The boss of the Manhattan Democratic Party was busted for opening his car door into the path of an oncoming cyclist — sending the man flying — before allegedly fleeing the scene, The Post has learned.
Keith Wright, 66, chair of the New York County Democratic Committee, was on Fifth Avenue near West 139th Street when he flung open his driver-side door of his black BMW at 9:19 p.m. Aug. 26, causing the rider to smash into the door, according to a criminal complaint.
The bicyclist tumbled to the ground and sustained “bruising to his ankle and substantial pain,” the court document states.
After a brief exchange with the victim, Wright allegedly sped off without providing his name — but the bicyclist was able to take down his license plate number.
Cops tracked down Wright, who spent more than two decades in Albany as a state assemblyman representing Harlem. Det. Lamount Deaderick called him up on Sept. 8 and questioned him about the incident over the phone, according to the complaint.
“I was about to open my car door while he was riding an electric bike,” Wright allegedly blurted. “It is his fault for running into my door. I told him to go to the hospital. I did not exchange my information with him. I asked for his information but he did not give it to me.”
Wright was arraigned Friday in Manhattan Criminal Court on two counts of leaving the scene of an incident and released without bail. He’s due back in court Oct. 10.
“Dooring” — or opening a car door into moving traffic — is illegal in New York.
His attorney, Anthony Ricco, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The longtime pol survived a 2019 attempt to oust him as Manhattan Democratic Party boss over his lucrative day job as a lobbyist for Davidoff Hutcher & Citron, which watchdog groups have called a conflict of interest.
He is the son of Judge Geoffrey Wright, a second-generation Manhattan jurist, who was demoted to Queens family court after cursing out a prosecutor during a proceeding.
