The brazen attack happened in broad daylight as the man was on his way to visit his friend
He was in the entry way of his friend's brownstone when the attack happened.
"Nobody told him he was in his 80's. He acted like he was a young man, very passionate. Very excited. Each day was a new beginning," Gene Koretz said.
May 25th marked the beginning of a painful ending.
"It all happened in the span of a minute," he said.
/*Gerald Abramovitz*/ walked up the steps of his friend's Upper West Side brownstone. He rang the buzzer to Gene Koretz's apartment. By the time Koretz made it to the door, it was over.
"I found him sprawled on the ground of the vestibule, bleeding copiously," Koretz said.
Abramovitz told his friend that a young man hit him in the head from behind, went through his wallet, stole what little cash was inside and ran away.
"I can't believe it. I still can't believe it," he said.
Can't believe a crime like this happened to a sweet elderly man on quiet West 89th street at about quarter after five in the evening.
Just as unreal to Abramovitz's friends is what happened next.
Abramovitz was sent home soon after the attack with just a few stitches.
Two days later he was readmitted to Mount Sinai Hospital where doctors found a brain hemorrhage.
Thursday morning, three weeks after the attack, Abramovitz died.
"He's going to be missed by many people," Koretz said.
A man missed on this tree-lined block where neighbors say surveillance cameras will soon be installed.
The search for the attacker continues.
Friends have raised money to bring this reward up to $5,000. Police ask anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at this number: 1-800-577 TIPS. All callers can remain anonymous.
