Two adults were arrested Monday for the Upper East Side gang attack on former Gov. Paterson and his stepson, police sources said.
The arrests of the 40-year-old man and 34-year-old woman follow the arrests of two boys, just 12 and 13, who surrendered to police with their parents Saturday night. Charges against the man and woman were pending Monday.
Paterson, 70, who is legally blind, and his 20-year-old stepson Anthony Sliwa — the son of Guardian Angels founder and former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa — were walking on Second Ave. about 8:30 p.m. Friday when the group confronted them near E. 97th St., cops said.
Paterson recounted the assault in a press conference Saturday afternoon, describing how he and his stepson fought off a group of about nine people after his stepson quarreled with some of the attackers earlier in the evening.
About 45 minutes before the assault, Sliwa was out by himself walking his dog, Bella, and argued with three members of the group after spotting them scaling a fire escape on the side of a building, Paterson said.
Paterson and Sliwa were headed to the McDonald’s when the same three confronted them, flanked by about six others, Paterson said.
They argued, and a woman confronted his stepson, then threw the first punch, the former governor said.
“I got punched in the face a couple times and I got punched in the shoulder,” Paterson said. “But the person who punched me on the shoulder, I threw them against the McDonald’s window myself.”
Paterson suffered bruises and some pain to his head. Sliwa, also battered and bruised, received a cut lip that required five stitches, Paterson said.
“This just wasn’t an incident involving young people who were getting out of hand,” said Paterson.
“Gov. Paterson and his family are glad to see the suspects turned themselves in,” a spokesperson for Paterson said Sunday. “We hope that the young people involved learn something from this unfortunate encounter. The Governor is grateful to see the kids’ parents hold them to account and would also like to thank the NYPD for their strong work.”
The boys’ names have not released by cops because they are underage. They were charged with gang assault.