By Carol Tannenhauser
NYPD is seeking the two young men shown in the attached photographs for a “robbery/grand larceny pattern” carried out in the neighborhood on two consecutive days in late June. Three women had property taken — one violently — allegedly by the duo, who were traveling on “a two-wheeled scooter,” according to police.
On Monday, June 26, at around 4:15 p.m., the first victim, a 56-year-old woman riding a bicycle near Central Park West and West 63rd Street, was approached by the scooter-riding suspects who removed a basket containing a wallet from the bicycle before fleeing on West 65th Street. The victim was uninjured in this incident.
The victim also wasn’t harmed in the second incident, which occurred on the same day, at around 4:30 p.m. A 65-year-old woman was walking near West 66th Street and Riverside Boulevard when the same pair, again on a two-wheeled scooter, allegedly snatched her wallet and cellphone from her hands before fleeing in an unknown direction.
Violence occurred in the third incident. On Tuesday, June 27, at around 4:15 p.m., a 42-year-old woman was walking near West End Avenue and West 88th Street when she was allegedly approached by the pair. [One of] the robbers punched her in the face with a closed fist and pulled her cellphone from her hand before fleeing. The woman refused medical attention.
Anyone with information regarding these incidents 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.
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Not as bad as the 80’s?
In the old days perpetrators had to run or use the subway – no convenient Citibike or moped
At least 20 years in prison, for each offense seems a fair price to pay.
Something is not correct. It appears the two individuals are riding a scooter on the sidewalk in the top picture. This image must be photoshopped as operating bikes and scooters on sidewalks is prohibited in NYC and enforced by the NYPD.
lol. You must be joking.
I just saw 4 scooters parked like this on the sidewalk directly outside McDonalds on B’way at 104th. They ride off the sidewalk onto the road. Unlikely photoshopped. Rarely see cops on that block which is becoming abhorrent with all the trash under the shed next to it.
lol
See WSR’s e-vehicle coverage and contact the NYC EVSA (E-Vehicle Safety Alliance) to join the efforts to tackle this very issue! Contact info is in the article. https://www.westsiderag.com/2023/06/26/the-menace-of-e-vehicles-and-whats-being-done-about-it
“I laugh because I must not cry, that is all, that is all.”
Abraham Lincoln
There have been a number of crimes in which perpetrators used Citibike and mopeds/Vespa type vehicles.
(Not stand-up escooters like Razor)
It must be easy to steal Citibike…
It seems to be easy. I’ve seen males of a variety of ages, in small groups, walk down Frederick Douglass/8th Ave. near W.111th (112th, 114th?), east side, testing each bike on the rack. They jerk up the bike suddenly, with force, which somehow dislodges it. As a WSR reader reporrted, these guys get a free bike, rob and/or assault people, and often abandon the bike in Central Park.
The city started to take a turn when all of these scooters started appearing…
Not only that but notice fewer vespa parked around? They are getting stolen. Had one stolen Summer 2020, then they broke my steering column trying to steal the replacement spring 2021, and just last week same thing. $500 to fix. I won’t bother reporting as I did last time because police never filed the report they wrote up in front of my building. I needed that report for insurance reimbursement. Police were unable to prevent and unable to report in my case. Your milage may vary. Anecdotal facts.
But crime stats are down, dontcha know?
Ergo, Your account of your experience may help explain the disconnect between the governmental statistics on crime, on the one hand, and City residents daily sense of the situation, on the other hand. If you are an NYPD precinct captain, assiduously recording all crimes will be a “career limiting move.” Sad, but there it is.
This is why it’s so important to enforce the scooter laws. Worse than broken windows.
There are no scooter laws.
Wanton and devastating though crime may be, and certainly devastating for the victims and the victims’ families, nobody thinks its going to happen to them. Because nobody thinks it’ll ever happen to them or their kids (getting punched, raped, stabbed, etc), we don’t demand change. If a person knew that it was going to happen to them or their kids, they’d vote accordingly. For things to change, things have to get so bad that the average person actually feels fear and disregards the luxury of voting for people who care nothing about enforcing laws.
Stop,question,frisk and if necessary search must be reinstated.Also precincts anti-crime units are mandatory to decrease crime.
Take it from one who knows.
Jimbo, how would stop and frisk prevent scooters from being ridden on the sidewalk?
What is the mayor doing about this terrible situation? Absolutely NOTHING!!!
People voted for Adams. He ran on fighting crime.
Is this also true of mass shootings?
Start enforcing the laws regarding these scooters & electric bikes that ride on sidewalks. Confiscate all of them!
As others have said, this is what happens when things like expired/defaced/no license plates and traffic laws go completely unenforced.
We really have two problems here. First is the police who refuse to do their jobs and their apologists who think this is somehow acceptable. Second is the radical left which seem to have taken the insane view that enforcing the law and incarcerating criminals is inherently unjust.
Women continue to be attacked. Women are targets. Their mothers must be so proud of the men they have raised. Jail isn’t the answer to everything but maybe it’s time to start having serious conversations on values and the lessons being instilled in our next generation. Who is responsible for teaching these men to be decent human beings?
Please support all the proposed laws to force all motorized vehicles to carry license plates, insurance, lights, horns, and large identification numbers so that traffic laws can be enforced and all these renegade perpetrators will no long be able to ply their criminal trades on motorized vehicles. All vehicles without such ID will be confiscated and destroyed. The faster this legislation is passed, the sooner crime fighting measures can begin. There has been no worse decision this City ever made than legalizing all these scooters and e-bikes, which we never saw before 2019, because they weren’t legal.
No, don’t support these proposed laws, actually, because they are going to do absolutely NOTHING but create beauracracy for law abiding people, add to our already enormous government beauracracy, increase taxes, and do absolutely nothing to solve the problem anymore than the laws against turnstile jumping affect turnstile jumping. These laws will only give people false hope and set what needs to be done back a good 10 years during which time many people will be injured and killed. The answer to this problem is EASY – BAN ALL ELECTRIC BIKES NOW.
This wasn’t an e-bike. This was a very likely illegal small motorcycle with a gas engine, not the muffler.
It’s time to re-criminalize crime. We (And most big cities) have been running an experiment for the last 3 years to “reimagine policing”. This experiment has been a failure. There is no shame in going back to what worked so well to keep city-dwellers safe.
If the perpetrators are under 18, I suggest a new law to hold their parents accountable as well. If you raise a criminal, you should share in the consequences for his actions.
I have always thought parents should be responsible – a lot would change if this happened.
Should be EZ to identify!
Oh look, a gasoline scooter, which is probably illegal because it likely has no plates, was used.
No problems with illegal motorcycles, at least as far as the NYPD is concerned. But the NYPD isn’t concerned.
Thank you, West Side Rag, for publishing this story and the photos. 😘
I’ve asked many police officers what, if anything, can be done to stop the lawless and reckless drivers of illegal scooters, mopeds and dirt bikes. The answer? “Talk to the mayor or city council.” This is one of those “if you see something, say something” that literally happens every day, pretty much on every block, on the Upper West Side and beyond. What is being done to get these vehicles off the streets? Enough is enough.
The police always say that about everything when they can’t be bothered. Since they have started in a small way to confiscate these illegal bikes it just needs to be stepped up. Give me a wheel lock or truck and I will gladly help. My friend’s daughter saw the last robbery. – wondered when it might be reported
It seems to me that Precinct Captains should be able instruct the police officers under their command to prioritize this. I’ve talked to police officers who told me the this was the responsibility of the Traffic Police. And I have talked to Traffic Police officers who have told me the opposite. Who is right about this?
I’m a long time rider of both motorcycles and scooters and will no longer ride in NYC.
As someone stated above there is a reason why you don’t see many legally plated scooters anymore like we did several years ago. Most have been stolen..
I would bet that the vast majority of gas powered scooters we see daily in NYC with no plates are stolen.
I’ve had several scooters and motorcycles stolen on the UWS. And have also had a couple attempted to be stolen. I refuse to ride anymore because of this fact and the stories I’ve directly heard of people getting road jacked while riding gad powered scooters and escooters.
Unbelievable. Women were violently robbed and we’re talking about ebikes vs. scooters vs. motorbikes, etc.
The getaway vehicle is less important than the fact they’ll get a light sentence if they are caught at all.
The getaway vehicle is highly relevant, BECAUSE the NYPD makes zero effort to enforce the laws regarding such vehicles, and THEREFORE these criminals knew they could punch and zip without any chance that the NYPD would stop them for running a red or driving against traffic.
However, these criminals are also idiots for assuming there are no good security cameras.
I posted earlier about this MO active in Italy for decades. WSR did not print my comment. Why? It is in our interest to know that the proliferation of unlicensed etc mopeds and scooters poses dangers that have already surfaced in other places.
A direct result of Adams’ gift to GrubHub and restaurants of no traffic law enforcement for scooters and motorcycles.