A Man Charge for Punching Steve Buschemi in Manhattan
Nine days after the actor Steve Buscemi was punched in the face on a Manhattan street, a man has been charged in the case, the New York Police Department said.
Clifton Williams, a 50-year-old homeless man, was arrested on Friday and charged with second-degree assault, a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. A police spokesman said the charge was elevated to a felony because of Mr. Buscemi’s age.
Mr. Buscemi, 66, was walking on Third Avenue near East 27th Street in the Kips Bay neighborhood when he was attacked by a stranger just before noon on May 8. He was treated at Bellevue Hospital for bleeding, bruising and swelling in his left eye.
Police officers identified Mr. Williams as a suspect on Tuesday after releasing surveillance photos of him wearing a blue T-shirt, black sweatpants and a baseball cap.
On Friday, police officers responded to a dispute between Mr. Williams and another man in the Chelsea neighborhood, about a dozen blocks from where Mr. Buscemi was attacked. There, they recognized Mr. Williams and arrested him.
Mr. Williams has also been accused of punching a 22-year-old man about 15 minutes before Mr. Buscemi was attacked, a police spokeswoman said. He has been charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, in that case.
Mr. Buscemi, a Brooklyn native and former city firefighter, is known for his roles in “Boardwalk Empire,” “Fargo” and “The Sopranos.”
A string of random street assaults has sown fears that the city is sliding into lawlessness, although recent statistics paint a more nuanced picture.
Felony assaults in the city fell about 2 percent in April compared with April 2023, according to the Police Department— part of a broader reduction in violent crimes, including a 30 percent drop in murders and 15 percent fewer shootings. But misdemeanor assaults rose 7 percent in the first three and a half months of 2024, compared with the same period last year.
Michael Stuhlbarg, an actor who appeared with Mr. Buscemi on “Boardwalk Empire,” was struck by a rock on March 31 while walking in Central Park. Several female TikTok users, including one with more than a million followers, have posted video accounts of having been punched while walking around the city.
Christopher Maag is an enterprise reporter covering the New York City region for The New York Times. More about Christopher Maag
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