Hateful cyclist punches man in Central Park, snarls ‘F–king Jew pig’ before speeding off: cops

A hate-spewing Citi Bike rider slugged an elderly man in Central Park, called him a “F—king Jew pig” and even threatened to kill him — as bias crimes targeting Jewish victims continue to rise in the Big Apple, according to authorities and the victim. 

The menace attacked 70-year-old Allan Ripp – a former journalist who now runs his own public relations firm and has lived on the Upper West Side since 1976 – around 6 p.m. July 13 along the West Drive near the 97th Street Transverse, according to cops. 

The “super traumatic” incident unfolded as Ripp was walking his daughter’s dog, Biscotti, over a bridge at the park’s reservoir, and was body-checked by a bicycle-riding stranger.

“It was kind of like a scene out of a horror movie,” Ripp told The Post Friday in a phone interview.

Ripp uncharacteristically chastised the cyclist for riding on the path — which set the man off on the warpath.

The madman rained down punches on Ripp’s collarbone, cheek and hands — and even tried to kick Biscotti, all while screaming a litany of profanities.

“He said, ‘I’ll kill you and I’ll kill your animal. You f–king Jew Pig. Jew. You Jew. You Jew. You f–king Jew.’” the journalist recalled.

“And he spit at me — it wasn’t spindle. It was spit, like I’m spitting at you because you’re a dirty animal. And that was kind of the most challenging part afterwards … I had to sit in the Central Park precinct house for several hours with this guy’s spit on me and my shirt.

“That was actually maybe the most unsettling physical aspect of it because his body, his fluid hate was right on me.”

Despite being briefly chased by the stranger, Ripp escaped and called 911 — coincidentally dialing the phone one minute after Donald Trump was shot during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Like the ex-president, Ripp suffered minor injuries. He had soft tissue swelling on his arms, but said the ramifications were more mental.

“Traumatic — there’s no other way to describe it — it’s super traumatic, especially because it was so explosive so quickly and so unexpected. It was very, very scary, especially at a place where I have walked and traversed thousands of times,” Ripp said.

“This was about as home to me in New York as I could possibly get.”

The suspect was still on the loose Friday, and video released by the NYPD shows him heading south on his bike.

He is described as a man with a slim build and medium complexion, last seen wearing an orange baseball cap, white T-shirt, black pants, black sneakers and carrying a cross-body bookbag, cops said. 

Ripp described him “as a man intent on bodily harm and inflicting punishment in his mind for calling him out.”

“His fury over nothing was, it’s hard for me to believe, that asking him to not ride his bike, was that was what set him off. It has to be deeper than that … to be set upon that way, that’s the shocker,” the victim said.

The department’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the incident, cops said, but Ripp expressed concern that the attacker would face serious prosecution considering his injuries weren’t severe.

In July alone, the task force investigated 30 anti-Jewish offenses, compared to only 10 during the same period last year, according to data released earlier this week. 

Antisemitic hate crimes made up the majority of the 52 bias offenses investigated by the department last month, the data shows. The NYPD probed 48 hate crimes in July 2023.

So far this year, 229 anti-Semitic hate crimes have been reported to the NYPD through Sunday, according to the latest data available. 

By that time last year, 126 such incidents were reported.

Ripp hasn’t had the best of luck walking in Central Park over the years.

Another terrifying encounter in the park back in 2016 left Ripp a fingertip short when his pal’s golden retriever chomped down on it, he previously told The Post. 

Despite the two life-changing ordeals, Ripp said he will not be deterred from his daily visits to his favorite place.

“I needed to go back right away, and I needed to just see that this is still the place I feel comfortable with and it’s not going to change my views about either the park, New York or New Yorkers.”