Sickening act sparks violent street brawl

The confronting moment a man and woman brawl on the street has been caught on camera - and one sickening act sparked the ugly melee.

A man and a woman spat on each other and traded blows in a disturbing fight in NYC.

This is the disturbing moment a man and a woman begin brawling on the streets of New York as stunned onlookers watch on in horror.

Confronting footage, taken by news.com.au, shows the woman gesturing wildly outside a clothing store in midtown Manhattan and talking to herself on Friday afternoon.

She points at one man as he walks past, before he retaliates by spitting on her chest.

That act sparks an ugly one-minute melee during which the woman spits back at the man and scratches at his face as he grabs her by the neck and pins her against the wall.

During the scuffle, the woman’s bandanna falls to the ground.

An ugly brawl between a man and a woman took place on a busy street in midtown Manhattan. Both parties spat on each other and traded blows in the melee. Picture: news.com.au

Some shocked bystanders gathered on the other side of the street to watch the brawl unfold, while others strolled past seemingly unconcerned.

“She’s f***ing crazy,” the man told news.com.au moments after the fight after entering a nearby hotel to clean up the blood from his face.

“I have no idea what caused that … just another day in Manhattan,” added another woman who witnessed part of the confrontation.

The man pinned the woman against the wall of a clothing store before police arrived and arrested her

Police arrived minutes later and were seen arresting the woman.

As she was marched to a police car in handcuffs, she spat at the man again.

The New York Police Department told news.com.au a 37-year-old woman had been charged with assault in the third degree and two counts of harassment.