LOWER EAST SIDE — Two deli workers struck a 24-year-old man with a baseball bat after he entered the store looking for money last week, police said.
The man entered Nobel Deli at 523 Grand St. at 4:15 a.m. on Nov. 23 looking for $20 when he got into an altercation with the workers, according to the NYPD.
Anis Hussein, a deli manager, said the workers — a 33-year-old man and a 22-year-old man — were defending themselves against a local man who frequently caused trouble at the store.
“We’ve been telling to get away from the store for a year,” he said.
The 24-year-old came into the store that morning “very high" but was thrown out by the workers, who locked the door to keep him from reentering, Hussein said. After he left, they reopened the store, but he returned soon after, carrying a knife in his hand, the manager said.
“He come with a knife, they use a baseball bat,” Hussein said.
The fight left the man with a cut on his forehead that required five stitches as well as bruises on his right shoulder, wrist and hand, according to the NYPD. Police said the 24-year-old was taken to Bellevue Hospital.
Police said they arrested the two workers last week but the District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute their cases, a spokeswoman said.
