New York City saw a jaw-dropping 206% spike in felony assault busts for repeat offenders over the past eight years, according to new crime statistics.
NYPD officers collared 263 criminals who have previously been arrested three or more times for felony assault this year, up 205.6% from the same period in 2018, when 86 career criminals were arrested.
In one of the most disturbing cases this year, a serial offender shoved teacher Ross Falzone, 76, to his death down Manhattan subway steps — just hours after he walked out of the Bellevue Hospital psych ward in May.
Rhamell Burke — a 32-year-old repeat troublemaker and former Broadway dancer who had been arrested four times since February — was taken to the hospital as an “emotionally disturbed” person by police after acting erratically in a local precinct.
He was released from the hospital an hour later, and went on to shove Falzone, causing him to fatally strike his head.
“I blame the self-serving mayor, governor, Manhattan DA and certain members of the city legislature for Ross’s death because they support policies that protect violent criminals at the expense of their victims,” Falzone’s friend, Rob DiMeo, raged on Facebook at the time.
“I also blame NYC residents who voted them into office and also those residents who don’t vote at all,” he said.
A high-ranking NYPD official also fumed to The Post that the senseless killing represents a “complete collapse” of City Hall’s approach to mental health and repeat offenders.
Overall, felony assaults increased 3.1% in August and 0.7% this year, compared to last year — with 20,200 recorded so far in 2026 compared to 2,065 in 2025, according to the stats.
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