By Gus Saltonstall
A 19-year-old man was attacked and robbed by more than a dozen people within an Upper West Side subway station early on Wednesday morning, police said.
The victim was standing on the northbound D train station platform at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle subway station about 1:15 a.m., when 13 people approached him, police reported.
The group started a conversation with the 19-year-old, before repeatedly assaulting him, police said. The swarm of attackers forcibly grabbed his coat, sneakers, and cellphone, and then fled in an unknown direction, NYPD added.
The victim suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital in stable condition, police said.
There have been no arrests, but police did provide a photo of a few of the suspects.
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).
With all our taxes, I’d hope that more and better photos could be published.
13 people?
Not 12, not 11 – 13.
Stole his coat & sneakers
Catch them, bail at 410,000 each, jail.
“More and better photos,” so that the perps can be apprehended quicker and released with no bail quicker in time to catch the next train?
!!! A man was injured!
With all our taxes, I’d hope more cops would be hired and trained to actively patrol the subway stations. This one even has a police unit in it. Lots of good they’re doing.
Isnt there a Transit police precinct in that station?
It’s getting hard to say the taxpayers are getting good ROI for all the cops we are paying for if they can’t stop an assault happening right on their doorstop… Before anyone says it, we obviously need police, but not clear why the NYPD isn’t interesting in doing the job of protecting New Yorkers
That was my first thought! There are always tons of policemen at that station! Where the hell were they?
Yes Bill, my thoughts exactly. Transit police are housed right there at that station where this kid got mob attacked.
Is there still a transit police precinct in that very stop??? No better surveillance/oversight?? The poor lad. Being mob attacked by 13 people. What cowardice by these attackers. So many against one. Shame on them.
From experience that I learned after being assaulted on the subway 5 years ago, there were at that time, and I’m not sure now, no cameras on the subway cars and none on the platforms except at the turnstiles. The only reason they are at the turnstiles is to take photos of fare beaters. They are there for our safety only incidentally. In addition, the quality of the photos or videos is often quite poor. Be ready to take your own photos and videos.
There are definitely cameras on the northbound A/B/C/D platform at Columbus circle.
Maybe the police could spread out more, rather than having 4, 5 or more officers in one place, those 5 could be in 3 places?
And officers patrolling the subways should be directed to leave their personal cell phones in their lockers. If they have them , they’re on them when they should be looking around and assessing the surroundings.
It’s not just a matter of police officers being available to respond to a situation. Perhaps if an officer had been aware of thirteen people in a group at 1:15 AM, he or she might have averted this attack altogether.
No, there’s nothing inherently wrong with 13 people traveling together, especially late at night. But it’s unusual enough to have warranted an officer’s assessing whether this was a group for its own safety or one out looking for trouble. That kind of proactive crime prevention can’t happen when the available officers have their noses glued to their phones, waiting for a call to respond to a crime that has already happened.
They are NOT looking at personal cell phones. THEY ARE WORK PHONES. Welcome to the 21st century. ALL the work they do is sent to them on the phone — who to look for, what they are wanted for, apps, etc. WORK PHONES. But tell us, when was the last time you saw a little, fat, black memo book?
What a joke this station is. I walked by the entrance near 58th St in the middle of the day a couple of weeks ago & there were several cops standing by the MetroCard machines some with machine guns.
The theatrics of having uniformed police and National Guard checking riders’ backpacks at some stations is just that — meaningless theater mandated by Albany. Bad actors like this gang aren’t stopped by a backpack check. Police are needed on the train platforms and on trains themselves, not at the turnstiles and ticket booths. In past years, when I rode the subway more than I am willing and able to do now, police often did double duty, patrolling platforms and poking their heads into the cars to check for trouble when train doors opened. Made sense then, would make sense now.
That station is really big. It has a lot of entrances, exits and staircases. The A, B C D and 1 trains stop there.
And if they get arrested. Is this even bail eligible. And will Bragg prosecute. I don’t exprct this to be publisher. But always have hope
When is the mayor, the governor, the City Council, the MTA going to start to do something about all the crime, homeless, and mentally unstable people on the subways. You can’t keep taxing people and raising fares as the answer.
I moved to long island this year. I am still so shocked I did it. I thought I’d stay in NYC forever. No one cares anymore, I dreaded seeing my partner as another statistic.
Sadly, this is why i left recently. I cant have my wife and kids be a statistic. The police seem to take much of the blame here, but what is their incentive when the attackers will be back on the street with no repurcusions. The politicians have deemed crime an acceptable way of life. Its sad and its why i left.
This is an absolute disgrace. The fact that this is happening and the perps know even if they get caught nothing will happen, is compromising everyone’s life in the city.
Stealing someone coat, sneakers, and cell phone, really….
I hate this, and I’m not sure what more has to be done for all of us stand up Howard Beale style and say “I am mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
We need a new mayor and a more sensible DA!