Alex Gardega, Artist Behind 'Pissing Pug,' Killed By Train On Upper East Side: Report

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Alex Gardega, the artist who installed the "Pissing Pug" statue at the foot of the Fearless Girl staring down the Charging Bull in the Financial District, was identified as the man who was struck and killed by a train on the Upper East Side on Thursday, according to a report in The New York Daily News.

Police said at the time that a 48-year-old man was struck by a southbound 6 train within the Lexington Avenue and East 77th Street station around 6:30 p.m. The man's body was recovered from under the train and he was pronounced dead at the scene, an NYPD spokeswoman said.

Police said it was unclear how the man ended up on the tracks but no criminality is suspected. (For updates on this story and more Upper East Side news, subscribe to Patch to get a daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.)

In an interview with The Daily News, the train motorman, James Muñoz, 46, said the train was about 100 feet from the station when the emergency brake kicked in. Muñoz told the paper Gardega had likely been on the tracks when he was struck.

An NYPD spokesperson could not immediately confirm to Patch that Gardega had been identified as the victim.

Gardega's "Pissing Pug" was removed hours after he installed it. He said it was meant to be a comment on the value of the Fearless Girl.

In August, Gardega installed a life-size sculpture of Donald Trump on a Fifth Avenue park bench. Gardega's statue depicted Trump as a street artist. The fake bronze Trump is decked out in a business suit clutching a box of "Tweeties" cereal and seated next to portraits of world leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un and media personalities Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.

Patch will update this report.