Man accused of waving knife at Central Park Carousel freed without bail thanks to ‘reforms’

The man who terrorized a woman and her two little brothers with a knife at the Central Park Carousel is back on the streets thanks to New York’s controversial criminal-justice reforms, Manhattan prosecutors said.

Even the prosecutors, whose boss is notoriously soft-on-crime District Attorney Alvin Bragg, seemed to suggest they would have tried to get the suspect held on bail at his arraignment Monday night.

“As this case is not bail eligible, the People are requesting the highest form of supervised release as the least restrictive means to ensure the defendant returns to court,” a prosecutor told the judge.

Suspect Damien Greene-Ayala — who has an “extensive” criminal history outside of New York — ended up being put under the strictest supervision. He faces charges of menacing as a hate crime, weapons possession and endangering the welfare of a child in the Central Park case.

The fact that the judge was unable to even consider setting bail on the charges under the state’s revamped laws enraged GOP critics of the reforms — and even left some Democrats questioning the system.

“If he’s mentally ill, he should be sent to the hospital. If he’s not mentally ill, he should be detained and not be released into the street,” Assemblywoman Inez Dickens (D-Harlem) groused to The Post.

“We’re entering the tourist season. This doesn’t look good.”

Assemblyman Colin Schmitt (R-New Windsor), who is running for New York’s 18th Congressional District, fumed, “When you can pull a knife on a young [woman] and her children who are just spending a day at the park and be released without bail, we have reached a new low.

“Each day that goes by we experience dangerous new examples of how New York’s failed no bail law continues to threaten the safety and security of our families and communities.”

Greene-Ayala, 30, had allegedly berated the two kids, ages 9 and 6, and waved a knife at them at the famous attraction Sunday afternoon before turning his attention to the boys’ 27-year-old sister, prosecutors said during his arraignment. 

“Women should not have rights, women should be independent, women are sh-t,” Greene-Ayala allegedly raged at the woman, according to his criminal complaint. 

During Greene-Ayala’s arraignment, prosecutors implored Judge Soma Syed to release the suspect on the “highest form of supervised release” given the severity of the incident and his “extensive” criminal history outside of New York.

“The defendant’s brazen actions left the victims, including the 9 and 6 year old boys, fearful for their safety,” prosecutors said during the hearing. 

“Given the seriousness of these new allegations and his broad contacts with the criminal-justice system beyond the state of New York, the highest form of supervised release is necessary to ensure his return to court.” 

Prosecutors rattled off a series of other criminal incidents involving Greene-Ayala that took place out of state. 

In 2016, Greene-Ayala was convicted of a misdemeanor vehicular crime in Virginia, and in 2017, he was convicted of misdemeanor criminal mischief in Wisconsin, prosecutors said. 

He also has several misdemeanors in Illinois and most recently, he faced disorderly-conduct charges in Florida in 2019, they said. 

The judge agreed to the most stringent release terms, which include having the suspect check in with a court-ordered program at least five times in at least the first month and at least one in-person check-in a week.

The suspect’s mother, who only identified herself as Katherine, told The Post on Tuesday that she wasn’t aware of the incident but added if the allegations are true, “he should be in a psych ward.

“He needs help. If he felt menaced or threatened by a mother and two children, that’s bizarre,” the mom said. “That’s off the wall, and in my opinion, he needs help. It’s very concerning. 

“I’m trying to find him help. I’m having a hard time. But I wasn’t aware of this situation.” 

Katherine said her son, who is gay, had a “very abusive and violent” father and that past traumas he’s endured have left him paranoid. 

“He was never violent. He genuinely has not had issues with violence, but he has some trauma and some paranoia because of the trauma,” Katherine said. 

“I tried to steer him in the right direction. But he has his own ideas about things and he wants to navigate his own way, so not that much.” 

Additional reporting by Carl Campanile and Zach Williams