A 32-year-old man was fatally stabbed on a Queens street, cops said Sunday, under scaffolding that neighbors complain has been up for years.
The victim was knifed once in the neck and twice in the chest near 34th Ave. and 96th St. in Jackson Heights around 7:40 p.m. Saturday, cops said.
Medics rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital but he couldn’t be saved. The victim’s name was not immediately released.
One person who did not see the stabbing but claimed to have witnessed the aftermath told the Daily News she saw the wounded victim chase after a man the witness presumed to be the suspect for about half a block before stopping abruptly.
“I didn’t see him get stabbed or nothing, I just saw the running,” said the woman, who declined to give her name.
“There was two guys that came out,” she said. “One was already injured. He was running after the second guy and basically was pointing at him and he ended up just running off and zigzagging down blocks.”
The victim looked “perfectly fine,” except for a spot of red on his neck, the witness said. “He didn’t even look like anything got hurt besides whatever was on his neck,” she said. “I believe there was blood leaking out of his neck area.”
The woman said he saw the suspect, who looked to be in his 20s, run north on 96th St. before disappearing.
The two men appeared to have dashed out from under long-standing scaffolding that neighbors said often served as a cover for illicit activities, making the area unsafe. What appeared to be a pool of blood could be seen under the scaffolding on the sidewalk in front of a memorial with candles and pictures of the victim on Sunday afternoon.
“You can’t really see what’s there, so it’s like anything can happen there. That’s the most dangerous thing, especially near the park right there,” a neighbor who did not want to be identified said.
Nevertheless, down the block on Sunday, several families were gathered at Junction Playground for Mother’s Day celebrations.
The neighbor said he was inside during the incident, but watched EMS load the victim, who appeared alive and conscious at the time, into an ambulance while a woman who looked to be the victim’s girlfriend clung to him while shouting, “My Papi!”
“That’s a real ugly blind spot, especially at night,” the neighbor said. “It feels dangerous. I won’t walk under there.”
Another neighbor, 36, who lives across the street from the crime scene echoed those concerns.
“I’ve lived here about four years. My wife lived here her entire life. As long as the scaffolding has been here, there’s always people sleeping, doing drugs, just hanging out over there. It’s not safe, especially with kids, there are kids around here,” the neighbor, who also did not want to give his name, said.
Like others, the man said he and his family avoid the nearby playground because the scaffolding makes that side of the street unsafe.
“Not that [playground]. Yeah, we go a little further out,” he said, adding, “We want this scaffolding out of here.”
Julian Roberts-Grmela / New York Daily News
Flowers and candles are seen near a pool of blood on the sidewalk where the 32-year-old man was fatally stabbed. (Julian Roberts-Grmela / New York Daily News)
The scaffolding, which appeared to have been erected for renovations to the Corona Health Center, displayed a sign for Sea Breeze General Construction Inc. Calls to the phone number listed for the construction company went unanswered Sunday.
According to a Department of Health press release from July 2024, the $10.5 million renovation project, which is being managed by the Department of Design and Construction, is slated to finish by spring 2026.
Police have not made an arrest and the investigation is ongoing.
The killing marks the fourth homicide this year in Queens’ 115th Precinct, equaling its total for all of 2024, NYPD statistics show.
Originally Published: May 11, 2025 at 9:57 AM EDT
