By Carol Tannenhauser
An attempted rape occurred just after midnight on Wednesday, July 20, on West 69th Street between Columbus Avenue and Broadway, according to the NYPD.
Police are asking for help in finding the man on an electric scooter — “dark complexion, approximately 20 years old” — who “forcibly grabbed” from behind a 33-year-old woman walking past 137 West 69th Street, and “dragged her into a secluded area, out of view of the street, [where] he forcibly attempted to rape her.”
The suspect fled the scene on his electric scooter in an unknown direction. The victim sustained scratches and lacerations about her body. EMS responded and treated her on the scene.
The suspect was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with NY printed on the front, dark-colored pants, and white sneakers with red trim.
“At this point, police are not saying this incident is connected to the sexual assault that occurred on July 16, near 82nd Street and Central Park West, or the other incidents involved in that criminal pattern,” according to a spokesperson.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
Anyone here against installing far more cameras in the area?
Cameras don’t prevent crime what we need is more police and a City Hall that supports Police and a DA that prosecutes. Thank a liberal for the latest crime spike, your policies has no teeth.
I am all for adding more cameras. But why is the camera resolution so poor that you cannot identify the suspect?
Clearly the several cameras we already have do little to solve or deter crime.
I believe they do a lot. These pix can be improved in the crime lab
No we need more maybe many more
Curious as to why you say that Sid. I believe anecdotally that they certainly help solve crimes, now that this perp, and others like him have been exposed. Perhaps I’m wrong. Not sure how you can correlate crime statistics with number of cameras in an area, but it stands to reason that more are better – if used soley for crime.
More of the 2022 “participatory budget” money should have been spent on public cameras but a large chunk of it ($300,000) went towards remodeling toilets inside of a single public school.
https://www.westsiderag.com/2022/04/27/participatory-budgeting-results-are-in-heres-what-the-community-funded
Apparently they cost $40,000 each!
Anyone here against putting filth like this alleged rapist in jail for a long time?
Racist?
If he’s guilty – he’s not filth?
Who’s side are you on, anyway?
Video of the altercation pretty much proves guilt. Therefore, filth. How is that racist? If it was your daughter, perhaps you’d have a different view.
That sounds racist
It’s racist to assume that the assignation “filth” would pertain only to a POC!
Filth can come in all colors. It’s the action, not the race.
Are you serious?
Racist? Why?
I think filth could be used to describe any alleged rapist regardless of race.
No. “Alleged” does not mean guilty.
Filth?..ANY MALE of ANY COLOR can commit RAPE..They’ve the tools and the will ..It is a SEX act in war against women..Ask the Ukrainians.. Ask any women any where who has been RAPED…
What’s racist is not showing pictures of the white men who rape or atempt to rape women on the streets. Where are they? Or do the police not look for them? Why are the pictures always of Balck men? I’m disgusted with the whole thing.
Lol
I love the absurdity of your post!
More cameras please
Wow, used to live on that street. What the heck is going on?
“Social justice” reform, bail reform, defund the police, releasing criminals, not charging people, legalizing pot, lower sentences, no broken windows policing etc.
Pot legalization has nothing to do with attempted rape, and the police were never defunded. Broken windows policing didn’t work in the 80’s and everything else you listed isn’t even on the map. Stop spewing FOX cult programming and get a life.
100% wrong! The police were defended 1 billion dollars by the moron Deblasio. Broken windows absolutely works maybe you forgot how good it was when we had it. This liberal progressive nonsense doesn’t work. Proof is in the pudding pussy cat.
With the exception of defunding the police….
@Joe. Unfortunately, all true.
I would have to look to recall exactly which bldg this is, but I know that can be a particularly dark spot at night. I’ve also seen people urinating – like a delivery driver who just decides to randomly stop and relieve himself on someone’s private patio (couldn’t identify a co or would have reported them) right around there, def that side of the street.
How about just more lights? Not saying that would fix things, but lighting can either make a perp think twice just cause they can more easily be identified and their crime in progress is easier to see, and can make it easier for potential victims to assess their surroundings. Just a thought. No one wants a bright light out their window, but shades are also real.
Criminals are just too cocky these days.
Too many scaffolding sheds up, too, which create crimes of opportunity. I understand the need to protect the public from defective masonry, but this effort has brought all buildings up to far better standards in the years since it was enacted. It’s time to increase the length of time between inspections and reduce all the scaffolding.
Yessss! What the heck is going on with this never -ending scaffolding! Go to any other major city in the world and it ain’t there!.. They fix the exterior of their buildings quickly.. I thought getting tourists to visit NYC was supposed to be a major need to raise money in NY? All our glorious buildings disrespected for-ever? .. Scaffolding housing the homeless and covered in dog piss … N-o-o-o-!
Is there scaffolding on that block? This scourge of scaffolding is a danger to all. It creates darkness and places to lurk and hide! Cameras won’t help when scaffolding is up! Its about time city officials did something about the endless scaffolding that stays up for literally years!
No scaffolding on that block. Its such a pretty block, lots of tall trees and brownstones, plus a small set-back church with a small green and publicly accessible churchyard. Any of the below-grade brownstone entries could be a place to drag someone, sadly. There are bigger buildings on the corners – and a gelato place on Columbus and diner on Broadway. This guy was scooting around looking for a target, much like the other 2 assaults lately. So nasty.
How awful that this aspiring rapist had a little electric scooter! Scoots around looking for victims. Where are the police in all this?????
The two acts of manic aggression! See how many people you can scare the shit out of as you fly around the neighborhood on a electric scooter.. on sidewalks, bike tracks and dodging lights.. And then go in for the kill and rape someone! What a disgusting neighborhood. New York’s becomming insane.
Used to live in that block. It was never well-lit.
I hope they catch him and put him in jail.
We obviously need a more robust police presence and aggressive law enforcement with long sentences
That is not the platform of recently elected officials in the NYC. We are lucky Adams got enough votes.. It could have been a lot worse if it were a more progressive candidate. We can’t expect the police to act more aggressively after smearing and demoralizing them as a group for the last two years. Realistically speaking, we may never get back the same level of law enforcement dedication we used to have.
Police aren’t there to do much of anything. Recrute serious people who are sincere in their disire to actually ‘police’ (Is that still a word?) the neighborhood! People who sign up for 20 years, stand around on their phones all the time and then retire at 40 are just taking the piss out of us!
If the laws allowed the police to do what we need them to do, they would do it. Not excusing the phones, although they do get alerts on them, but this city council, the state assembly, state senators and this governor have completely made everything legal.
Loiter for hours on a sidewalk making people uneasy – it’s a “public sidewalk” according to the law so they can stay there all day and frighten people – even if it’s in front of your own home.
Aggressively panhandle and go up to people, curse at them and frighten them – it’s free speech and allowed by our legislators’ laws.
If you want changes – VOTE FOR THOSE THAT WILL CREATE BETTER LAWS. The police cannot do anything further and even when they arrest someone, the suspect can usually walk out within hours for certain crimes. Even if you attack someone with a sharp object – like with candidate Lee Zeldin on 7/21. Suspect released with no bail several hours after.
Don’t blame the police.
As long as people like Legal Aid are suing the police for enforcing loitering laws as they did in 2019 (police were arresting prostitutes) then eve n better laws won’t help. The police said they would stop prosecuting loitering at that time. So maybe don’t sue them for doing their jobs?
Need more of a police presence in NYC
This is not ok🥺
The police should do everything they can to catch the right man. Then the District Attorney should prosecute.
We need cameras on ALL streets covering 100% ideally. Criminals now have e-scooters and bike, and they are often masked. How much longer are we going to endure seeing our loved ones rapes, assaulted, etc? Every person who gets stabbed, assaulted, etc. is someones mother, brother, etc. I know, it’ll never happen to you or someone you know, right. We have the technology to track people once they commit crimes and the sooner the better.
So what did the woman being attacked actually DO to fend off the rapist? Yelling? Hitting? blunt objects? Please explain so we may use the same technique if ever we need to repel an attacker?
Some tips:
1 – Buy a gym teacher’s whistle and put it on your key chain. Making noise is major deterrent. If you don’t have that, yell NO as loud as you can, from your gut.. Repeatedly.
2- Walk with your keys separated and held between your fingers so you can use them as a gouge if necessary. If attacked from behind or the side and your hands are useless, kick hard and aim for the nuts, eyes– the most vulnerable spots.
3- If possible, walk in the street at night (rather than sidewalks) where it might be lighter
4- Completely stay off your phone and earbuds at night. Pay full attention, even if you’re on extremely familiar turf.
hit the penis as hard as you can if possible. That has always been advice for women in a compromising situations. in retrospect my Mom told me during the time when women wore hats and used hat pins the pins
were a great weapon!!
Keep the streets safer. Maybe it’s time for Noi Due to remove its unused outdoor dining shed, unused for a year, which hides that area from view.
Isn’t Noi Due on Amsterdam in the 80’s???
Noi Due Carne is on 69th where Levana used to be, right next to the old NoiDue Pizza, its sister restaurant which has relocated to the 80s on Amsterdam.
I walked to Central Park frequently at 5:30 in the morning (of course no more…). There was no police presence on the street although there was a car in the park which was great to see. I wish the police would walk/patrol the neighborhood 24/7.
there are about 350,000 cops in America, and 350,000,000 Americans. I think you would be shocked to learn how few on-duty police there are on the UWS .
Meanwhile there’s this: https://nypost.com/2022/07/22/lee-zeldins-alleged-attacker-quickly-released-from-jail/
We’ve become a joke of a state.
Violent crime hitting home. If you voted Biden or Adams or both don’t complain when your daughters/ wives get sexually assaulted.
Just out of curiosity, what would Trump or Sliwa do differently, in your mind, to curb violence on the UWS?
People still want to live on the UWS because its not as bad as Harlem or parts of Brooklyn. Even with the homeless shelters folks flooded the UWS from other neighborhoods.
Uh, is this the same guy?! Today’s NY Post!
https://nypost.com/2022/07/24/two-women-groped-by-perverts-in-nyc-subway-system-cops/
There are thousands of cameras installed in the UK–in London, in particular. Cameras are only as good as the wo/man-power to monitor the movement of suspects. All of the evidence points to “boots on the ground” at every point. Interestingly, serial rapists often wear the same outfit or an article of clothing to commit their crimes (i.e., a hat) This is one way to track a potential suspect, but again, the personnel to carefully review film footage is required.
Scooter rapist strikes again in Brooklyn. Eyewitness News has obtained high def video of him jumping the turnstile lugging the scooter. They also have a clear image of his face. His days are numbered.