Sleeping homeless man attacked with firework on NYC street

Footage emerges as mayor vows to crack down on the plague of illegal fireworks across city

Horrifying video has emerged of a sleeping 66-year-old homeless man being attacked with a firework on a New York City street.

The footage shows a man lighting the explosive before throwing it at the victim who is curled up under a blanket on the sidewalk.

After an initial spark and flare from the device, the victim begins to move, presumably waking up. A second later there is an explosion.

The man’s assailant is seen grinning and laughing after lighting and throwing the firework.

First responders took the injured man to St Luke’s Hospital where he was treated for minor burns and is in a stable condition.

The incident took place at approximately 4am on Monday on Lenox Avenue and West 113th Street in Harlem.

New York Police Chief Terence Monahan described the crime as shocking and vowed to apprehend those responsible.

The investigation is being carried out by the 28th Precinct which was made aware of the video on social media on Monday.

An arrest is yet to be made.

New York is going through an epidemic of illegal firework use across the city, with 1,737 complaints in the first half of June compared to 21 in the same period in 2019.

After protesters gathered outside his official residence on Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio is cracking down on illegal fireworks.

On Tuesday morning, he established a task force to target suppliers and distributors to stem the flow of contraband devices into New York neighbourhoods.

“Illegal fireworks are not only illegal, but they can be dangerous. We need to get that message across, and that’s what we intend to do,” Mayor de Blasio said. “We also intend to go to the root cause – and that is the people who are supplying the fireworks, the folks who are profiting off of illegal fireworks. We’re going to start a huge sting operation to go and get these illegal fireworks at the base.”