State Sen. Eric Schneiderman — a candidate for attorney general, the highest law-enforcement post in New York — was involved in a minor car accident outside the New York 1 studios in Chelsea and then fled the scene, the cable news station reported last night.
NY1 said the Upper West Side Democrat was a passenger in a car driven by a staffer who sideswiped a vehicle parked in front of her on Ninth Avenue Monday night and pulled away without leaving a note.
The staffer was identified as Rachel Kagan, 22-year-old niece of US Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.
A passing bicyclist who witnessed the incident jotted down Schneiderman’s plate number and remained on the scene waiting for the owner of the damaged vehicle, who turned out to be NY1 executive editor Melissa Rabinovich.
She contacted Schneiderman yesterday demanding an explanation.
“He told me he had disciplined the staffer. But he was also insisting that it was just a bump and not a moving violation,” Rabinovich said. “I told him, ‘Your car was moving and then you drove away. A total stranger realized you damaged my car, but you didn’t?’ ”
Her 2008 Chrysler Town & Country sustained damage to the rear bumper and rear panel and a broken tail light. The station put the repair cost at about $3,000.
Schneiderman spokesman James Freedland insisted his boss didn’t realize the parked car had suffered anything more than a bump.
In a prepared statement, Freedland called it “outrageous” for NY1 to describe the incident as a “hit and run.”
He said it was only later that Schneiderman discovered his car had been dented, and “this morning was notified it had damaged the bumper and tail light of the other car. He has spoken with the owner of the other vehicle, expressed his sincere apology, and offered to pay for all repairs.”