Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Cops Believe This Person Slashed Famous Playwright In The Neck In Fort Greene
By
Emma Whitford
Published Dec 4, 2015
Modified Dec 4, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Getty
By
Emma Whitford
Published Dec 4, 2015
Modified Dec 4, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYPD is still searching for a suspect in the alleged neck-slashing of Tony award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang on a Fort Greene sidewalk last Sunday.
The M. Butterfly author, a Fort Greene resident, was walking home on South Portland Street between Lafayette and DeKalb Avenues with a load of groceries just before 9:00 p.m. on Sunday when an unknown assailant slashed him in the back of the neck.
Hwang did not catch sight of the attacker, but had the wherewithal to walk the three and a half blocks to Brooklyn Hospital—leaving a gnarly trail of blood that stretched, according to our tipster, about ten feet.
"Thanks to the excellent work of the doctors at Brooklyn Hospital and Mount Sinai, I'm now home and expected to make a full recovery," he said earlier this week.

(via DCPI)
The NYPD has since confirmed that the suspect did not say anything to Hwang, much less take anything from his person. Surveillance footage shows a person with his or her back turned, wearing a backpack and white sneakers.
Hwang teaches at Columbia University, and is a three-time Tony nominee, a three-time OBIE Award winner, and a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Tagged
brooklyn hospital
david henry hwang
fort greene
nypd
slashing
Emma Whitford
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani opts not to define antisemitism in report to combat Jewish hate crimes
The decision avoids a hotly debated issue over whether certain kinds of criticisms of Israel constitute antisemitism.
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 29, 2026 at 11:36 a.m. ET
Modified Sep 29, 2026 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Police are still investigating bike crash that killed dad of 2 in Central Park
The family is raising money for the wife and two daughters he leaves behind.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
News
Police are still investigating bike crash that killed dad of 2 in Central Park
The family is raising money for the wife and two daughters he leaves behind.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
NYC has a plan to stop homeless people from cycling between hospitals and the streets
By
Karen Yi
Early Addition: Billy Joel is auctioning off 70 of his motorcycles
By
James Ramsay
Man dragged to death by subway in Brooklyn after getting caught on closing doors
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .