A hate-spewing bicyclist punched an elderly man in Central Park and yelled “fuck you Jew” as New York continues to see a rise in bias crimes against Jewish victims, according to authorities.
Police said late Thursday that the suspect approached the 70-year-old victim from behind along West Drive near the 97th Street Transverse on the Upper West Side just after 6 p.m. on July 13.
The man then punched the elderly victim in the upper body and yelled angrily, “Fucking Jews!”, according to police and sources.
Video released by the New York Police Department shows the gunman heading south on a bicycle.
Police said the suspect, who remains at large, is described as a slim, medium-skinned man who was last seen wearing an orange baseball cap, white T-shirt, black pants, black sneakers and carrying a cross-body book bag.
The victim suffered minor injuries but was not hospitalized.
Police said the police department’s hate crimes unit is investigating the incident.
According to data released earlier this week, the special investigation unit investigated 30 anti-Semitic crimes in July alone, compared with just 10 during the same period last year.
The data showed that of the 52 bias crimes investigated by police last month, anti-Semitic hate crimes made up the majority.
The New York Police Department investigated 48 hate crimes in July 2023.
