An unhinged man lobbed anti-Asian profanities and spat at a 23-year-old aide at City Councilwoman Gale Brewer’s Upper West Side office, police said Saturday.
The unidentified man entered the Columbus Ave. office near W. 87th St. just after 1 p.m. on March 14, cops said.
Brewer’s employee was working inside the office when the outraged man began hurling racial epithets at her, leaving her rattled, sources with knowledge of the incident said.
It was not immediately disclosed what was said.
The aide immediately called police after the suspect spat at her and ran off, cops said. No injuries were reported.
Police have been looking for the stranger in the area for the last several weeks.
In light of what happened, the City Council authorized that a lock and buzzer be installed at the district office.
Hate crimes against Asians jumped dramatically in the city during the pandemic due to COVID-19′s origins in Wuhan, China and President Trump description of the health scare as the “Chinese virus.”
But these bias-fueled attacks have lessened in recent months, police said.
As of April 23, 11 hate crimes against Asians have been investigated by the NYPD, a 69% drop from the 36 reported this time last year, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
Cops on Saturday released surveillance images of the suspect in the hopes that someone recognizes him.
The suspect is described as Black, about 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing a dark-colored jacket, dark pants and white sneakers. He was also carrying a bright-colored book bag and a brown paper bag.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.