Chinatown landlord Brian Chin, who was charged with assault causing serious injury following a physical altercation with a homeless person, has had the charges against him dropped by Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg. Last August, Brian Chin encountered a homeless individual sleeping outside a subway station at the intersection of Chrystie and Grand Streets in Manhattan. Upon inspecting the situation and returning, he was attacked by the homeless person with a stick covered in nails. In self-defense, Chin knocked the individual down, leading to his arrest and facing a felony charge that could have resulted in a maximum sentence of 7 years in prison.
According to reports from the New York Post, Brian Chin mentioned that his heightened awareness of safety concerns in the area stemmed from the stalking and murder of his tenant Christina Yuna Lee by a homeless person two years ago. This incident prompted him to return to the scene on that day. However, the legal dispute that followed lasted for five months.
As a result of the case, Chin was forced to resign from his position as a teaching assistant at Harvard after failing a background check. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, the homeless individual had severe facial injuries and was diagnosed with facial and skull fractures, requiring intubation for breathing. The homeless person was later charged with menacing, which Chin sees as evidence supporting his actions as a justifiable defense. With the charges now dropped by the prosecution, he believes “this was a case that should never have been brought in the first place.”
He likened his situation to that of grocery store clerk Jose Alba, who was charged with murder after stabbing an attacker and had the charges dropped under public pressure. A spokesperson from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office told the New York Post last Sunday, “Our job is to thoroughly investigate and prosecute violent acts, including incidents involving alleged assaults,” and “The case has been dismissed and sealed by the court.”