The incident happened Aug. 8 in the vicinity of 66th Street and Forest Avenue in Ridgewood.
Investigators say the suspect came up to a 40-year-old woman and started to talk to her.
Moments later, he pushed her inside the vestibule of a residential building.
Once inside, police say the man punched the woman in the face, and tried to take off her sweatshirt and pull down her shorts.
The suspect ran off when a resident of the building began yelling at him.
The NYPD describes the suspect as a male, Middle Eastern, light complexion, 30-35 years of age, 5'6", black hair, brown eyes, dark beard, last seen wearing a white short sleeved shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782)