A well known doorman in the Upper East Side of New York City, is being called a hero, after he was brutally slashed just inches near his jugular vein while trying to save a disabled tenant in a wheelchair from a mugger.
Brian Smith was helping the disabled tenant enter The Fontaine building on East 72nd Street just after 3 a.m. Sunday.
Completely unaware to the two men, a thug dressed in a black sweatshirt, hat, and facemask had been following the tenant back from an ATM near First Avenue.
The man asked asking Smith for directions to the subway. As the doorman was answering him, the mugger suddenly sliced him from his nose to cheek.
“I was violated,” a still-healing Smith, 58, told news media. “I have no justification for this.”
After being attacked Smith retreated to the security desk and called 911.
Police responded, along with building superintendent Pedro Ramos.
“I’ve never seen so much blood in my life,” Ramos said.
Smith was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he needed more than 20 stitches to close the nine-inch gash.
“They had to sew an artery back together,” Smith said.
Residents of the co-op were still shaken days after the attack.
“Imagine what would’ve happened if he wasn’t there?” said one tenant of the 35-story building who asked to remain anonymous.
“Brian’s like a teddy bear,” her husband said. “He had recently battled cancer.”
The couple said residents are raising money to help Smith through his recovery and time out of work.
“Everyone is even more sad because it’s him,” the wife added.
A doorman for two decades, Smith recently returned to work after a battle with cancer and the loss of his father.
He said he is now seeking psychological help because of the attack.
A spokesperson for the doormen union, 32BJ SEIU, said it is working to help Smith through his recovery.
“Doormen are on the frontlines of keeping buildings safe and secure,” the spokesperson said. “This is an unfortunate example of their sacrifices.”
John Battle, another East 72nd Street doorman, blamed catch-and-release policies pushed by soft-on-crime District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“There’s no justice any longer,” said Battle. “They arrest them and turn them loose the next day.”
No arrests have been made by the NYPD, which is still investigating.
