NEW YORK - Police are searching for the man they say assaulted an MTA worker in Manhattan over the weekend.

Officials say the 59-year-old on-duty MTA employee was punched in the face in an unprovoked attack on Saturday.

It happened at the 145th Street 1 train subway station around 3:30 a.m.

The attacker then fled the station.

 

The vicitim was taken to an area hospital where he was treated for a laceration to the face.

Transport Workers Union Local 100 president Tony Utano responded to the incident saying, "This is why we need a greater law enforcement presence in the subway. Transit worker assaults are a major problem that needs to be addressed. Now"

Other incidents have occured in the past few months in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Employees have been doused in uirine, punched and in one case, stabbed.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at or on Twitter @NYPDTips.