#Bicycle hoodlums are the latest terror for New Yorkers to fear

Tuesday’s caught-on-video attack on innocent motorists in Manhattan by a gang of young bicycle hoodlums was absolutely horrific — but all too typical of the kind of chaos and lawlessness that’s gripped the city.

The brazen assault took place not in the dead of night, but at 4:30 in the afternoon — and smack dab in the middle of Manhattan, at Fifth Avenue and 21st Street.

As Max Torgovnick and his mother, who is in her 70s, were innocently driving along, a pack of more than a dozen young bikers suddenly set upon their BMW, surrounded the car and pounded on it.

One smashed a bike on top of it. Another vaulted onto the hood, then pounced on the windshield until it partially caved in.

And that attack came shortly after the punks targeted another vehicle — a yellow cab — swarming it and later injuring the driver by tossing a bike at him.

Law-enforcement sources on Wednesday said approximately 25 bikers were involved, six of whom damaged Torgovnick’s car. A 15-year-old was arrested in connection with the BMW attack.

“This was an animalistic attack in broad daylight,” fumed one Manhattan cop. “It shows how far the city has deteriorated, and the politicians better get their heads out of the sand and start to deal with these problems before there is nothing left.”

He’s right. Murders are up 40 percent this year, and shootings have doubled. Homelessness, vandalism and mental illness have become commonplace on the streets. Now you can’t even drive down the street in the middle of the day without wondering if you’ll be next.

There’s a growing fear that the city is losing control — and increasingly, that fear is proving warranted.