Former Gov. Paterson Assaulted on Upper East Side, Four Arrested Including Two Teens

Former NY Governor David Paterson was assaulted by a group of people on the Upper East Side, along with his 20-year-old stepson Anthony Sliwa, late on October 4. Police say that four of five suspects have been arrested in connection with the attacks, and have been hit with gang assault raps. One is still being sought.

Two of the suspects are aged 12 and 13. Since they are minors, their identities won’t be released by the authorities. The other two are 40 year-old Travor Nurse and 34 year-old Diamond Minter. According to the NYPD, they are city housing employees, and weren’t on the job during the assault that they allegedly assisted in.

Police say that the Sliwa had spotted a group of teens climbing on a fire escape outside a UES building, when he reportedly told them to get down or he’d “call the cops.” It resulted in a verbal altercation with a few of the teen suspects which included several girls at around 8:30 p.m., which reportedly escalated into a beatdown by 9:15 p.m., after the 70 year-old Paterson had joined his stepson to walk their dog around the neighborhood.

Paterson and Sliwa then reportedly ran into the group in front of 1871 2nd Avenue, near E. 96th St., 45 minutes later. The teen suspects allegedly began punching the former governor and Sliwa, in the face and body, multiple times. The two adults were allegedly egging the kids on, police say.

The group then fled, and Paterson and Sliwa were rushed to Weill Cornell Medical Center, where they were deemed in stable condition. Paterson, who is legally blind, suffered injuries to his face and head. In a press conference after they were treated and released, Patterson said that Sliwa received four stitches to close a gash on his inner lip.

In a statement to the press, Paterson’s spokesperson said that “Governor Paterson and his family are glad to see the suspects turned themselves in. We hope that the young people involved learn something from this unfortunate encounter.”

Sliwa is the son of Guardian Angels founder and former GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, who lost to current NYC mayor Eric Adams in the 2021 general election. His mother and Paterson’s current spouse, Mary Alexander Paterson, was Sliwa’s wife from 2000 to 2012. She is a former WABC employee and national director of the Guardian Angels. Paterson married her in a 2019 ceremony presided over by former NYC Mayor David N. Dinkins.

Paterson was the governor of New York from March 2008 to December 2010. He bowed out of a reelection race in February of that year due to allegations of corruption and witness tampering, after he reportedly–alongside the NY State Police–pressured a woman to drop domestic violence allegations against a staffer of his.

Paterson took over from a scandal-plagued Eliot Spitzer, who he served under as Lieutenant Governor. He resigned after it was revealed that he had patronized an escort service numerous times, paying tens of thousands of dollars to do so.