular for a crime area..gangs gone down..
look at statistics
and all the stats are fugged and they are lying everyone knows this — so please stop with this
Living under the suspicion of constant conspiracy must get exhausting after a while, no?
Fudging! Fudging! Learn how to spell maaaaaaaaaan.
As far as the past is concerned, Astoria was always a safe place to live and raise a family. Back then, it was considered quiet, family oriented and was a solid middle and working class community who looked out for each other. The streets were full of children playing outside (unsupervised) and for the most part parents did not fear for their safety. Many people left their doors unlocked during the day. Most shops closed at a decent time and catered to the community. Your comment regarding safety may be true for some parts of NYC but not Astoria.
What time last night?
Before everyone starts crying about how “dangerous” Astoria has gotten (it hasn’t) or how much it has changed (and it has, in my 18 years here, for the better!) think about why there was a fight. Who started the argument? Did the guy getting on the the train purposefully push or knock into him (I see that happen all the time) to be a jerk because he was standing in the doorway? Maybe he started it and got clocked because he was he wouldn’t drop it.
Nowadays, I think it has more to do with more mentally ill people on the streets than police presence. Also, I see more police patrolling the streets this past fall and winter due to the increase in crime in Astoria but it is not stopping crimes from happening. In addition, I notice that no one looks out for one and other like they used to around here or are afraid too. For the most part, Astoria now belongs to the old timers and poor and the younger renters and the restaurant/bar crowd. Can you blame them though? The wrong remark or slightest touch and some group out there will quickly defend certain criminals and twist things around. Thus, people are not afraid to commit crimes. Today, cops are just a mere presence and it is hard for them to question or prevent many things from happening. Basically they patrol in cars to respond more quickly to crime when it occurs.
A man picked a fight and got punched. Get a grip people.
The MTA needs to place police on trains. NYC 1970s had so much crime, assaults and robberies on our trains that eventually there was a cop on every train and on most platforms. The cops patrolled the subways with German Shepherds. Images –
https://www.google.com/search?q=German+Shepherds+patrol+NYC+subways+1970s&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS717US717&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwih37SlucHYAhWE5iYKHZcvBlUQsAQIJg&biw=1829&bih=927
Because of this crime eventually got better. When bad guys know that theres a cop around they will think twice about hurting someone. Cops were tough back then, they were allowed to be.
Its scary that the suspect was probably walking around Ditmars since it is the last stop and one accidental push due to the snow on the sidewalks might of lead to getting your face slashed.
It is so sad how Astoria has changed. Incidents like this and many other crimes around here lately can happen anywhere in NYC but Astoria was once considered a safe community for residents and visitors before it became well-known and “wanna-be Trendy.” Astoria is like any other neighborhood in NYC where you have to watch your back, be an alert and be careful of the people around you. I think neighboring LIC is so much better because it is less commercial.
Nonsense!! If you think Astoria is a dangerous place to live you haven’t done a whole lot of living.
“police described the assailant as black, but offered no other description.”
Very useful info to use here. *Delete
Astoria is not Astoria anymore – getting very dangerous — between the projects and the homeless shelters be careful