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.
That legal framework has played out in other recent New York cases. In June 2024, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office announced that a woman was sentenced to 12 years in prison after throwing sulfuric acid at a stranger's face in an unprovoked subway station attack that caused severe second- and third-degree burns and permanent facial disfigurement, requiring the victim to undergo multiple skin grafts and reconstruction surgeries. And earlier this year, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office indicted two Brooklyn men on first-degree felony assault charges carrying up to 25 years in prison for a long-unsolved 2021 sulfuric acid attack that left a 21-year-old student severely burned and disfigured, following a five-year investigation before the grand jury indictments.
Another Unresolved Unknown-Substance Attack in the Bronx
East Harlem's case echoes a still-unresolved incident in the Bronx. In June, News 12 Bronx reported that the NYPD launched an active search for three female suspects after an unknown substance was thrown at a 21-year-old victim inside a sneaker store in Parkchester.
How to Submit a Tip
NYPD Crime Stoppers is asking anyone with information to call 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or to reach the Spanish-language line at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website or via X at @NYPDTips.
The program, administered and funded through the independent nonprofit New York City Police Foundation, offers cash rewards of up to $3,500 for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest and indictment in violent felony cases, according to the New York City Police Foundation. Since its inception in 1983, Crime Stoppers has helped solve more than 5,600 violent crimes in New York City — including nearly 1,600 murders and attempted murders — and has approved over $3.4 million in rewards to anonymous callers, the foundation notes. Investigators have not said whether the East Harlem attack was targeted or random, and no arrests have been announced.
