What's the deal with that? He looked like he was attacked, behind a counter etc. Are they saying he didn't have a legitimate fear of his life?
Seems like something that wouldn't get the guy charged in a more rural state.
The girlfriend tried to get the deli man to let her go with a discount on some snacks, he told her nope, and then the boyfriend came back later and walked behind the counter to punk him for dissing the girl. NYC is probably saying that he took it too far with the degree of stabbing the counterman did.
NYC does that all the time, even many times in cases of self defense. They charge high, then let the lawyer and DA whittle it down to a much lesser crime if the community doesn't get too upset, and demand that the charges be dropped. It sucks for normal people.