GREENWICH VILLAGE — A 67-year-old man enraged by a car blocking a crosswalk attacked the driver with a knife, police said.
Marc Firstenburg started yelling at the 37-year-old man behind the wheel after spotting him blocking the crosswalk at University Place and East 10th Street at about 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 15, police said.
The driver got out of his car, and Firstenburg lunged at him and "poked" him with a knife, leaving a small cut in his stomach, police said.
The driver refused medical attention.
Firstenburg fled into a nearby building on East 10th Street. He was arrested and charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. His attorney did not immediately respond to a voicemail left for comment.
Other recent incidents in the 6th Precinct include:
► A man caught carrying a stun gun tried to bribe an officer into letting him go, police said.
Brian Suero, 20, had a stun gun in his waistband at Sixth Avenue and Washington Place about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 19, police said.
After he was arrested, Suero said to an officer, “I don’t know if we can do this, but I’ll give you a thousand dollars, and maybe you can let me go,” police said. Police said he repeated the same offer a short while later.
Suero also told police he uses the stun gun for protection because he carries a lot of cash.
He was charged with bribery and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
Suero's attorney did not immediately respond to a message left for comment.
► An employee at the New York Health and Racquet Club threatened a co-worker with a pair of scissors and a trash can, police said.
Police said Eric Hunter, 41, was at the gym at 24 E. 13th St. about 10:55 a.m. on Dec. 9 when he got into an argument with a 20-year-old co-worker and swung a pair of scissors at him.
Hunter's co-worker was able to knock the scissors to the ground, police said, but Hunter picked up a metal trash can and hit him with it. Police said the attack left gashes in the 20-year-old man’s arm and finger. The man needed 13 stitches to close the wound on his arm and two for his finger, police said.
Hunter was charged with assault, police said. A temporary order of protection was issued against him at his arraignment, and he was released $1,500 bail. He’s due back in court on March 11.
Hunter's attorney declined to comment. The New York Health and Racquet Club also declined to comment.
► An Uber driver was beaten with a glass bottle after kicking his passengers out of the car, police said.
Police said the 46-year-old driver picked up passengers about 9 p.m. on Dec. 16 at Seventh Avenue South and Bleecker Street, but realized they were carrying open containers of alcohol.
He booted them from the car, but one of the riders, Michael Rascoe, 25, dumped liquor inside the car on his way out, police said.
When the driver got out of the car to confront him, Rascoe punched him in the head and hit him with a glass bottle, leaving him with pain and swelling, police said.
Rascoe was arrested three days later and charged with assault.
"We are currently investigating this situation and checking on the condition of our driver partner," an Uber spokeswoman said in a statement to DNAinfo New York. "We stand ready to work with the authorities and have a strict policy to remove any user that exhibits aggressive or abusive behavior."
Zachary Johnson, Rascoe’s attorney, called the assault charge "unfounded."
"Mr. Rascoe acted in defense of himself and others and we’re confident that at the end of these proceedings, he will be fully exonerated," Johnson said.
