Three robberies and a sexual assault have been reported in Central Park since Friday, according to news reports.
- On Friday, a 21-year-old college student was leaving Central Park around 11:30 p.m. when a group of 8-10 teens hit him in the head and knocked him to the ground, the Post reported. They stole his phone and asked him to “run his pockets” to give them what he had. (It’s not clear exactly where this happened but we’re looking into it.)
- Jacob Angstreich, 47, was riding a Citi Bike on Monday around midnight in the park near 95th Street and East Drive when a group of five teens approached and knocked him off the bike, the Post reported. “One of them intercepted me … as I was getting closer to him he told me to ‘get off the bike’ … and then he punched me and knocked me off the bike,” Angstreich recounted to The Post. They ditched the bike but stole his iPhone. The report didn’t include a description of the attackers.
- A 27-year-old jogger was “beaten and robbed at approximately 10:40pm near the East Drive between 103-104th Street” on Monday night, according to A Walk in the Park blog. “She was attacked from behind, dragged into a wooded area, punched, kicked in the head, sexually fondled, and robbed of her I-Phone.” The attacker was described as “a male black, mid 30’s, thin build, scruffy and possibly wearing a black jacket.” Her phone last pinged in the Bronx. Update: We received the following from NYPD. “On Monday, October 10, 2016 at approximately 2130 hours, police responded to a 911 call of a female assaulted in the vicinity of 107 Street and East Drive with the confines of the Central Park Precinct. Upon arrival, police were informed by a 28-year-old female victim that as she walked inside the park she was approached an unidentified male from behind and thrown to the ground. The unidentified male removed her cellphone from her pocket then attempted to sexually assault her. The male fled in an unknown direction. The victim was removed to an area hospital. The male is described as male, 30’s with a scruffy beard wearing a dark jacket and an orange tee-shirt. The investigation is ongoing.”
- The Daily News reported another robbery on Monday. “At about 10:45 p.m., a man robbed a woman of her phone near East Drive by E. 107th St., and fled, police said.”
Seems like the park isn’t safe after 10:00 PM.
Thanks, DiBlasio.
#DiBlasioSucks #ThanksDiBlasio
Psst. If you want to start a successful hashtag, maybe spell the guy’s name right. Also, the park has never, ever been safe after 10 p.m.
It never was.
Who the hell is riding their bike through the park at midnight? That seems like a stupid thing to do.
I’m not victim blaming and I’m sorry people were robbed and roughed up, but these guys should be found easily and hopefully they are.
And then people, please don’t be riding your bike in the park, alone, at midnight.
Would have to agree bike riding alone on that stretch of CP at midnight is valuing ones’ life very cheaply. Nine or ten PM would be my absolute limit, and even then that part of the East Drive (basically unlit) is not a place to be.
This is what frustrates me so much. I remember the UWS when I was a child. It was dirty, dangerous, everyone had a “club” on their steering wheel, a “nothing to steal” sign on their dashboard. Central Park was dirty, graffiti filled and dangerous.
Then we got Guiliani and Bloomberg. Because of their force of will, The UWS did a 180. It is now clean, safe. No more needle park, no more no-go areas. Central Park is clean and safe. The Great Lawn was rebuilt and can even walk in the Ramble! The UWS is now a show piece that is safe and clean for families.
But then, a community that calls itself “progressive” forgets that progress means going forward and votes for a man who volunteered with the Sandinistas and honeymooned in Cuba. He puts “Rev” Al in charge of the police and now we are back to the past! Can someone on this board please explain this to me, I would really like to understand how you all think!
What are you talking about? Cuba? Sandinistas?
Well, for one thing, we’re tuned in enough to reality to know that Al Sharpton isn’t running the NYPD…? What a bizarre statement. I know the willingness to repeat outright fantasies is a key signal of political affiliation, but it makes it hard to hope to have a conversation with you.
Most categories of crime in NYC are down as of 1Q 2016: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nypd-low-crime-first-quarter-2016_us_5702b0dae4b0a06d580653e3
I hope no one was seriously injured and these guys get caught soon.
Liberal politics in action. Nothing complicated about it.
Give me a break.
Don’t these youths know that wilding through Central Park is so 1980s?
They should come up with new shenanigans.
De Blasio empowers criminals!! maybe not explicitly but clear;y implicitly. Too many people on this site want to defend him and are being intellectually dishonest!! He is a freaking disaster. this comes from an uws liberal too.
Who is defending DeBlasio? Ludicrously blaming everything on him has become an entertaining meme, but I’m not sure you’ll find too many defenders. Certainly not outnumbering the skeptics.
“iPhone”, not “I-Phone”.
Thanks Nathan. I was really confused what they were talking about. Now I’m 100% sure it’s that phone that Apple makes and not something else entirely different.
Thank you, Bill de Blasio. No more stop, question, frisk? Crime goes up. Cops no longer proactive and are looking the other way. How do I know? They tell me so.
It’s only going to get worse.
Not one of these reports mentions a gun. So stop and frisk wouldn’t have done anything. Also, crime is not up. Otherwise, super-accurate comment.
UWS-er: You are incorrect.
Sorry, crime is UP in certain categories. And stop, question, frisk also finds knives, pipes, boxcutter and other “innocent” objects that can kill you.
Not to excuse the criminals at all, but many of us are now walking around with a $650-$1,000 device in our pockets. Thieves see this as an opportunity and are clearly able to sell the phones on the open market.
Part of the solution is technological. Phones should be tied to their original purchasers so that when stolen they become useless bricks. But the Verizons, AT&Ts, etc. of the world make money when victims need to replace their stolen phones so they resist this change.
Thank you!
It is amazing how in less than a decade or perhaps two it seems the entire world has become tethered to various devices.
One cannot get away from such persons; driving, walking, bike riding, jogging, whatever they are completely and almost always totally in their own worlds clutching those devices.
One of the first things one learned growing up in 1970’s NYC is you don’t go around flashing valuables. There used to be public service campaigns telling women to turn their rings over so the stones won’t show and other tips.
Actually iPhone “technology” when enabled will render the phone useless if it is stolen. It’s called iCloud Lock, the problem is people not enabling it.
the scum who do this stuff everyday often have rap sheets pages long. seriously, why do we put up with it? don’t think it’ll happen to you or your children?
MUG SOMEBODY – 10 YEARS MANDATORY.
VOTE FOR POLITICIANS WHO ARE WILLING TO GET THE SCUM OFF OUR STREETS.
and i want to apologize in advance to any liberals who are offended by my choice of words “scum” to describe someone who beats up another person and takes their money.
“and i want to apologize in advance to any liberals who are offended by my choice of words’scum'”
so you do know that there is something wrong in saying that.
just so others can also understand; it is very unproductive to label someone ‘scum’ as the result of their action. That same person may, after receiving their punishment, be more human. We don’t want to prevent that outcome.
I thought everyone was so afraid of the big bad police? Take a look at how people behave; does it seem to you that anyone is afraid of the police? doesn’t look like it to me.
I’ve said this on here before: If you walk, jog, or ride your bike through Central Park or Riverside Park during the summer 10pm – 5am, during the winter 8pm – 6am, you are at risk for being beaten, robbed, molested, raped, stabbed, and shot. This is not the suburbs. It does not matter who is mayor. This is reality. I of course will get the expected responses of “I HAVE A RIGHT TO JOG IN THE PARK WHENEVER I WANT, I AM A TAX PAYING RESIDENT AND I EXPECT TO BE SAFE”. That kind of answer is that of a petulant child. The world is a dangerous place. Life is not fair. You go into either park when it is dark (especially if you are a woman), you are asking for trouble.
UWSHebrew, you are right, the park is dangerous at night, but what say you about the numerous muggings that have taken place throughout the UWS? kids getting beaten up for phones, adults knocked out walking while the sun is shining near riverside park? what you said is a red herring. muggings are taking place basically all over the UWS at all times of day, not just central park at night. and we probably don’t hear about more than a small fraction of it.
@RS daytime is a completely different story. We should be safe during the daytime. If people are getting mugged and attacked, then THAT is the fault of THE MAYOR. More police are needed to walk the beat then. But, sadly, this is a “non-PC” situation that if I commented on, would not be posted here. All I can say is we don’t live in the middle of Idaho.
great point there are bad people in the city there is risk in the city you are not invisible
invincible meant to say ha ha
Everyone is blaming the victims and De Blasio (who I do not like and did not vote for) but, no one is asking where the cops are. I swear, I have not seen a beat cop in New York City since since 1989. When will community policing return to this city? I have not seen a cop in Central Park,honestly, ever, other than on the drives in cars not policing. They have an entire precinct devoted to the park and I walk through it most every day, often right along side the precinct and I never ever see cops walking the paths, on horses, or even on bikes, never and this has been the case long before De Blasio made it o n the scene.
You rarely see NYPD walking the beat these days unless it is for a reason (uptick in crime, anti-terror, etc…). Otherwise both in CP and outside you see them two or three to a patrol car driving around. Increasingly all occupants of said patrol car are busy staring down at the their devices, and yes in many instances that goes for the driver.
Right you are. Thank you!
You are so right! Thank you!
PLEASE tell me you were only kidding.
Cops spend most of their time going after soft targets. Dog owners whose leashes are not the right length, or whose pets don’t have a current license. Or people bicycling on the walkways. Cops seek the path of least resistance. They certainly don’t want to have to tackle and subdue a pack of street toughs who enjoy a physical scrap, and will cry to the DOJ if they’re handled roughly.
I regularly ride my bike through at night with no issues after work, but only as far north as 72nd. Male, early 30s, so probably not the ideal target, but this news does give me pause.
Your point about the cops is spot-on though. I never see them outside of their cruisers or the little closed in carts in the park (or anywhere really). If they are not driving, they are on their iPhones, eyes down, watching a video. I would like a journalist to do an investigation into the data usage of some of these cops… I’m guessing it is dozens if not hundreds of GBs (hours and hours) of streaming video per month.
another valid point I heard a police commissioner once say you have to go where the criminals are, not riding around the drives in patrol cars or scooters with windows rolled up
Bottom line is De Blasio has pretty much been a disaster….Over one year away from election,the “polls” say every one that may run against him will be defeated….Go figure.
I’ve lived on the UWS for over 30 years and I still don’t hang out in Central Park alone at night – not jogging, walking or biking, unless I’m with a large group of people. Not blaming those folks, but really, shouldn’t they know better? You traverse the park alone in the dark, late at night, you are taking a big chance that you could be mugged.
This has nothing to do with DeBlasio. The reality today is that everyone is walking around with a very expensive and desirable computer in their pocket, which makes all of us a target of thieves. They know you are carrying it with you pretty much everywhere. If y’all want to pay twice as much taxes to have more police in Central Park, Riverside Park, and everywhere else, just say so. Til then, drop the DeBlasio attacks – not credible.
Wendy, you are so right. Thank you!
Re: “everyone is walking around with a very expensive and desirable computer in their pocket, which makes all of us a target of thieves”
Here’s a SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE, and possibly MONEY-MAKING solution:
Fact #1: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones are catching fire; Apple iPhones are NOT;
Fact #2: the “bad guys” are seeking to rob-and-resell your quite pricey but fireproof iPhone;
Ergo: some clever entrepreneur can make big bucks should (s)he create a “spoof-cover” that would make the super-safe iPhone look exactly like the deadly-dangerous Galaxy Note 7.
THEN, when Mr./Ms. Mugger comes along and demands “Give me your phone!” all you need do is whip it out and say, “Man, you do NOT want this phone! It’s a Samsung! It’s dangerous! It’ll catch fire in your pocket! It’ll burn up all them Hamiltons and Jacksons in your pocket, Man! It’ll leave y’all with nothin’ after a whole night of muggin’, Man!
To which the grateful Mugger/Muggerette would probably say, “Hey, cool! Thanks for the warning dude! Let me walk y’all outta dis here park; ya knows it can be dangerous with cats like me around!
ScooterStan, you don’t have to use an offensive dialect to
enlighten people how to keep themselves safe in a park at
night. In NYC there are hundreds of accents that you can hear on the streets, assigning any one of them to crime would be offensive. Next time you want practice fiction
writing, use your own ethnic dialect…or maybe you don’t want to offend your own tribe.
To my fellow west siders—NEVER go in the park alone after dark ESPECIALLY FEMALES unless you are armed……….
Ret. NYPD
In the ’70s my mother gave me “mugger money” to take to the park when I went (alone with friends) to the playground, so in case I got mugged, I could give them the money and they’d leave me alone. I was maybe 10? And I usually came back with splinters from the wooden playsets.
After dark? No one went in there. I’m still a bit paranoid about being in the park after sundown, even when there are people around.
Thanks, DeBlasio! (sorry had to get that in there)
How is there crime at all in Central Park? It is a park only 2.5 miles long and @ .5 miles wide and the NYPD has a Central Park precinct to cover that area. They just had an upgrade of $61.7 million for their police station back in 2013. Clearly there needs to be more police patrols around the area and maybe they should limit visitors to the park after a certain time or restrict them to only be on certain areas of the park.
No excuse.
Hours are already limited.The Park opens at 6:00 am and closes at 1:00 am.
Crime might be down because there is less enforcement. Talk to the police. They will tell you that their hands are tied by the Mayor’s and city council’s policies.
I’ve lived here many years as well. I agree that it is not as safe as it was a few years ago. I never worried about running in the north end of the park during the day (agree that nighttime in any park in any city is potentially dangerous). Now, I feel like I have to be much more cautious and it is unpleasant. There weren’t a lot of patrol cops with Bloomberg. I don’t know if it was stop and frisk or just more focus on “broken windows” crimes, but there was a sense that people knew crime wasn’t tolerated. Now, I think the criminals know they can get away with much more and are emboldened.
Never felt safer than under Deblasio.
What a shame–lousy descriptions–no race mentioned–who are we to be on the look out for–come on people –have some b##ls….
I live three blocks from the Park. I’ve never go there and I definitely would never go there at any time of the day or night alone.
That being said, there are some great areas of the Park. I really enjoy the Zoo. The Penguin area is absolutely Heaven in the Summer when it is hot.
I also like that Park station around 110th Street. They have great programs in the Summer.
But, you have to be careful. Unfortunately, although NYC is the safest city and crime is low. You still have to be cautious.
Alleged attempted rape suspect has been arrested: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/man-busted-assault-robbery-attempted-rape-central-park-article-1.2829010
Sadly as per the man is a shining example of the NYS judicial/correctional system; that is a rap sheet long as one’s arm.
Thanks for the update B.B.
You are one very well-informed person.
(i like to bet, so if you have any future insights, let me know)