Tuesday’s captured-on-video attack on innocent drivers in Manhattan by a gang of young cyclist fanatics was absolutely horrifying – but all too typical of the kind of chaos and lawlessness that has gripped the city.
The brutal attack took place not in the middle of the night, but at 4:30 PM – and knocked in the middle of Manhattan, on Fifth Avenue and 21st Street.
While Max Torgovnick and his mother, who is in their seventies, were driving innocently, a troop of more than a dozen young bikers suddenly drove their BMW, surrounded the car, and hit it.
One hit a bicycle on top. Another jumped on the hood and jumped on the windshield until it partially collapsed.
And that attack came shortly after the punks attacked another vehicle – a yellow cab – that swarmed over it and later injured the driver by throwing a bicycle at him.
Law enforcement sources said on Wednesday that about 25 motorcyclists were involved, six of whom damaged Torgovnick’s car. A 15-year-old was arrested in connection with the BMW attack.
“This was an animal attack in broad daylight,” said a Manhattan police officer. “It shows how far the city has deteriorated, and politicians better stick their heads out of the sand and tackle these problems before there is nothing left.”
He is right. Homicides are up 40 percent this year and the number of shootings has doubled. Homelessness, vandalism and mental illness have become common on the streets. Now you can’t even drive down the street in the middle of the day without wondering if you’ll be next.
There is a growing fear that the city is losing control – and that fear is increasingly justified.