98-Year-Old Man ‘Beaten’ by Democratic Campaign Worker in NYC

A 98-year-old Brooklyn man was left shaken after police say a woman handing out campaign flyers for a Democratic candidate allegedly attacked him with a broomstick and metal chair during a wild dispute inside his apartment building.

The shocking incident unfolded around 4 p.m. Thursday in the lobby of a building near Maple Street and Rogers Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, according to police.

Authorities said 27-year-old Tashara Abel was stuffing reelection flyers into mailboxes for Democratic New York State Committee Member Anthony Beckford, who is running in the June 23 primary for reelection as a Democratic district leader.

But what allegedly started as political canvassing quickly spiraled into violence.

Police said the elderly man walked into the lobby and got into an argument with Abel over the campaign handouts. Moments later, prosecutors allege Abel repeatedly punched the 98-year-old man in the neck before striking him with a wooden broomstick and a metal chair around his head and body.

The victim, who turns 99 next month, was treated at the scene for minor head injuries but declined to be taken to the hospital.

His wife told The New York Post that her husband was “shaken up” after the terrifying encounter.

According to the victim’s wife, her husband had used a small stick to keep the door open while going into the garage. When he returned, he crossed paths with Abel as she came down the stairs.

That is when the situation allegedly exploded.

The wife claimed Abel grabbed a broom and hit her husband twice in the leg before striking him with a metal chair.

Abel fled after the alleged attack, but police said she was captured on video entering and leaving the building. Investigators later released surveillance images of the suspect, and Beckford identified her to authorities, according to the criminal complaint.

When police questioned Abel, she allegedly claimed the elderly man had pushed her first.

“He pushed me first, and I pushed him back,” Abel told officers, according to the complaint.

Speaking to The Post, Abel denied attacking the man and said she was only doing a paid literature job for candidates on the June 23 ballot.

“I was doing a lit job for the candidates that is running back on the ballot for June 23,” Abel said.

She claimed she entered the building after seeing the door open and said the elderly man confronted her, asked what she was doing, and demanded she leave.

“I’m just doing my jobs that I’m supposed to be doing,” she said she told him.

Abel alleged the man pushed her and spit in her face. She also claimed the chair and sticks were already blocking the doorway and fell when the victim pushed the door.

“I kicked the chair out of the way,” she said. “I moved the stick out of the way. So this man is lying on me.”

Police did not buy that explanation.

Abel was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with three counts of assault, burglary, and criminal possession of a weapon. She was later released on supervised release.

A police source said Abel has no prior arrests.

Beckford reportedly called the victim to apologize, according to the victim’s wife.

The disturbing case is already raising questions about political canvassing, building access, and public safety in a city where even a man approaching his 99th birthday can allegedly become the target of a violent confrontation over campaign flyers.

For many New Yorkers, the accusations are another chilling reminder of how quickly daily life in the city can turn dangerous — even inside the lobby of your own building.