I’ve lived in New York City for over 10 years, so I feel qualified in saying that she’s not in her best shape at the present moment. Many neighborhoods have lost their vibrancy, in large part due to people leaving during the pandemic and then being priced out when they wanted to return. Housing is being built with units earmarked for low-income tenants, but in most cases the “low-income” requirement starts at $90-$100K annual income (that math ain’t mathin’). Another disturbing trend is the spate of people committing random acts of violence. The latest victim? National Treasure Steve Buscemi. He was walking in Manhattan in broad daylight when a stranger punched him in the face, sending him to the hospital. Mr. Pink is not in the pink! He’s gonna be ok, but WTF?!
Steve Buscemi was reportedly punched in the face while walking on the street in New York City.
The actor was “assaulted in midtown Manhattan,” his publicist tells PEOPLE, calling the actor “another victim of a random act of violence in the city.”
The 66-year-old New York native is okay, his publicist says, noting that while he “appreciates everyone’s well wishes,” he is “incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking the streets of NY.”
Police said that Buscemi — who recently joined the cast of Netflix’s Wednesday — was walking in the Kips Bay neighborhood around 11:50 a.m. on May 8 when a stranger randomly punched him in the face, the New York Daily News and New York Post reported.
Following the attack, the Fargo actor’s face and left eye became swollen, and he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, the outlets said. The attacker, meanwhile, fled the scene.
The attacker was last seen wearing a baseball cap, a blue T-shirt, black pants and white sneakers, police told the New York Daily News and New York Post.
The New York Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The assault comes about a month after a man attacked Buscemi’s Boardwalk Empire costar Michael Stuhlbarg with a rock in Manhattan on March 31.
Following the attack, 27-year-old Xavier Israel was taken into custody after striking Stuhlbarg in the back of the neck, according to the NYPD.
“The attacker was last seen wearing a baseball cap, a blue T-shirt, black pants and white sneakers…” Oh good, they’re sure to find him with that description. [Insert eyeroll here] This just happened to Steve, and to Michael Stuhlbarg not long before that, but it’s also been happening to a lot of non-celebrity women. With alarming frequency. So much so that Today ran an article titled “Why are women getting punched in the face on the streets of New York?” A common thread among the women profiled was that they were using their phones for navigation when they were attacked. I mean, I use my phone all the time for that, to check when the next subway train is due so I know how much I need to hustle. But now I’ll be making a bigger effort to look at my phone before leaving a building, as opposed to en route. We’re really living up to the Mean Streets moniker, yeesh.
Photos credit: CPA/PacificCoastNews/Avalon, JosiahW/Backgrid and Getty
