By Carol Tannenhauser
It happened on Thursday, April 6, at around 5:55 a.m., on the popular running and walking path around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, located mid-park between 86th and 96th Streets.
A 55-year-old woman was walking on the path, when an unidentified man engaged her in conversation and then assaulted her, banging her head against a tree multiple times, the police report recounted. The attacker was last seen wearing a dark blue jacket, fleeing eastbound on the 86th Street Transverse Road, on a blue CitiBike. The victim was taken by EMS to a local hospital in stable condition.
The alleged attacker is described as an adult male, approximately 5’4”, 140 pounds, with a medium complexion and dark-colored close-cut hair. He has a blemish on the left side of his face. (See sketch above.)
Anyone with information regarding 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 Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.
My condolences to the victim. I just experienced the attack albeit not as brutal last Tuesday. I wanted to let everyone know that it was not the same attacker – mine was older (50-60s), light-skinned, homeless looking, short. The scary thing was that he approached me from behind, I didn’t see him even though I’m normally very aware of my surroundings. Also, a few months back another homeless man pushed me onto upcoming traffic when I was crossing the street.
We have to be very careful nowadays.
We need more police at earlier hours. Lots of people also walk through the park to their jobs early in the morning. Some of them have to walk their dogs even earlier.
We definitely need more police in the park.
i agree, also park rangers, i never see them
We can thank Linda Rosenthal, Gale Brewer and the rest of the UWS progressives for this.
It’s very simple – they support policies that lead to this, and are SILENT when the crimes occur.
Where is the outrage? Where are their statements in support of victims?
How are people living here not voting for other people? You can still vote Democrat but not put up with this crime
This is such poppycock. Linda Rosenthal, Gale Brewer and the rest of the UWS progressives do NOT support policies that lead to this,
Jerry – Can you point to any recent public statements from them condemning crimes in the neighborhood ?
Or even showing concern for the crimes?
Gale Brewer is behind many projects that are detrimental to our neighborhood. She is behind supporting endless chain of shelters and supportive housing, she wants to ban background checks for prep service tenants, she does what she pleases to appease current politicians at City Hall. She doesn’t t care about her constituents at all, only about her popularity at the current political climate.
My condolences. Since forms of self defense now fall outside of the Overton Window, I hope we can respect cops enough that more choose that profession. From the typical comments here, this seems unlikely.
In case you read my comment as anti-police, it wasn’t meant as such. I respect their profession, and I think we need more of them them in the park.
I DO blame politicians who makes their job more difficult.
Hi, sorry! Wasn’t meant directed at you at all, or any commenters on this thread. I just meant the anti-cop sentiment from a small but vocal minority here generally.
I agree about more cops in the park. I run very, very early in the morning, and seeing them once in a while would be nice. 🙂
Can’t Citi/Lyftbike track its machines?
Such tracking might provide useful information here.
As a citibike user, no thanks. I don’t need Citi charging me extra to install GPS in every bike and also surveil me just in case a crime happens to be committed by someone on a citibike.
Buses and taxis have GPS too. Unless you are using private transportation like your own vehicle there is no expectation of privacy.
Tracking bikes would also allow cops to identify bikes that are involved in accidents too.
It would seem like Lyft would want to know where their machines are.
Bet Lyft’s insurers would like to know too seeing as that many of the rider-renters endanger pedestrians. So nothing to do with this assault, but the information could help in finding the party responsible for this assault.
I’ve been an Upper West Sider nearly my entire life, and things are worse than they were in the 1970s. While crime and homelessness were both high then, we didn’t have to deal with mopeds, electric bikes, and regular bikes coming at us from every direction, with no heed paid to traffic signs.
I was walking along Columbus Avenue a year ago, mid-afternoon, when what appeared to be a homeless man came towards me with a razor blade in his hand, aiming straight for my face. I jumped back and ran while he let out a raucous laugh. I ran straight into the street and thankfully there were no bikes around.
That is just not true. I was here in the 70’s when you couldn’t go near 96th “needle park”. When you couldn’t walk safely anywhere after dark. Amsterdam Avenue was terrifying. Stop this nonsense. Crime is up because we do need a greater police presence. It is nothing like it was in the 70’s, nothing.
Crime is up because our politicians enacted the laws that embolden criminals. The police keeps arresting people but they are released within hours.
Hi Ronnie, sorry to hear about your experience. I had similar one last Thursday. Was it an older light-skinner man with grey hair?
Hello MJB,
Yes! He looked to be in his 50s, was slight, not too tall, beautiful caramel skin, and short(ish )grey hair.
It sounds like it is the same man. Now I’m even more scared. It would mean that the same crazy individual is running around the neighborhood.
MJB,
I’m also sorry that you went through such a scare, but your attacker is probably a different person, because as Lynn points out my incident happened a year ago.
Didn’t Ronnie say this happened a year ago? Most likely, it’s not the same man, and he may not even be from this area.
Sorry, last Tuesday I meant. At Central Park West and W 64.
I was sitting at the conservatory water packed with people this past Wednesday, some crazed man was screaming at me from out of nowhere, he then moved on to someone else probably in a more secluded spot, be careful
I remember the last time a random person tried to start a conversation while I was walking past them. This happened a few weeks after I was randomly assaulted. I didn’t stop, instead, I chose to walk past them. So they followed me asking me more questions and then yelled at me multiple times for being racist and warned me not to walk down this street anymore.
They? Was it a man or a woman? Or you could not tell?
I wonder if this happened on the upper path at the reservoir or the bridle path down below. They’re both “popular running and walking path[s].” For those who know the park well and have choices when they venture out, it matters. thanks