New York subway driver punched in face in unprovoked attack

A man driving in Manhattan this week was cut in the face with a razor by another straphanger in an unprovoked attack, police said.

The violent attack took place around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday as the northbound 2 train approached the 72nd Street-Broadway subway station, police said.

According to the police, a stranger approached a 49-year-old man who was sitting in the wagon, pulled out a razor and hit him in the face with a slash.

The victim was taken to St Luke’s Hospital to be treated for a laceration to the nose. He was listed in stable condition.

The NYPD on Thursday released short surveillance video and stills showing the alleged slasher. Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the man.

He was last seen exiting the tube station in a black coat over a gray hoodie. His black hair was tied in a top bun.

No arrests had been made as of Friday morning.

According to the latest available statistics from the NYPD, transit crime increased by more than 33% at the end of November compared to the same period last year.

But on Monday, MTA chief executive Janno Lieber pushed back on reports of a crime surge in the city’s mass transit system, citing a drop in incidents over the past 28 days.

“In the month of November, that’s important, we’re actually down 13%,” Lieber said of underground crime on Spectrum News NY1’s Inside City Hall show.