The brother of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was slashed in the back of the head inside a bodega during an argument with an employee this week, police sources said.
Samuel Diaz, 49, a superintendent for Claremont Consolidation, a NYCHA property, was disciplining a 27-year-old staffer outside the El Pollo Deli Grocery about a block-and-a-half away at East 166th Street and Findlay Avenue in Concourse Village around 11:40 a.m. Tuesday.
The fight erupted because “the guy didn’t want to do his work and [Diaz] was telling him you have to do the work to get paid,” a Claremont Consolidation tenant who declined to give his name told the Post.
A witness who was inside the deli told the Post the employee was holding a pocket knife as the pair bickered outside the bodega.
“[Samuel Diaz] ran… in the back of the store,” the witness said. “The guy came in with the knife in his hand. He opened the knife and started chasing him. [Diaz] was backing up and the guy was coming at him with the knife. [Samuel Diaz] pushed him away.”
“When [Samuel Diaz] turned around, [his employee] cut him at the back of the head,” he added. “The guy didn’t run. He went outside and closed the knife and was walking like nothing happened.”
The victim called 911 while the witness pressed some paper towels on the back of his head.
“He was bleeding a lot,” the witness recalled. “He was holding the back of his head.”
Diaz was taken to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition for a laceration to his head and upper back. The cut was about two inches long, the witness said.
He received 10 stitches and is listed in stable condition.
City Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., Samuel’s father, told the Post his son would be coming home from the hospital Wednesday.
Ruben Diaz Jr. said in a statement that “as it stands, the facts of the case are the facts and we hope the culprit of this brutal assault will be brought to justice soon.”
���Our family remains truly grateful and appreciative of the many expressions of concern for my brother’s well being during this unfortunate and personally tragic moment,” the borough president said.
Robert Rivers, 43, who has worked at that NYCHA developent for 21 years — often worked alongside the other man — said he goes by the nickname “Cuba.”
Rivers called the incident “totally surprising.”
“[Cuba] is mild mannered, very easy going guy,” Rivers said. “My boss [Diaz] is a good guy. He is very fair….Both of them are good guys.”
“We are going through this pandemic, it was hot yesterday, everybody gets riled up,” he added. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
The suspect, who fled, had not been arrested by Wednesday afternoon, cops said.
“I wish my supervisor the best and I hope my co-worker turned himself in,” Rivers said. “I don’t want him to get hurt.”