MIDTOWN — A patron choked a bartender who tried to break up a fight at a Midtown lounge after a woman was punched in the face, police said.
The first victim told police she and her friends were at the Iguana restaurant and dance lounge at 240 W. 54th St., between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, around 2:30 a.m. on April 24 when they tried to pass by a group of people.
As they went by, a man whom the 34-year-old Manhattan woman didn’t know started punching her in the face, leaving her with a bruise and a laceration on her left eye, police said.
When a woman working at the bar tried to break up the ensuing fight, another man came up behind her and put her in a chokehold, the NYPD said.
The 21-year-old bartender, from Brooklyn, was left with a swollen neck and difficulty swallowing, police said.
She was taken to a hospital for treatment, the NYPD said.
Police had not arrested anyone in connection with the incident as of Monday.
Iguana's manager was not available to comment on the incident Friday.
