A passenger cut a bus driver on the M72 early Thursday morning as he struggled to steal the driver’s chain. The driver, Timothy Fox, had stopped at 66th and Freedom Place, when the assailant got on and demanded money and his gold chain, according to CBS.
“Tried to snatch the chain from me,” said Fox, who had just begun his shift when the incident happened. “I stopped the bus. We had an altercation. Then he got out of the bus and took off.”
The attacker didn’t get the chain.
Fox said he never saw what the man was using as a weapon.
“I don’t know what it was in his hand,” he said. “It wasn’t very big. It was sharp.”
The suspect was last seen fleeing on foot west toward Riverside Boulevard and remains on the loose, authorities said.
The thug’s mistake was not riding along for a few stops before attacking … he would have heard that recorded message that assaulting an MTA employee is a felony that will get you locked up for years. Alas, that’s probably where he’s headed, assuming there were security cams around.
A week has passed. It now appears that he made no mistakes.
As far as we know, he has not been caught.
Any description of the subject? Must be some security cam footage. Ironically, the security office for the building on the south side of 66th is right there!
and to think this happened at Freedom Place
Just saying , , , seems like ever since we got this new Mayor, there has been a steady increase in crime. As a resident of the UWS for over 40+ years, its beginning to feel like the 70s again.
AC your recollection has been clouded by time. I’ve seen the UWS as long as you, and no longer need to walk alarmed,”like a paratrooper on the qui vive” as the Dean of Columbia put it. Thanks Mr (New) Mayor.
Shhh.
BTW AC…. I am a 45+ year resident of the Upper West side. When I was living else where in the city I would always be up on the UWS visiting friends and my mother. So I too, know what I’m talking about!
You are so right. My Family has been here since 85 and it was block to block in those days. NO comparison to today…..
That simply is not true! I’ve heard of many muggings on the upper west side during every one of this City’s Mayors. I’ve known a number of people that have gotten mugged and been threatened with knives and such under Guiliani and Bloomberg. So Don’t single out just one mayor!
Yeah, guess the statistics indicating an increase in crime is just a fabrication. The last time a mayor had to increase the police force by 1500 officers was back in the day when crime was shooting out of control. But you know what your talking about! 🙂
Where do you get your statistics from, AC? Please, I’d like to see them.
As a long time resident of the UWS, I trust you’d agree that crime in the 1970/80’s was much higher. With regards to stats, I’ll use the last two years as an example of my point – that crime is rising during our current Mayor’s tenure.
2014 Rapes = 627
2015 Rapes = 592
An increase of 5.9%
2014 Murders = 154
2015 Murders = 138
An increase of 11.6%
ALL figures are through June 21 of their respective year and as reported through NYPD’s CompStat reporting.
Happy Fourth!
years noted above are reversed
2015 Rapes = 627
2014 Rapes = 592
An increase of 5.9%
2015 Murders = 154
2014 Murders = 138
An increase of 11.6%
Something’s happened to the upper west side.
Bway&72nd and 73rd streets are filthy. The amount of mentally ill homeless seems to have greatly increased. Screaming filthy men hang around near the subway. What is going on???
The upper east side is clean with new waste baskets. Our neighborhood has small rusty baskets overflowing with trash. Disgusting. Where is Gail Brewer and Ms rosenthal?? Is anyone doing anything? Help….!!
It’s simple – some people think that the traditional “tolerance” that the UWS has always exhibited means that it’s okay for us to be abused by bad politics. Need another homeless shelter? Open it up next to a school on the Upper West Side – they won’t mind! Need another facility for dangerous drug addicts? Open it up on a family-filled UWS residential block – they’ll love it! I agree 100% with your comment. But be prepared to be told to move to the Upper East Side by those who rather enjoy the rapidly declining quality-of-life that we’re experiencing.
Incidentally, much of this happened under Gale Brewer’s watch when she was our CM. But that shouldn’t stop you from writing, calling, and complaining to her as well as CM Rosenthal.
What can we do? I’ve spoken to gale brewer-particularly about the screaming book seller on 72nd St. He is scary- I’ve lived on west end for years-I’ve never seen the neighborhood this bad. Crazy, dirty, crowded and wait until Blookingdales gets here.
And how come WE get all the “can collectors” with their filthy bags. I don’t see them at Duane Reade on 3rd Avenue.
Something is very wrong. I’m glad you agree-im going to Fairway now-I dread it.