A 44-year-old man suffered severe burns to his face and neck Monday night after an unidentified attacker crept up behind him outside a Park Avenue apartment building in East Harlem and doused him with an unknown substance before fleeing on foot. The assault happened at approximately 8:47 p.m. in front of 1638 Park Avenue, within the confines of the NYPD’s 25th Precinct.
Attacker Struck From Behind, Then Ran North
According to NYPD Crime Stoppers
, the victim was standing in front of the building when the unidentified individual approached him from behind and threw the substance on him without warning. The substance caused severe burns to the victim’s face and neck, and the attacker then fled northbound on Park Avenue, according to the same post. No description of the suspect has been released.
The address where the attack unfolded is a nine-story, 24-unit residential building that opened in 2024 with affordable units allocated through the city’s Housing Connect lottery, according to New York YIMBY. The building sits within the jurisdiction of the NYPD’s 25th Precinct, headquartered at 120 East 119th Street and responsible for patrolling the northern stretch of East Harlem, per NYC.gov.
What the Law Says About Chemical Assaults
Under New York Penal Law § 120.10, intentionally causing severe burns or permanent disfigurement to another person — including through a caustic chemical or an unknown dangerous substance — is charged as Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony carrying a sentence of 5 to 25 years in state prison, according to Perez Justice Law. State law defines serious physical injury as harm creating a substantial risk of death or causing protracted disfigurement, and classifies any liquid used in a manner capable of causing serious physical harm as a dangerous instrument, per the statutory language cited by NYS Open Legislation…