Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Police Arrest Suspect In East Harlem Attack That Put Asian Man In Coma
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Apr 27, 2021
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 .
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Apr 27, 2021
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
Police have arrested a suspect for his alleged role in the brutal assault of Yao Pan Ma in East Harlem on Friday night.
Jarrod Powell, 49, was charged with two counts of felony assault in connection with the attack, which left Ma in a medically induced coma and elicited a new wave of anger from New Yorkers already on edge about increasing bias attacks on Asian Americans.
Ma, 61, was collecting bottles and cans near Third Avenue and 125th Street when he was pushed to the ground at around 8 p.m. on Friday, police said. Video shows a man stomping on Ma's head repeatedly, as the victim lies there motionless, then walking away.
He remained in a coma as of Tuesday morning, though he was showing "positive signs," according to an update shared on a GoFundMe started for his family. The fundraiser, which was organized by the fashion designer Phillip Lim, had raised $362,000 in the span of a day.
An NYPD spokesperson said that Powell was arrested at 600 East 125th Street just before 3 a.m. on Tuesday. The address, at the base of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, belongs to the state-run Manhattan Psychiatric Center, which also runs a hospital across the river on Ward's Island.
Police previously indicated they were investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, though Powell did not initially receive those charges.
A vigil outside the Harlem Hospital Center on Monday
C.S. Muncy/Gothamist
At a small vigil held outside the hospital on Monday night, community members said the incident immediately recalled recent vicious beatings on Asian New Yorkers, including another video last month that showed an elderly Filipino American woman being kicked in the head in Hells Kitchen.
"It’s unimaginably horrible that someone could have so much hatred and anger to do this to somebody," Lillian, an Asian American woman who lives in East Harlem, told Gothamist on Monday. "I no longer want to go outside by myself."
She added that there had been a visible increase in the homeless population on the eastern stretch of 125th Street, many of whom were "dumped" there from Ward's Island, she said.
"We call that zombie land," echoed Calvin Hunt, a Harlem activist who organized the vigil.
"It hurts me for this man to be beaten like this because he’s Asian," Hunt added. "The incidents, one after another, when is it going to stop? This is not Harlem."
Additional reporting by C.S. Muncy.
Tagged
harlem
anti-asian
hate crime
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Early Addition: There's finally stuff inside the Times Square tower where the ball drops
Because it used to sit vacant for most of the year, here are your early links: Rangers goalie scored, "It's a Wonderful Life" coming to Broadway, there's dignity in scaffolding and more.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 9:20 a.m. ET
NYC subway dragging death highlights an old school MTA failsafe
The man dragged to death by a subway train in Brooklyn earlier this week put riders across the city on edge.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
News
NYC subway dragging death highlights an old school MTA failsafe
The man dragged to death by a subway train in Brooklyn earlier this week put riders across the city on edge.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
We were the victim': Brooklyn shelter's new CEO speaks after corruption scandal
By
Ryan Kost
Badly burned body found in a trashed and abandoned Jamaica Queens lot, NYPD says
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Brooklyn DA brings back warrant-clearing event as quality-of-life tickets surge
By
Ben Feuerherd
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 .