New York Post

Black eye for Gotham

Random punch left Buscemi bruised

- By REUVEN FENTON and JORGE FITZ-GIBBON

Actor Steve Buscemi was spotted with a black eye and bruising on his chin in his first appearance since getting slugged in a random attack in Kips Bay last week.

The 66-year-old “Boardwalk Empire” actor was sporting the injuries from the unprovoked assault while shooting a commercial in Soho on Saturday.

Buscemi could be seen in photos taken over the weekend chatting with crew members along Mott and Prince streets around 5:25 p.m.

It was his first public appearance since the broad-daylight attack on Wednesday, when a deranged brute walked up to the Brooklyn-born actor and slugged him in an unprovoked attack — with his attacker still on the loose, the NYPD told The Post.

‘Just getting worse’

“Steve Buscemi was assaulted in [Midtown] Manhattan, another victim of a random act of violence in the city,” the actor’s publicist said in a statement Sunday. “He is OK and appreciate­s everyone’s well wishes, though incredibly sad for everyone that this has happened to while also walking the streets of New York.”

A worker at a building near the scene of the attack said Monday that a surveillan­ce camera captured the shocking incident.

“The guy just came up to him and punched him on the side of the head for no reason,” the man said, describing the incident. “[Buscemi] didn’t see anything. He went straight to the ground and the guy kept going.

The actor “got right back up with an expression like, ‘What just happened?’ and looked toward the guy who’d hit him,” the worker said. “The guy shouted something back at him and kept going.”

The worker said the Kips Bay neighborho­od “is full of people like this and it’s just getting worse.”

“Everybody has to look over their shoulder now,” the worker added. “And no one with the power to do anything wants to stop what’s going on.”

Cops last week released surveillan­ce photos of the alleged attacker who was seen talking to himself moments before the random slugging in video obtained by CBS News.

Buscemi’s career has spanned decades and includes roles in hit films like “Fargo,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “The Big Lebowski.”

He drew acclaim for his role as crooked Atlantic City pol Enoch “Nucky” Thompson in the hit HBO series “Boardwalk Empire.”

Buscemi is the second cast member from the series to be attacked in the city in recent weeks.

On March 31, Michael Stuhlbarg, who played Arnold Rothstein, was jogging on the Upper East Side when a vagrant hit him with a rock.

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 ?? ?? RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE: Steve Buscemi was sporting a black eye and bruises while on set in Soho Saturday — his first public appearance since he was randomly hit by a man (above) in a Kips Bay attack Wednesday.
RANDOM ACT OF VIOLENCE: Steve Buscemi was sporting a black eye and bruises while on set in Soho Saturday — his first public appearance since he was randomly hit by a man (above) in a Kips Bay attack Wednesday.

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