By Joy Bergmann
A 28-year-old woman was robbed Saturday morning at 5.39 a.m. at West 81st Street and Central Park West, an NYPD spokesperson told WSR.
Police say a man around 18 years old approached the woman, displayed a knife and demanded her cell phone. He then took her phone and fled into the nearby subway station at 81st and Central Park West. NYPD described the suspect as a Black male; no further information regarding his appearance was available.
The woman was not physically injured in the incident, police said. The investigation is ongoing.
Will our elected representatives provide any comment or condemnation of this incident?
Do you expect elected officials to address every individual mugging?
No but we should expect them to address the framework conditions that allow this to happen with greater frequency and relative impunity which was clearly the point of the post if you apply critical thinking.
What does it matter? People ask this as if a politician condemning run of the mill crime will stop it. A politician need a comment on every single crime instance if a politician does not comment on a robbery, that doesn’t mean that they support it, or don’t care about crime politicians must comment on and condemn major instances, such as hate crimes and true tragedies, when they must lead their communities in reuniting together or supporting each other. An elected speaking out is not going to make this victim feel better. It is not going to get her phone back. It is not going to stop the criminal from doing it again. It is not going to have any benefit or cause any change at all. But naysayers will always complain as a way of being dismissive of their elected officials if they didn’t vote for them. It is a waste of time.
“It is not going to stop the criminal from doing it again.”
Yes, especially when the criminal, even if arrested, will face no consequences and be back on the streets immediately to terrorize others.
Josh the great consoler-in-chief, such a constructive comment, thank you…
Don’t trade in your old cellphone; carry it in your pocket to turn over in such a situation.
There are very few foot and/or police cars patrolling during midnight-6:00 am; therefore, being out at five in the morning is highly risky. Recently, there have been a number of crimes against women in the early morning hours. This woman was very smart to hand over her phone instead of arguing or trying in any way to resist him. She was better off. to lose a phone than get stabbed by someone who is a menace to society. If he is ever gets caught and turns out to be under 18, it would be great if the law held his parents responsible and accountable along with him. But I don’t think I’ll live to see that happen.
There are no foot post in the UWS , barely enough cops to fill patrol cars. Recruitment for the NYPD is a tough sell. Who the hell wants the job now?
Once again, this is a product of consequences. Robbers like this know that worst case, if they are caught, there will be virtually no consequences for their actions – a slap on the wrist. If there were more consequences for crimes like these, potential criminals might think twice.
It is basic psychology.
The common refrain is: she shouldn’t have been outside walking at that hour or she shouldn’t have been alone. Is a society civilized if it’s accepted that women are at risk going outside at certain hours? What good are the parks, restaurants, and arts, If only the physically strong or armed need not worry.
She was sitting on a bench in line for Shakespeare in the park tickets. Makes the whole thing even sadder. I often see elderly folks sitting out there at 530am which illuminates your point further. They should not feel at risk or unsafe simply because they wanted to join the queue for leftover tickets. It’s all so sad
Wow, actual reporting of the criminal’s race instead of acting like skin color can’t be part of the physical description for fear of being labeled a racist. Bravo!
According to the NY Post this woman was arrested in July for felony assault.
https://nypost.com/2023/09/02/baibaia-rodriguez-arrested-for-slapping-nypd-cop-trying-to-confiscate-e-bike-outside-nyc-shelter/
There’s really only one person in charge here, who can change the law – Heastie.
Call Gale Brewer’s office and respectfully and politely talk about your concerns that women are not allowed to walk in the morning or the evening due to safety issues.
Call Carl Heastie and make the same concerns known to his office, respectfully and politely
Call the Governor- and again make the same concerns, respectfully and politely
Folks – if several hundred people called, change could be made. But complaining in a newspaper, while good to share your concerns with your fellow neighbors, doesn’t move the ball forward.
“The back and forth on bail reform reached another crescendo on Wednesday when New York City Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference about crime in New York City, citing NYPD statistics backing up his position that bail reform has led to an increase in crime.
The mayor also called on the state Legislature, again, to return tAlbany to make changes to bail reform. That position pits him squarely against fellow Democrats, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Majority Leader Stewart Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.”
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2022/08/04/heastie-on-bail–mayor-adams-and-judicial-discretion
Thanks for the link. I haven’t seen the NY Post online before. If you look at the news scroll at the top of the page it takes you to hundreds of stories where teens/young adults have committed violent crimes and they’re all smiling in the photos, as if being arrested is a badge of honor. It’s disturbing.
You are commenting on the wrong story, This victims name is not even released and it should not be. This is a story about a robbery. You are talking about a migrant and her ebike.
I walked past the victim and police when this happened and she was filling out the police report. She was on the bench in line for Shakespeare in the park tickets. Not sure why they make people wait so far from the venue before 6am. Often there is only 1 person on a given day, which does not seem very safe to me when they could be closer to the venue where the workers are outside to manage the line as well as folks inside for the ticket “sales”. Am sure there is a logical historical purpose, but it’s now 2023 and there is no reason to make folks schlep that early to the park for tickets. Esp with train safety being in the spotlight. I hope the theater revises this for the next season.
Technically CP is closed between 1:00 am and 6:00 am. I was surprised that the venue was open so early in the morning. There are so many ways to get tickets so I’m not sure why anyone has to physically stand in line at all. Most theaters dispense tickets digitally so hopefully they’ll update that process when they open the new theater.
Cathy you should run for office again…….