NYPD: Roger Balan of Merrick found dead after dispute outside Park Avenue tower

A Merrick man was pronounced dead Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan after trading blows with a bike messenger in front of a tony Park Avenue tower, authorities said.

Officers found an unconscious Roger Balan, 58, shortly after 12:10 p.m. outside midtown's 440 Park Ave., where he worked as a porter, the NYPD said.

Balan, of Briarcliff Drive, had been arguing with a 35-year-old bike messenger and may have had a medical episode, an NYPD spokesman said.

No obvious sign of trauma was found on Balan, who was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital Center, police said.

The medical examiner's office will determine cause of death, police said.

The bike messenger was taken into custody for questioning, but has not been arrested, police said.

---- ELLEN YANCorrection: A previous version of this story gave the wrong time for the 911 call.

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