Couple randomly attacked on date night in NYC
A couple’s 10-year wedding anniversary celebration turned into a nightmare in Midtown when a crazed man walked up to the pair, spit on the woman and then punched her husband in the face, police said Wednesday.
Jeremy Goldberg and his wife Paola, 35-year-old restaurateurs from West Orange, N.J., had just finished seeing the hit Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” when they were attacked while walking along 8th Avenue near West 35th Street at around 9:55 p.m. Tuesday.
The assailant, identified as 40-year-old Derrick Boyce, suddenly spit at Paola – and then beat Jeremy in the face, leaving him with a bloodied mouth and bruising on his right cheek, police said.
The attacker fled the scene, but was nabbed by cops about 10 minutes later. He was charged with assault.
Boyce, who was awaiting arraignment Wednesday, has 31 prior arrests on his record, mostly for theft of service, cops said. His prior offenses also include: robbery, assault, criminal possession of a controlled substance and harassment.
He was previously busted on Nov. 11, 2017 in East Harlem and charged with robbery and assault after repeatedly punching a 28-year-old man in the face while attempting to grab his phone and wallet, police said.
Jeremy, a North Caldwell, N.J. native who was being treated for his injuries at a hospital Wednesday, recalled to The Post how the streets were bustling at the time of the assault, but no one came to the couple’s aid.
“My wife was screaming for help, and most people acted like it was normal,” Jeremy said. “Maybe the city has gotten to the point that people are desensitized to violence, mental illness, drugs…if that’s the case, I’m not sure whose fault it is — the individual or the [De Blasio] administration for allowing this lack of safety.”
He added that he was “not feeling well.”
His wife, Paola, said Wednesday that she was doing “okay” but won’t be making a visit to the Big Apple in the near future.
“I loved that place but I’m not going to go back any time soon,” she said of the city.
Paola, a native of Mexico City, said as a result of the attack she is “feeling now the same reason I left home to begin with.”
“It’s not a safe place and now I feel that way here. Someone is robbing you to be able to enjoy life,” she added that she feels “people in cities are very desensitized to each other.”
Paola did note that after the incident was over, a Good Samaritan jumped out of his car with what appeared to be a bat.
The couple was in the Big Apple Tuesday night to celebrate their wedding anniversary, which was last week.
The two own a 200-seat restaurant in Bloomfield, N.J., called Essex Junction Craft Kitchen & Bar. The 4,000-square-foot gastro-pub opened in 2015.