By Gus Saltonstall
A 15-year-old girl and a mailman were robbed in separate incidents on the same Upper West Side street within a 24-hour period, a police spokesperson confirmed to West Side Rag.
The robberies both took place on West 73rd Street, the first one Monday night, and the second midday on Tuesday, police said.
Around 9:40 p.m. on Monday, a 15-year-old girl was walking out of her building near the corner of 73rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, when a woman approached her and asked for money, police said.
The teenager said no, which prompted the woman to pull the girl’s hair and demand the money again, police said. The 15-year-old then handed over around $100, police said. Somebody who happened to be walking by then intervened in the altercation, and the woman ran away in an unknown direction, police said.
There have been no arrests as of 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, police said.
A little over 12 hours later, an on duty United States Postal Service employee was in front of a building on West 73rd Street between Columbus and Central Park West, when a man approached him and forcibly grabbed his mailbox keys, police said.
The USPS employee wasn’t injured during the robbery, and the man ran away, police said.
There has been no arrest as of 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, NYPD added.
These are developing stories, please check back in for updates.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
Perfect example of crimes that will never show up on police statistics. Even if the perps are found, any charges will surely be dismissed. Please keep this in mind when your elected officials pat themselves on the back and say crime is down and NY is “safer than ever”.
Keep in mind that that’s always been the case. Certain crimes have always been underreported so unless it’s more underreported now than it was before, the trends are correct.
If they show up in the West Side Rag, they will be discussed at the Precinct Community Council meetings. Charges for stealing US Postal Service anything are FEDERAL charges, not local. It’s up to the 15-year-old girl if she chooses to file charges or not, but the story reads that someone intervened. The article did not indicate whether or not the money was recovered. If the money was recovered the crime was thwarted.
I guarantee you the USPS employee reported the stolen keys in a police report. Otherwise he’d be out of a job.
And those keys probably count as federal property so maybe there is a more severe penalty. (I won’t hold my breath.)
Why do you believe these crimes will “never show up on police statistics”? They’ve been reported to the NYPD and are under investigation. Do you have any evidence that the NYPD are intentionally manipulating crime statistics?
I’m trying to remember something: didn’t we use to have auxiliary police on the UWS (teams of 2, no weapons, but trained by NYPD to observe/report crimes? I seem to remember that we also had neighborhood patrols. Anyone else remember this? And is it a good idea to try this again? I can’t believe the random violence that is happening in our neighborhood now, and in broad daylight.
Bring back the Guardian Angels!
I spent four years as an NYPD Auxiliary Police Officer in the 24th Precinct, which runs from 86th Street to 110th Street. Both the 24th and 20th (59 to 86 Streets) Precinct utilize Auxiliary Police. They cannot intervene, but can make the radio call and act as a deterrent, and also help in non-criminal instances, like aided cases (people who have accidents or become ill) or traffic accidents, etc. Auxiliaries are mostly posted on busy thoroughfares like Broadway. They will be out in full force during the Parade. The uniform is the same except no firearm and a taller NYPD patch which reads “Auxiliary” above the rest. There are approximately 4,000 A/POs of different ranks in the City — or at least there were in the 1990s, when I was an A/PO. The minimum age is 18 and there is no maximum, if anyone is interested in signing up. If you are, see the Coordinator at your local Precinct. I left the force when I went to work professionally for the labor union of NYPD Detectives.
I recall auxiliary police in the UWS. Interesting that you suggested trying this again. I went to the NYPD police department site which states: “The NYPD’s auxiliary police program is the largest auxiliary police program in the United States, with thousands volunteer officers contributing more than one million hours of public service each year. Auxiliary officers are trained to observe and report conditions requiring the services of the regular police. Whenever possible, they assist in non-enforcement and non-hazardous duties. They are civic-minded men and women who volunteer to assist their local police precincts, housing police service areas, and transit districts by serving as the “eyes and ears” of the neighborhood through foot, vehicle, and bicycle patrols.For those continuing their education, some colleges grant credit for training received in the auxiliary program.” I can’t find actual statistics in the number. Auxiliary police are not listed as having a salary, and the only benefit listed is some colleges granting credit for training received. As a volunteer unpaid position, it seems unlikely that there are ‘thousands’ of volunteer officers remaining in NYC, and certainly, only intrepid souls would even bother. Certainly none that I have seen in NYC for many years. I wonder where they are?
I am sure a repeat offender.
Technically not the same block, bu the same street.
Omg that’s my mailman, is he ok??
The media feed us stories like this every day. The WSR, Gothamist, Eyewitness News, Post/Fox … in a city of 8 million, there is likely a crime every day. And the political class tell us, It’s much better than back in the 70s and early 80s. Plus, dudes shouldn’t be in Rikers or involuntarily institutionalized.
A lot of us don’t want to be full-bore Trumpers. But we reject the ideology that puts “dismantling the carceral state” and “keeping the [violent] mentally ill in the community” above the safety of the citizens.
We signed on to a polity in which the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness can be furthered. But without the right to life, the others won’t be achieved. Your liberty ends when you try to take away my liberty, my life, my property, or the safety of my person.
I can either be the sole defender of my rights or I can sign on to pay taxes so that authorities protect these rights. When authorities want to tilt toward allowing violent people to roam around in street, subway, and store, we who want to defend the citizens in general need to replace those authorities.
What moderate Democrats will step up to defend human rights while starting from the rights of the citizens to walk their streets and park paths in safety? Who will replace Bragg and those others?
To David S: Yes we do have evidence of crime stats manipulation. I personally and many friends and family have attempted to report crimes to various NYPD precincts. They routinely refuse to take the reports. One of the reasons they cite when refusing is that you will not get your — (money, property, etc.) back anyway, so why bother making the report. Another cited reason was that they cannot accept a report of a crime that they did not directly witness happening themselves, at exactly the time of the crime (?!?).
UWSer doesn’t seem to understand the accusation that Frank Grimes made. these crimes were REPORTED, as stated in the article. Thus they show up in police stats.
I have reported crimes to NYPD and never was treated the way UWSer describes, not even close. He is saying that front desk NYOD personnel are in some ways under orders not to accept crime reports? This is a sensational charge. if he really believes this, he should get the name and badge # of the person who refused to take the report and report that the the DA. You have the right to report crimes to the police. The idea that police cannot accept a crime report that they did not personally witness is ludicrous. I suspect UWSer misunderstood what the cop was saying to him.
Somehow i am skeptical of UWSer’s anecdotes.
Reporting a crime is indeed time consuming. I once got pickpocketed in the subway and had to go to the local transit police bureau, which was up in Harlem. And giving the report itself was a long process. But the idea that they would refuse to take it… strange. Just say, “I prefer to report this.” is that so hard?
I have also reported a crime involving attempted grand larcency to the 20th Precinct and was treated with concern, courtesy, detailed reporting, and a follow-up call from a detective to make sure I was okay.
The mailbox keys are concerning gives access to all blue and green mailboxes in that zip code. Stop mailing checks. Pay online.
On the theory that forewarned is forearmed, descriptions of the perps would help. Unless those tell a story that it’d not politically correct to tell.
The mail delivery people have keys that let them into all the BUILDINGS in our neighbor, so did the thief just get mailbox keys, or is there now a criminal running around the neighborhood with easy access to every building here?
Please follow up on this and let us know
I’m not trying to start hysteria, but this could be MUCH more serious than the article currently indicates, and residents might want to take security steps as soon as possible.
Speak up about these and other incidents that affect you at the NYPD Build the Block sector B meeting on THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6 at 6:00pm. It will be at the Hamilton House Senior Center at 141 West 73rd Street on the Ground floor. A lot of the questions raised here will be addressed. Instead of venting here, do something positive!
I am a yogi and runner. My Mom always told
me if you encounter a suspicious or weird
person don’t stick around for a conversation
just RUN. Run away fast. This saved me
on CPW next to the Historical Museum
one dark nite. I saw him walking towards me
and he looked weird. I ran as fast as
I could. The stretch of sidewalk next to
the Museum gets very dark at nite and
could use more light
…also if someone looks weird or you think is following you cross the street