Overview

• Zheng, 50, pleaded not guilty at his Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment and is being held without bail, according to court officials.
• Investigators say the Oct. 4 attack at 7 Eldridge St. followed an earlier confrontation in which a bystander took a knife from Zheng before he allegedly came back with a cleaver and stabbed Liu in the back of his shoulder.
• Police said Liu and Zheng were friends, and officials have not disclosed a motive; Liu was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he died.
• In a separate Oct. 4 case in East New York, Brooklyn, 34-year-old Luis Gonzalez died after being found with a stab wound near Glenmore and Sheffield Avenues, and police are seeking a suspect described as wearing all black.
• Precinct data cited in the reports show felony assaults up about 20.7% this year in Manhattan’s 5th Precinct, while the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn has recorded an increase in murders of nearly 38% year-to-date.