Jogger Assaulted Behind Gracie Mansion

Yesterday afternoon, a female jogger was attacked while in Carl Schurz Park—right behind Gracie Mansion—at East End and East 88th Street—just before 2 p.m. The NY Times reports that the jogger first thought she was just punched but she was actually "slashed across the forehead by a man who walked away."

Gracie Mansion is where the city's mayors live, though Mayor Bloomberg only uses it for official functions, preferring to live in his townhouse on East 79th Street. A passer-by told the Times, “There was a person who was there before me, sort of kneeling down with her and trying to comfort her." Apparently the attacker “hadn’t really said a word, and then continued walking northward. Kind of a deranged guy, I guess.” He added that the jogger seemed to be in "shock. Her body started really shaking. Her face was kind of bloody.” The victim is in stable condition at NY Presbyterian-Cornell Weill.

According to the Daily News, "The attacker ran into the woods behind the mayor's official residence. Investigators were combing the upper East Side on Sunday night searching for the suspect, who was believed to be mentally ill." A father of a young infant was shocked to hear about the violence, "I've never heard anything scary like that here. I come here often. It is a real safe neighborhood, or so I thought."