A 55-year-old man was stabbed to death during a Tuesday clash between tenants inside a Times Square supportive housing residence, police said.
The victim was knifed in the torso during a fight inside the site, called Breaking Ground, on W. 43rd St. near Eighth Ave. around 12:50 a.m., cops said.
Medics rushed the victim, who lived at the residence, to Mount Sinai West, where he later died. His name was not immediately released.
Suspect Kevin Yong, 38, who also lives in the residence, was arrested at the scene and charged with manslaughter. His arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Tuesday.
The building was a Times Square hotel that fell into disrepair before Breaking Ground took it over in 1991.
The massive building now provides affordable housing and onsite supportive services for low-income and formerly homeless adults, people with serious mental illness and people living with HIV and AIDS.
Pedro Reyes, 61, has been living in a studio apartment in the building since a fire destroyed his Bronx apartment earlier this year.
“When I woke up in the morning I saw the cops at the end of the hall and someone told me, ‘You know what? They killed somebody,’” Reyes said. “It really freaked me out, because I live here with my wife.”
Residents told the Daily News they believe most people living in the building suffer with drug addiction or mental illness.
“Their big problem is mental illness,” said Eduardo Rodriguez, 75. “They take them to a place, they give them medication and say, ‘Take this medication everyday.’ How these guys gonna take their medication when they’re crazy?”
Still, the killing came as a “shock” to Reyes, he said.
“You see everything here,” he remarked. “Suicides, crimes, people smoking crack … someone freaking out in the hallway.”
Breaking Ground said the organization was “profoundly saddened by the tragic incident.”
“Our deepest condolences and thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends,” it said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of our tenants and are actively providing support services to the community at the Times Square.”
The slaying comes as cops try to get a handle on an uptick in murders and assaults in and around Times Square.
By the end of June, cops had investigated three murders in the Times Square area this year, one more than by this time last year. There had also been a 10% jump in assaults, from 238 to 264. There were also four shootings, two more than last year, cops said.
The assaults included a bloody brawl on Broadway near W. 46th St. that left one man stabbed on June 27 and an incident where a man was stabbed with a machete during a Times Square turf war among CD vendors at W. 45th St. and Broadway on May 30.
