Man beaten, stabbed after wishing attackers ‘Happy New Year’ passed out after assault: relatives

The 29-year-old man beaten and stabbed by four men at a Bronx train station he wished a happy new year to was trying to squeeze past the cruel quartet when he was attacked, family members said Saturday.

“He was coming down [to the platform] and then these guys — he said it was two on one side, two on the other — he said ‘Happy New Year’ and then after that they came behind him and they just attacked him,” a relative of victim Carlos Pilliza told the Daily News.

Nearly a week after the attack, Pilliza remained at St. Barnabas Hospital, suffering from multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck.

“They stabbed him in the lungs and the heart and here,” the relative said, pointing to her neck. “And then they leave him there.”

Pilliza didn’t recognize any of his attackers and had no idea why they would hurt him.

He had just stepped onto the Manhattan-bound D train platform at the 182-183rd St. station in Fordham when he said “happy new year” to the four fellow straphangers about 8:45 p.m. Monday — about 21 hours after the ball fell in Times Square, cops said.

The salutation sparked an argument, then fisticuffs as the suspects punched the victim in the face and body, according to cops.

As the New Year’s day beatdown escalated, one of the men pulled a knife and jammed it into Pilliza multiple times.

As his attackers ran off, Pilliza tried to call 911, but passed out from his wounds.

“He said that he went down [to the ground] and tried to talk,” the family member said. “Everything started getting dark and then another person came and grabbed the phone so maybe the other person helped.”

Pilliza was on the mend, the relative said.

“He’s fine. He had a lot of surgeries. He cannot talk really well,” she said, adding that she had spent New Year’s Day with Pilliza before he left for home.

“That’s why we were surprised (about what happened),” she said.

Pilliza’s attackers remained at large Saturday.

Cops on Friday posted new crystal clear images of the four scowling suspects responsible for the attack.

All of the brawlers are believed to be about 5-foot-8 with slim builds. One sported braids while another had braids and glasses, cops said.

A third attacker had long hair and was wearing red-and-black checkerboard-style pants while a fourth wore a black jacket and a black ski mask.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.