A woman walking uptown on Third Avenue was randomly attacked last weekend.
It happened on Sunday at about 2:30pm. As Pamela Garber was passing East 67th Street, she was attacked by a woman (believed to be homeless) whom she described as having a buzz cut and wearing a tie-dye shirt.
The incident was reported on Nextdoor, and multiple users reported similar situations with a suspect matching the description above.
“I was just thinking of how to get away. I’m going, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe this is happening,’” Garber told East Side Feed. She was able to get away quickly, but she took several hard punches to the head before she was able to create distance so that the punches didn’t have as much impact. “I was in shock,” she recalled. “I’m fine. I mean, I have a bump on my head but fortunately nothing else.” Garber spoke with a doctor after the incident but didn’t seek professional treatment.
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Garber told us the attacker was sitting on the sidewalk before the attack. When she passed her, she felt “on alert,” and when she turned around, the woman in the tie-dye shirt was right behind her and the punches came flying. She thanked her sneakers for helping her get away, and told us she’ll never walk the streets without sneakers again.
When asked if the attack has changed her opinion about living in NYC, Garber told us “No, but it’s given me thoughts about where I go, the circumstances and choreographing everything.” She hasn’t returned to the site of the attack but did file a police report.
Another woman who asked to remain anonymous had a similar experience on Saturday, June 25 at around 3:15 p.m.
“My two kids and I were walking on First [Avenue]. We were going to Sedutto ice cream, so we’re probably around 76th or 77th, and across the street I see this individual wearing a tie-dye shirt and my first thought was, ‘Oh, they look trendy.’ That was literally my first thought.” As the mother of two crossed the street, the group was met by the tie-dye-wearing woman, who began screaming profanities at them. “I don’t remember exactly what she was saying but it didn’t sound right. She sounded off mentally,” she told us. The mother described the moment as “really, really scary,” and she kept walking with her kids. They were not followed, but when she saw Garber’s Nextdoor thread it jogged her memory: “Oh my God, that’s literally the girl that we saw on Saturday. So that’s a reason why I responded; otherwise, usually I don’t respond to anything.”
Our anonymous source — who’s lived on the Upper East Side for two years — says this was the first time she’d seen the woman. When asked if the experience has given her second thoughts about the neighborhood, she said “Yeah, yeah it has changed. I wouldn’t say it’s made me want to leave completely, but it’s definitely not the picture I had prior to moving here.”
The NYPD has received multiple reports about the suspect, whom they describe as “white, early 20s, 5’4, 126 lbs., with close cut brown hair. She was last seen wearing pink shorts and a multi colored shirt. There is no arrest and the investigation is ongoing.”
