A jogger was surrounded by a group of nine teens and pre-teens in Central Park this weekend, who tried unsuccessfully to steal his iPhone, according to police. The attack occurred on Sunday around 8:20 p.m. The man was able to get away, Gothamist reported.
“The 29-year-old victim was running near 106th Street and West Drive inside Central Park around 8:20 p.m. when he was confronted by a malicious band of nine teens on bikes, who first demanded he hand over his iPhone before attempting to punch him. The victim was able to run away, and no weapons or injuries were reported.”
The boys were between 12 and 17 years old, police say.
If you have information, call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, use the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.
Disgusting! Where were the boys in blue? No, they cannot be all over all the time, but IF it was known that they were circulating and enforcing the law, there would be fewer incidents in the park, near the park and on the streets.
Are they chasing,with bells and whistles, scaring coyotes who are NOT bothering people? How about the members of the media who are only too happy to chase coyotes? Why not ask them to come out and help? They’ve got the lights and the cameras.
Sorry to say but even if they knew cops were somewhere in area, they would still be doing this. Believe me!
Another sign of the time.
A clockwork Orange – approaching!
Come on…get a new line.
First of all…native New Yorkers like myself KNOW it is NOT safe to jog in ANY NYC park at that hour. Heck, there are muggings during the day!
Though I feel anyone should be allowed to go any public space at any hour of the day this just isn’t the case.
Additionally, I wonder how many folks were mugged for those bikes those felons rode?
Exactly. You don’t go into the park at night, plain and simple. Heck, always keep an eye out, wherever you are.
This is classic blame-the-victim nonsense. Where is your outrage at the fact that there are criminals ruling our streets and parks – at ANY time of the day or night? Unacceptable.
Bravo, well said, Paul. I’m just heartsick over this. Yes, it’s a big, big city with millions of people living cheek by jowl with each other. But these thugs will continue to plague law abiding citizens until those citizens make them pay a price, maybe even the ultimate price. What other choices remain open to the average citizen? The cops are spread too thin as it is, so we can’t rely on them, can we? They were nowhere when this happened. Just too depressing.
Paul RL … This is NOT blame the victim!!!!! This is Reality!!! I hate that term “blame the victim” It does not pertain to this! Whatever happened to personal responsibility????!!!! It’s being street smart! I hate this PC bs!
Cool your jets, Christina! I agree that common sense should always take a front seat in the debate, but here the victim was out for a run on a fairly well-traveled part of the park at 8:20 PM, not in an isolated back alley at 2 AM. And sorry, but the logic of “don’t go in the park after dark” doesn’t sit well with me. What about the tennis courts, which close at sunset – should we avoid playing tennis late in the day? Or the Ellington café, which will be open in the evening in Riverside Park – should we not have a glass of wine and enjoy the sunset? By doing so, are we at risk to not only get mugged, but to also be admonished by the blame-the-victim crowd? We should be able to do these things without fear – and we should be showing our outrage to our elected officials, not upbraiding someone for trying to enjoy what our city has to offer.
Thanks Paul, I couldn’t agree more.
agreed… by 8:30 it’s dark in the park.. You take your chances if you hang out alone at that time. Sad, but true.
Maybe we should sick the coyotes on these cycling fools.
So basically try not to go above 90th St. Shootings and muggings abound.
Man, are some of you sheltered. I live on West 114th near Broadway and have noticed little or no crime in my area. I don’t think its as simple as ‘don’t go above XX.’ There are certain isolated areas that tend to have more crime rates–not whole swaths off Manhattan.
Agreed. We sold our apartment is the West 80s, and needed something bigger. Ultimately moved further south because in no scenario would I have moved to the West 90s or West 100s. The deterioration over the past few years has been tough to watch, and it will only get worse. It would have been cheaper to live in the 90s rather than the 70s, but not worth it.
this unfortunately has become the approach in our hunt for an apartment to buy…nothing in the 90s and the 100s only if it’s on Riverside Drive. This is sad as there are many beautiful blocks up there and value can be good (for NYC lol).
Typically everyone in the city has had this mindset for the last 50 years, a few Crumbs and Starbucks outlets aren’t enough to change that. Chasing Coyotes and painting graffiti is a waste of time but it makes everyone feel safe for 5 seconds kind of like a cheap fix.
time to outlaw hoodies
great idea!! and dreadlocks too. and loose fitting jeans.
And for sure, pants that are below the ass.
And maybe ban young teens from the streets past night fall.
See what happened in Baltimore.
Oh…they were just teenagers.
Yeah…sure….and these little ones ended up looting and burning, mostly their own hoods.
Comrade BdB is a curse on our city.
Yeah shall watch, and ye shall see.
Seriously??? That’s pretty ridiculous to say!!
Yes!
Absolutely, positively serious.
Especially regarding comrade BdB.
These kids obviously failed math class. One Iphone divided by nine kids is maybe twenty bucks a pop. Maybe less. You risk jail for that? lmao.
What are you all complaining about, they are just unarmed black men… #handsupdontshoot
#handsupdontshoot
Biggest lie since –
If you like your policy you can keep it.
If you like your doctor, you can keep him/her.
And don’t forget the classic line “the air is safe to breathe” circa 2001
I find it funny every time there is a crime article all the people who jump out complaining “where were the police?” As if police can somehow be everywhere at all times.
I’ve only lived in NYC for 4 years now. This is an extremely safe neighborhood. I’ve walked around here at all hours of the night. You know where NYC lands in “most dangerous cities in the US”? Not even in the top 100.
Here’s an idea- not just in NY, but anywhere: don’t go into parks after dark. Isn’t that just common sense???