A 71-year-old doorman was violently attacked after trying to stop a man from breaking into a Manhattan building. The victim, Nikolai Lika, known to residents as “George,” was on duty around midnight on March 8 when Moshe Dardashti, 29, entered and asked for access to a seventh-floor apartment.
Lika, who has been a doorman at the building since 1998, had previously been warned by colleagues about Dardashti being unwelcome. When Lika recognized him, he tried to guide him toward the elevators.
“I approached him and said, ‘Sir, I’m really sorry. I can’t let you go up,’” Lika recounted in an interview. Dardashti became agitated and shouted at Lika. Suddenly, he lunged at him.
“I wasn’t sure what to do. I thought I could escape but he blocked my way,” Lika explained. When he attempted to run into the hallway, he turned back to confront Dardashti when he realized he couldn’t flee.
“He jumped on me and pushed me, and I fell down,” Lika said. “He grabbed a metal ramp and hurled it at me, striking my face and breaking bones around my left eye. I think he broke my vertebrae, too.”
Lika remembered pleading, “Please stop, it’s too much,” as he called out for help. “I even prayed, ‘Please stop him, he’s trying to kill me.'” Despite his cries, no one came to his aid.
Officers later reported that Dardashti had also used a broom against Lika but seemed to have been unable to break the broom’s handle before discarding it.
Covered in blood, Lika managed to contact police before others nearby intervened and spoke to authorities on his behalf.
He was taken to Mount Sinai West, treated, and released, but remained bedridden and in considerable pain afterward.
“I can’t open my left eye,” he reported, describing pain in his side and back, and noting difficulties with his mobility. “I can’t even grab a glass of water with my right hand without using my left.”
Lika’s wife, Pauna, 62, has been providing constant care for him, administering medication and eye drops.
“When someone asked how many times he was hit, he jokingly said, ‘I don’t know, but it felt like a hundred,’” she said, speculating that Dardashti might have been under the influence of something.
Dardashti, who lives nearby, was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with assault and attempted assault. He was arraigned the following day and held on a $50,000 bail.
In the aftermath of the attack, a fellow tenant set up a GoFundMe page to assist with Lika’s medical expenses, highlighting his dedication as a friendly doorman who has always been helpful to residents despite his language barrier.
“When this man assaulted him, I felt terrible. He was just doing his job,” the tenant commented.
Lika expressed gratitude for the support he’s received. “These are tough times,” he reflected, “but I’m hopeful. Everyone in the building is rooting for me, and I’m really thankful.”
