'I want to get him locked up because he was pretty aggressive,' the victim, who chose not to be identified, told the New York Post.
'He was looking for trouble.
'We're trying to live our lives as well as we can, you know, and it's just unfortunate that we have to face all these adversities, along with just all the struggles in life,' he added.
The man said the attack took him by surprise and he was in shock when he saw blood running down the side of his head.
'It happened, like, too quick for me to react...It wasn't painful,' he said. 'I was kind of just shocked and dazed a little bit and trying to process at that time.'
The violent hammer attack is being investigated as a possible hate
crime by police.
As of February 27, hate crimes targeting all minorities, not just Asian-Americans, were up more than 142 percent compared with the same period last year.
Footage of the attack shows the suspect pulling the hammer from his bag.
'Why you hit me?' the suspect yells before attacking the victim.
'Why the f*** you hit me?'
After trading words, the attacker took out a hammer and struck the victim on the head before fleeing the scene.
The victim, who remained conscious, was taken to Bellevue Hospital.
Police described Jeffers as male, about 6-foot-2, wearing a wig, purple lipstick, blue jeans, red shoes and a red jacket, and carrying a tote bag.
The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force has been notified of the assault, although it is not known if the attack was motivated by anti-Asian bias, police added.
New York City has, however, seen a huge rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, with police figures showing a 343 percent rise during the Covid pandemic.
