On Friday evening, a group of young individuals attacked former New York Governor David Paterson and his stepson, Anthony Chester Sliwa, while they were strolling their dog on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Paterson, 70, and Sliwa encountered three young males, possibly teenagers, climbing a fire escape near Second Avenue and East 96th Street at approximately 9 p.m.
The former governor and his stepson requested that the group cease their activities, but they were accosted after they departed, according to law enforcement sources. Sean Darcy, Paterson’s spokesperson, verified the incident, asserting that both Paterson and Sliwa sustained injuries but were able to repel their assailants.
Paterson, who is legally blind, sustained a head injury, while his stepson’s injuries, particularly a facial laceration, were reportedly more severe. As a precautionary measure, both were transported to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. No arrests had been made as of late Friday.
David Paterson, the Governor of New York from 2008 to 2010, is married to Mary Paterson, the former wife of Curtis Sliwa, the inventor of Guardian Angels. Anthony, their son, who was raised to emulate his father’s vigilantism, purportedly confronted the group of attackers, adhering to the “see something, say something” approach that he had acquired during his childhood.