Staffer in Andrew Cuomo's office is hit over the head with a BRICK in shocking random attack as she walked down the street in Midtown Manhattan

A woman who works for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been randomly attacked  in the street by a stranger who crept up behind her and hit her across the head with a brick. 

The 51-year-old staffer, identified as Lisa Cavanaugh, was attacked from behind on Thursday afternoon in Midtown Manhattan on Third Avenue between 47th and 48th streets.

The attack happened in broad daylight at around 2pm, close the Midtown offices of Senator Chuck Schumer.

Cavanaugh works as a recruitment and appointments officer for Governor Cuomo. 

Lisa Cavanaugh, was attacked from behind in Midtown on Third Avenue between 47th and 48th streets having had a brick thrown at her as she walked down the street on Thursday

This man is wanted in connection with an assault on a woman who was hit in the head with a brick as she walked near Grand Central Terminal on Thursday afternoon

The woman, 51, was struck with a brick near Third Avenue and East 48th Street about 2:15pm

Nothing was said by the suspect before or after the attack. The brick can be seen lying on the ground, left

Police say that no words were exchanged between the pair before the unprovoked attack. The suspect crept up behind her, according to the Daily News.

The victim was taken to hospital in stable condition.

Cavanaugh stayed conscious, but needed stitches at Bellevue Hospital to sew up a gash to her head.

Police say they are continuing to look for a suspect. No arrests have been made. 

The random attack comes amid a surge in crime in New York City, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The latest crime report shows that while assaults in November were 5.2 per cent lower than in November 2019, shootings and murders are on the rise.  

The brick was sizable and aimed directly at the woman, a staffer for Gov Andrew Cuomo

The area where the attack occurred was taped off while police investigated the crime

The man fled from the scene. Officers launched a search for him in the surrounding area and in the transit hub

Attack occurred during the middle of the day during what is normally a busy part of the city

Citywide shooting incidents through the first 11 months of 2020 surged to levels unseen in years, the NYPD said.  

Twenty-eight people were murdered in the five boroughs, last month - five more than were killed last November. 

This year has also seen a 38.4 per cent increase in the number of victims murdered in New York City compared to last year.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters at his City Hall briefing earlier this month that the surge in violent crime this year can be pinned on an 'absolute perfect storm' that hit New York this year.   

Crime rates have risen in New York City in the last 11 months, amid the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak that has taken a toll on and its police. While assaults in November were 5.2 per cent lower than in November 2019, shootings and murders are on the rise

'You cannot combine a massive health crisis, tens of thousands of people dying, hospitals overwhelmed, economy is shut down, schools are shut down, houses of worship shut down, society not having its normal moorings all at once, a social justice crisis…' the mayor said.

'Come on, this is not like anything we have seen in our history and I believe not like anything we will see again in our lifetimes.'

New York Police Department commissioner, Dermot Shea, blames the state's new bail reform measure.  

New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea says that the city is on pace to set a 14-year record for most incidents of gun violence in a single year

New York's top cop Shea told NY1: 'We have made staggering numbers of gun arrests, taking guns off the streets from felons, doing it almost always without a shot being fired.'

Shea added: 'But when you look three days later, four days later, those individuals are back on the street committing more gun violence.'

Shea claimed that progressive policies that encourage criminal justice reform are making the city more dangerous.

'Until we come to that realization as a society — is this what we want?' he said.

'It's good to have philosophical discussions about 'end mass incarceration' and 'end incarceration' but you don't want to do it by turning the innocent public into jails in their own apartments and houses.