A 27-year-old woman jogging along the Hudson River Greenway near West 59th Street and 12th Avenue was struck in the back of the head with a blunt object thrown by a man who approached her from behind, then fled on foot. The attack happened at roughly 7:50 a.m. on Thursday, September 10, at the entrance to Riverside Park South on Manhattan's Upper West Side, and police only released images of the suspect nearly four weeks later.
According to WABC-TV New York, the victim was treated at the scene after the suspect threw the object and ran off. The NYPD released surveillance images of the wanted man on October 5, describing him as last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, dark shorts, gray sneakers and a multicolored hat, per iLoveTheUpperWestSide.com. Investigators have not publicly detailed what the blunt object was or whether greenway camera coverage captured his approach or getaway route.
A Busy Stretch of Waterfront Where Two Parks Meet
The intersection where the attack occurred marks the spot where Riverside Park South connects directly into Hudson River Park along the greenway, according to NYC Parks. That continuous car-free path links Battery Park to the northern reaches of Manhattan, and the greenway is considered the most heavily used bikeway in the country, carrying nearly 7,000 cyclists a day along the western shore, per data cited by Parks & Trails New York.
Riverside Park South itself sits on the former site of the New York Central Railroad's 60th Street freight yard, a 21.5-acre industrial hub that was abandoned in 1976 before being redeveloped into parkland starting in the late 1990s, NYC Parks notes. The nonprofit Riverside Park Conservancy, working alongside the city parks department, now oversees maintenance and programming across six miles of West Side parkland stretching from 59th Street to 181st Street.
Precinct Jurisdiction and Local Crime Numbers
The attack site falls under the jurisdiction of the NYPD's Midtown North Precinct, the 18th Precinct, which is headquartered at 306 West 54th Street and patrols the West Side from 42nd Street to 59th Street west of Eighth Avenue, according to NYC.gov. Officers in that precinct recorded 10,194 total reported crimes and made 5,467 arrests in 2025 across its Midtown West patrol zone, Hoodline previously reported on a stabbing case.
What Charges the Suspect Could Face
Under New York Penal Law § 120.00, intentionally or recklessly causing physical injury to another person constitutes Assault in the Third Degree, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, according to Saland Law. But if prosecutors can prove the suspect used a dangerous instrument or caused serious physical harm, the charge could elevate under Penal Law § 120.05 to Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony carrying up to seven years in state prison.
The NYPD is asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). A Spanish-language tip line is also available at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), per the department's public appeal relayed by WABC-TV. No arrest has been announced in the case.
