NYC newsstand vendor left ‘covered in blood’ in broad-daylight lotto ticket, cash heist

Jack Morphet, Amanda Woods
·3 min read
Abul Hossain, 67, of Ozone Park, was eating lunch inside his stand at East 79th Street and First Avenue around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when the trio – wearing black beanies and black masks – stormed inside, the worker told The Post Thursday.
Abul Hossain, 67, of Ozone Park, was eating lunch inside his stand at East 79th Street and First Avenue around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when the trio - wearing black beanies and black masks - stormed inside, the worker told The Post Thursday.

Three brutes bashed a Manhattan newsstand owner in the head and left him “covered in blood” during an afternoon robbery where they snagged lottery tickets and cash, the vendor said.

The masked men stormed inside Abul Hossain’s Upper East Side newsstand at around 2:30 p.m. and unloaded punches on the unassuming 67-year-old vendor.

“I was eating my lunch when they came in and just started punching me,” Hossain told The Post. “They punched me in the head over and over.

Abul Hossain, 67, said the vicious trio stormed into the newsstand while he was eating lunch and pummeled him. Robert Miller
Abul Hossain, 67, said the vicious trio stormed into the newsstand while he was eating lunch and pummeled him. Robert Miller

“There was no time to fight back,” he added. “I didn’t say anything to them, I just yelled ‘help, help!’”

The crew snatched up about $3,000 in cash — most of the week’s lottery takings — and rolls of scratch-offs, but Hossain said he hasn’t had the chance to determine just how much they were worth.

Hossain said he was “covered in blood” after the attack — and he was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital in stable condition with a cut on his head, cops said.

He spent about five hours in the hospital and returned to the newsstand on 79th Street and First Avenue Wednesday morning.

Hossain, who suffered a cut on his head, was hospitalized for five hours after the attack. Robert Miller
Hossain, who suffered a cut on his head, was hospitalized for five hours after the attack. Robert Miller

“Yesterday this was all full of blood and messed up,” Hossain said as he gestured toward the inside of the newsstand.

He spent the entire day cleaning his newsstand, he said, but blood still remained on the walls and on Hossain’s paperwork binders Thursday.

Hossain told The Post he never worried about locking the newsstand door behind him but will make sure it’s secured after his traumatic ordeal ordeal.

Hossain swiftly returned to work after the bloody attack. Robert Miller
Hossain swiftly returned to work after the bloody attack. Robert Miller

Asked how he was feeling, the father of three who moved from Bangladesh to New York 21 years ago broke down in tears.

“I feel… I feel… I am very upset,” he said. “I have been in this location seven years and I’ve never been attacked.”

A doorman at a nearby building, John Chess, told The Post he has known Hossain for the entire time he’s owned the newsstand.

No arrests had been made in the terrifying broad-daylight mugging by Thursday. Robert Miller
No arrests had been made in the terrifying broad-daylight mugging by Thursday. Robert Miller

“He’s a nice guy. A regular guy,” said Chess, adding that he gets Hossain a coffee most mornings because he can’t leave his post.

“They robbed him. They opened his door, rushed inside, hit him, grabbed all the money and lottery tickets,” Chess recounted.

“It’s out of the ordinary for this area,” he added of the vicious crime. “I’ve worked here for 21 years, and usually things happen around 86th Street – not usually over here.”

No arrests had been made in connection to the mugging by Thursday, cops said.