New York’s top elected officials are under growing scrutiny after two apparently unprovoked attacks on women in prominent public spaces over the past two weeks, with critics demanding a specific plan to improve safety.
One victim remains on life support after police say a stranger approached her during a run and repeatedly stabbed her in the throat.
The NYPD told News Outlet that Katie Suarez, 28, was taken to a hospital after Friday evening’s attack on Brooklyn’s Shore Parkway Greenway. Police said she suffered multiple stab wounds.
Police say Katie Suarez, 28, was stabbed several times in the neck during an apparently unprovoked attack while she was running along a popular Brooklyn jogging and cycling path. (NYPD; Google Maps)
Suarez is a dedicated runner who has taken part in races organized by New York Road Runners.
“We were saddened to learn about this horrific attack. Our hearts are with her family and the entire running community,” a spokesperson for the organization said.
She was not registered for the New York City Marathon held this past weekend.
Responding to the violence, a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the governor has “zero tolerance for violence of any kind” and believes perpetrators should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The spokesperson said Hochul has funded law enforcement at record levels since taking office and strengthened bail and discovery laws to hold violent offenders accountable. Public safety, the spokesperson added, remains the governor’s top priority.
New York City Council Member Kayla Santosuosso, who represents southern Brooklyn, also addressed the attack.
“I am horrified by the stabbing of Katie Suarez, and first and foremost my thoughts are with Katie and her loving family,” Santosuosso said in a statement to News Outlet. “I have been personally assured by Police Commissioner Tisch that the NYPD is pulling out all the stops in their efforts to catch the perpetrator. The promenade where this horrific crime took place has been poorly lit for years, since well before I took office. We will be working to ensure that upcoming renovations to the pedestrian bridge near the scene and the promenade itself will include sufficient lighting.”
An NYPD officer walks toward the area where a woman was reportedly raped at knifepoint inside Central Park. (FNTV)
Santosuosso described the recent violence against women as “deeply disturbing.”
“We deserve to be able to walk and jog in our neighborhoods without worrying for our safety,” she said. “This is a serious and personal issue for me as a woman and as a mother, and I will be doing everything in my power to keep southern Brooklyn a place where women can live without fear.”
Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor, said better lighting and expanded surveillance should be immediate priorities for preventing similar attacks.
“Lighting is great, but I would not only ask for that. I would ask for cameras and very ostentatious cameras.”
The goal, Mauro said, is to make people feel they are being watched.
He argued that Santosuosso’s call for improved lighting “tacitly” echoes the broken-windows policing approach associated with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The strategy, used during Giuliani’s 1994-to-2001 tenure, focused on addressing lower-level offenses and public disorder to help prevent more serious crimes.
In a separate incident, police said a 39-year-old woman was raped at knifepoint in Central Park on Oct. 24, across from a stretch of multimillion-dollar residences along Fifth Avenue.
The NYPD said a 39-year-old woman was raped at knifepoint in Central Park. (Getty Images: Anadolu; FNTV)
The attack marked the fifth reported sexual assault in Central Park this year. Neither of the two recent cases has resulted in an arrest.
Critics say the lack of a clearly announced street-level response for ordinary New Yorkers is especially striking compared with the state’s forceful intervention in more prominent campus cases.
Last month, Hochul took the unusual step of appointing Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor in response to an alleged gang rape at Cornell University. She also ordered State Police to assume responsibility for sexual assault complaints at the Ivy League school.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during a press conference on July 31, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. (Julia Nikhinson/AP Photo)
Although Hochul promised that the Cornell case would not be “swept under the rug,” critics say that level of executive urgency has not been directed toward New Yorkers dealing with safety concerns in city streets and parks.
James responded to the Suarez attack in a Monday post on X, writing: “This is outrageous and unacceptable. No New Yorker should have to fear such violence. I’m praying for a swift recovery for Katie, and keeping her family in my thoughts. I urge anyone with information to contact @NYPDTips.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani said: “The recent attacks on women across our city are horrific. Every New Yorker should be able to walk anywhere in our city at any time of day or night without fear of violence. The Mamdani administration is committed to ensuring that survivors are heard and supported — and that those responsible are held accountable. We will continue working with survivors, service providers and community partners to strengthen prevention, close gaps in services and confront gender-based violence.”
Neither the mayor nor the City Council has discussed adding patrols in response to the attacks, an omission Mauro called a serious warning sign.
“Nobody will be willing to admit that good policing keeps people safe because they need the police as something to beat up on,” he said.
As city leaders remain noncommittal about expanding patrols, Mauro urged young women who live in New York or are considering a move to the city to understand the risks they may face.
“Young women, you better understand what you’re getting into because you are joining a city whose leadership does not prioritize your safety. They take it for granted, and they are willing to countenance instances like this in furtherance of some wrongheaded notional agenda that is going to lead us all into some socialist egalitarian Shangri-La that is never going to arrive.”
