A Manhattan building superintendent has been arrested after he was captured on an alarming video kicking and beating a tenant down two flights of stairs, authorities said.
Nick Valentin, 45, was seen kicking a 26-year-old tenant down a flight of stairs around 8 a.m. Saturday at the building on 112th Street near Third Avenue, according to his criminal complaint.
Video captured by a doorbell camera and obtained by CBS News showed him picking up a wrench to continue to beat the tenant as he stumbled down another flight of stairs.
Nick Valentin was seen kicking a 26-year-old tenant down a flight of stairs and using a wrench to continue to beat the tenant as he stumbled down another flight. CBS New YorkValentin was charged with one count of second-degree assault in connection to the incident, which was provoked by a verbal dispute, authorities said.
The attacker does not reside inside the building, according to cops.
The victim sustained lacerations to his right hand and had pain in his left arm. Cops observed the tenant’s arm to be visibly swollen, court records show.
He was transported to Cornell Medical Center and was reported in stable condition, according to police.
An urgent 911 call by a tenant in the building led to Valentin’s arrest, according to CBS.
When reached by the Post, the super claimed he was not the agressor.
He insisted he was defending himself from the tenant, who “pulled a screwdriver on him” after a verbal dispute that began when he went to a unit to investigate some loud noises.
“I just saw something silver. . . I don’t know what it is so I’m kicking him,” Valentin said.
“I’m scared. I’m a man too; I’m a human being, I’m scared,” he said.
He told the Post he no longer had permission to enter the building.
Neighbors expressed shock at the news of the incident. “I think that is not the way that you’re going to get your rent at all,” Michael Velasquez, who lives near the apartment, told CBS News.
The incident occurred in a rent-stabilized apartment building on East 112th Street near Third Avenue in East Harlem. CBS New YorkAnother tenant told the outlet he was “very alarmed” by the video and mentioned he’s repeatedly raised concerns about health and safety in the building.
Valentin pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance without bail in Manhattan court Sunday.
Valentin, the attacker, has no prior criminal record, according to police.
He is set to return to court on October 17.
