Police looking for man who shoved and injured woman, 89, in Brooklyn Heights

Residents concerned about recent uptick of violent incidents

October 23, 2023 Mary Frost

Police are seeking information about this man, who allegedly shoved an 89-year-old woman to the ground on Montague Street, injuring her. Photos: NYPD

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BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — A stranger shoved an 89-year-old woman to the sidewalk in Brooklyn Heights last month, sending her to the hospital, and now police have released a photo of the suspect.

Just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, the woman was walking at the corner of Montague and Court streets when the unidentified man approached her from behind and pushed her to the ground, causing minor injuries to the back of her head and lower back. The man then fled on foot southbound on Court Street to parts unknown, police said.

The victim was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in stable condition.

Police are hoping the public will help identify the suspect, described as having a dark complexion, approximately 25 to 30 years of age, medium build and last seen wearing a green t-shirt, dark jeans and black sneakers.

Concern about increase in neighborhood crime

At a meeting of the 84th Precinct Community Council on Oct. 17, local residents said they were concerned about the recent uptick of violent incidents in the neighborhood, with several happening right on Montague Street.

Kim Glickman, deputy director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, asked the 84th Precinct’s acting commanding officer, Captain Steven Hyland, about several assaults: “One in front of Saint Ann’s; a 12-year-old girl who was pushed into an iron railing on Montague Street; and an issue at the Brooklyn Women’s Exchange that happened on Sunday … Maybe we have been living in a bubble, but the assaults seem to be really prevalent in our neighborhood recently.”

Hyland did have some good news, however. He said that progress has been made on identifying the man wanted in connection with the Aug. 1 slashing of a man sitting on a bench on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The detective squad now had a positive I-Card, which would allow the suspect to be arrested “within the next couple of days,” Hyland said.

Hyland added that 85% of the recent Montague Street incidents were closed. The incident “with the younger child was random,” he said. “The Detective Squad was able to get some video and a snapshot, due to facial recognition. They do have a Wanted flyer as of five days after the incident,” he said, adding that CrimeStoppers was putting out the information.

Councilmember Lincoln Restler said he was “very pleased to hear some progress has been made identifying the person responsible for the slashing on the Promenade.”

He added, “We’ve been very concerned about the upticks in incidents we’ve seen on Montague Street over the last couple of weeks. I hope that with help from the NCOs and the precinct we’ll see a more sustained presence there … There was one individual in particular who we know is responsible for a number of different incidents. We’re working closely with Breaking Ground and the precinct to try to get immediate responses when people see them.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), or logging onto the Crime Stoppers website.