By Gus Saltonstall
A man was robbed Tuesday afternoon on the Upper West Side by a duo on a moped, a police spokesperson told West Side Rag.
The 28-year-old man was walking near West 66th Street and Riverside Boulevard around 3:50 p.m., when a moped pulled up to him with two men on it, police said.
The pair hopped off the vehicle and grabbed the victim’s chain, before jumping back onto the moped and driving away, police reported.
The 28-year-old suffered minor injuries and was treated on the scene, police said.
Police described the suspects as in their 20s and wearing black Nike tracksuits.
There have been no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing.
Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.
That is utterly terrifying. Glad he was not hurt too badly
But 66th and RSD? Maybe you mean 66th and Riverside Boulevard? RSD ends at 73nd.
Yes, I did! Updated, thanks.
If they are ever caught, in addition to prosecuting them, please post photos of the parents who raised them. There has to be some accountability for the unacceptable actions of the boys and men in our society. And also, confiscate their mopeds!
Wow Susan -vigilantism at its worst. Please take some time to educate yourself about the realities of some families and what leads them to this kind of things. Very complex subject.
Give me a break! There is NO excuse for what these guys did. None!!!!!
NONE!!!
A parent can have several children be raised the same and turn out very different. How will giving infamy to parents help their children ? Or the whole family. I suggest providing counseling as a publicly-funded offer.
What are these requests? There are no laws currently to enforce any of that.
I think it’s time to defund NYC’s violence interrupters. They haven’t served us well. I don’t know if they’ve served us at all.
Does that mean we should also defund the police because they didn’t prevent this crime? Maybe we should actually continue to fund both, understanding that not all crime can be prevented?
Unless you can show documented examples where the violence interrupters have done anything, that equivocation is spurious.
Well, the whole concept is that they try to stop conflicts from turning violent and prevent retaliatory shootings etc. So if it works, no violent incident happens, which means there’s no way to document it. I assume you know that. I’m just not sure why anyone would oppose a multi-pronged approach to trying to fight crime. Police, of course, but also mediators and people who try to prevent crimes before they happen.
“which means there’s no way to document it.”
It’s called filing a report afterward. Pretty basic procedure.
We NYC taxpayers gave close to $1 billion to Bill DeBlasio’s wife to run a program like this during his tenure. How did that pan out ?
Based on the several (many?) stories of incidents like this on the UWS of late, the majority seem to be near the parks (i.e., RSD and CPW). I’m no expert (lol), but it would seem to me that the NYPD should be focusing FAR more attention on the two “edges” of the UWS, particularly in the afternoon, evening and overnight.
Fewer cameras, fewer people/witnesses. It’s not a commercial strip so the density of people on the sidewalks is much lower, giving them more room to “operate.”
What victims should always remember is that even if they don’t see a weapon, if the robbers give them any reason to believe they do have a weapon, it is armed robbery rather than just robbery. Again, even if they don’t actually have a weapon. When I was a kid, I was mugged by a couple guys who said they had a gun but did not brandish it. They didn’t actually have a gun, but because I believed they did, the crime was a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
You are so right! Riverside Boulevard (and some other neighborhood streets) have no street life — stores, restaurants, laundries, etc. To they are deserted most of the time. Much less crime where the street life is robust, and the traffic — pedestrian and wheeled — is ongoing.
Or, you should be voting for the politicians and prosecutors who don’t create a revolving door for the criminals. NYPD can catch them, but the main question is – then what?
Then, they get arraigned (charged with the crime), given a court date where prosecutors and defense attorneys argue motions, then it is set down for trial, and, if convicted at trial, the defendant is then sentenced for the crime. But according to the constitutions of both the United States of America and the state of New York, they have to actually be convicted of the crime before they can be punished for it. This “revolving door” as you call it, is a mischaracterization of the bail reform bills that are trying to make sure our criminal justice system actually matches the constitution. Too many people have this insane idea that people should be punished as soon as they are arrested – that they are guilty until proven innocent.
You’re leaving out a pretty important part of the picture. Crimes get downgraded, and prosecutors are increasingly reluctant to pursue certain offenses at all. The result is that offenders are often back on the street almost immediately.
Crimes get downgraded for one of two reasons. Either 1) the prosecutors offer a plea deal for the defendant to plead guilty. This is because the prosecutor‘s office does not have the budget or the number of attorneys needed to be able to bring every case to trial, nor are there enough judges and courtrooms to do so. Or 2) the prosecutors do not have the evidence needed to support the higher charge. This is usually the fault of the police. For example, in 2023 I was hit by a motorcycle riding a triumph motorcycle on the sidewalk. We had video of him riding on the sidewalk, with a clear shot of his license plate, as he rode past a school and other pedestrians and me yelling “stop” and “call the police.” the Detective assigned to the case never collected any evidence but did arrest him for felony hit-and-run with serious injury. The DA had to drop the case, not just downgrade the charges, because they did not have proof that he was the person operating the motorcycle. Had the Detective gone to the parking garage where the motorcyclist worked and gotten video of him leaving work on his motorcycle, it would have been a slam dunk conviction.
No, crimes are not downgraded for just those two reasons. Not even close.
1 Prosecutors have broad discretion and can reduce charges because of office policies, diversion programs, plea negotiations, priorities, or simply because they decide a lesser charge is appropriate.
2 Plea deals aren’t offered just because there aren’t enough prosecutors, judges, or courtrooms. That’s a huge oversimplification.
3 Lack of evidence is certainly not “usually the fault of the police.” A witness may refuse to cooperate, identification may be unclear, video may be inconclusive, evidence may be ruled inadmissible, or the DA simply may not have enough evidence to prove every element of the charge.
4 What the police arrest someone for and what the DA ultimately prosecutes are two different things.
Etc etc
And one personal story about a detective dropping the ball doesn’t establish how criminal cases generally work.
I saw what seems the same guys do the same thing 85th/RSD woman waiting for bus, got her purse, not even stopping.
Beware! These guys wear all black and total black face masks, they are on RSD a lot, stand away from them. I crossed the street the other day when I saw them and still road by me but had stepped into a bldg lobby quickly.
I wonder if it’s these guys.
https://www.westsiderag.com/2026/08/06/pair-of-upper-west-side-businesses-burglarized-by-rock-throwing-men-in-ski-masks
Gotta ban those mopeds. Always running people over or robbing them.
It’s who is on the mopeds that need to be stopped. Criminals are criminals. Whether they are on mopeds or not. Taking their mopeds away will not turn them into law abiding citizens.
The 1970s was safer. Came home from job at 11:30p. No issues.
Well, to be fair I’ve never personally had an issue and I’m out in and near the park at dark routinely. These stories get a lot of attention but it’s easy to forget that crime overall is down.
Here’s the NYPD’s own data on major crime from 2000–2025.
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/analysis_and_planning/historical-crime-data/seven-major-felony-offenses-2000-2025.pdf
Now compare 2019 to 2025, only 6-7 years ago.
Crime 2019 2025 Change
Murder 319 309 −3.1%
Rape 1,755 2,048 +16.7%
Robbery 13,371 15,075 +12.7%
Felony Assault 20,698 29,838 +44.2%
Burglary 10,909 12,798 +17.3%
Grand Larceny 43,250 48,061 +11.1%
Grand Larceny Auto 5,304 13,523 +154.9%
TOTAL 95,606 121,652 +27.2%
———-
And that’s before considering how many crimes are now downgraded to lesser offenses. The real picture may be considerably worse
Right on!
Wonder if they were able to get a license plate number of the moped or in nyc I forgot they do not require license plates or identification numbers on scooters and e bikes
a. Mopeds ought to be licensed, registered, and confiscated and destroyed if a crime is committed with them (let alone while upon them).
b. Robbery should NOT be downgraded. This is violent robbery (it IS violence to pull off one’s chain and it is dangerous, too, given all the structures in and around the neck!)
c. Moped riders should not be allowed to cover their whole face to evade capture. If they covered their face, keep them under arrest pending trial without the possibility of bail, because they WILL be a continued risk to others.
d. It is never the victim’s fault to be robbed, but try to keep aware while on the street and warn others, too, if need be. I was walking on Riverside in the 90s the other week and someone walking toward me called “MOPED!” – it was helpful because people paused to look. It was indeed a dude on a moped, zooming through the intersection (in a red light, mind you). Dunno if he had bad intentions or not, but who knows. The guy who called “MOPED” saw it but we wouldn’t have, because we had our backs to it.
This is a reply to the suggestion that the pictures of the parents of criminals be displayed and to the opposing comment that parents are not always responsible for actions of their offspring. Both ideas have some merit! Here’s another idea, a combination of theirs , for combating crime : Let’s tap into some Humanity that may be inside the perps!
Many years ago, as a rookie teacher in what was considered a rough,all boys’ HS, in response to a student who had used foul language & damaged school property, my wise Chairman advised that on top of a piece of paper I write the student’s mother’s name, followed by his actions, speak to the student privately & request an apology & promise to behave in am appropriate manner. I dd this. When he refused, I told him I would send this report to his mother, whose name he saw on the paper. He immediately apologized! Respect for his Mom was the cure!
This is very similar to the two, in their 20’s, wearing black jump suits and hoods that hit me in the face. They were riding on an e Citi bike with one sitting on the handlebars . They came up on the sidewalk of 71st street after turning off Amsterdam by the McDonald’s at the end of the street. I moved out of the way for them, but just as they reached me one leaned out and hit me in the face as they flew by laughing. I didn’t see it coming and they were 50 yards down the street when I realized what had happened. I reported it to the police but I would never have been able to identify them as they were almost totally covered in black with the hoody’s. It left me furious at the downright obnoxious nastiness of the pair.
Moped robberies are a third world scourge. We don’t have to live like this. Go after the moped riders and these bikes more aggressively. I know police say chasing them is difficult and dangerous in a dense city, which I an understand. But there has to be a stronger way forward
That same trick is done in Brazil and Venezuela.
If people do not fear any consequences, crime will continue. It’s pretty simple and as a principle – consequences for crime – has basically worked since the dawn of man.