Two women and a man were robbed in Central Park Monday night in two separate incidents.
In the first incident, a 33-year-old man was walking near West Drive and 97th street around 11:15 p.m. when four men — believed to be teenagers — approached him. One had a handgun. They took his backpack, according to police.
About 20 or 30 minutes later, another robbery occurred near the Reservoir, according to A Walk in the Park.
The victims, a Manhattan resident age 45, and a friend visiting from out-of-town, 26, were walking northbound on the jogging path near W. 90st Street at around 11:45pm when they were approached by four black males who began talking to them.
Moments later two of the assailants pulled out handguns and demanded their purses.The suspects grabbed the purses and fled southbound along the jogging path.
An undercover officer saw two men emptying out a handbag later, but was unable to catch them. “Police said they later found a BB gun wrapped in grey duct tape, along with wallets and credit cards belonging to the women,” according to CBS.
After a spike in robberies this spring, the NYPD had increased the number of uniformed officers in the park. The robberies had slowed after an August arrest. There hadn’t been any robberies in the park in November, versus three the year before.
The Central Park Four?
I live on CPW and this will continue under the current mayoral administration. Anyone who lives on CPW between 110th and 90th can attest to the screaming, fighting, and other disturbing noises that can be heard from the street below after 9pm. It ramps up Fri-Sun. Because this area is so close to Harlem. But nobody will mention the race of any of these “teenage perpetrators”.
Everything you are saying is wrong. Here’s a report from the ACLU showing that between 2011 and 2014, the frequency of stop-and-frisks dropped by 93% in the city. Over that same time period, murders and shootings dropped precipitously as well.
https://www.nyclu.org/news/stop-and-frisk-down-safety-nyclu-data-analysis
Growing up on the westside of Manhattan I quickly learned
that it’s not safe to walk on the park side at night on CPW,
5th Ave, and RSD. Escape is too easy for the purse snatchers
and muggers, into the park they go. Economics is the driving
force behind street crime, not race, not mayors , not age.
Remember, there is only one race…HUMAN…
Except, it says they were black. It’s right there, in, err, black and white.
As it should be in trying to create a visual description of a suspect.
Since “UWSHebrew” mentioned the area’s proximity to Harlem, I assumed that a broader point about race was being made. If I overreached, I certainly apologize.
Actually, Harlem isn’t so black anymore. A lot of white people live there now.
Moi !
Eric, I knew what you meant, I was responding to UWSHebrew’s claim that no one would mention the skin color of the teenagers. S/he probably didn’t even read the post before jumping to that conclusion.
“But nobody will mention the race of any of these “teenage perpetrators”
That’s right, and it is because their race is not what causes them to behave anti-socially. Just as you being an “UWSHebrew” is not the reason you seem focused on their race.
Oy.
You know, we warned you that this would happen if you voted for DeBlasio. Progressive means going forward, not the past. If UWSers think they are so smart, learning from the past is the true sign of intelligence. Muggings in the park, graffiti, homeless on the street…it is the 1970s again. You were all warned. This is so sad.
Look, I don’t like Deblasio and did not vote for him (i voted for Adolfo Carrión, Jr.) but this is in no way like 1970’s New York. You definitely did not live through that time. It is barely 1993 New York City; get some perspective! Jeez.
This is what happens when a “progressive” mayor like DeBozo gets into office.
I can tell that you’re capable of making a mature, reasoned, well-thought-out analysis of the situation by the clever name that you made up for the Mayor.
De Blasio wasn’t in office any of the times I’ve witnessed crime or been a victim of it. What is it with this daddy-blaming? Your mayor is why people mug and harass? How does that work, and what example in recent history can show me the alternative tenor a mayor set in which nobody did this kind of thing? Seriously, I’m a native New Yorker and I hear mostly middle-aged men criticize the mayor no matter who the mayor is. I don’t get it. Men commit crimes more than women do. I’m comfortable making that sweeping generalization. Parse it further (this race, that administration), and you’re just avoiding talking about male violence.
You do know that there were muggings in Central Park under Bloomberg too, right? again, I don’t care for this mayor and I am not defending him, but really, two muggings in a month in the upper park and you think the city is over? Perspective, perspective. If people feel comfortable even entering the park after dark, we are still living in a good time.
NYPD has a big klieg light running at night near the reservoir & West 91st Street now. Loud but effective at illumination. Lots of patrol cars around at night as well.
Actually quite a few new klieg lights over the past week, all over the park.
Why would anyone dare to walk in the park at night in the dark? I dont care about the administration or the mayor. Its NYC for god sakes, you should assume that the park isnt safe in the middle of the night.
The exact opposite of what you DeBlasio basher are saying is true:
between 2011 and 2014, the frequency of stop-and-frisks dropped by 93% in the city. Over that same time period, murders and shootings dropped precipitously.
https://www.nyclu.org/news/stop-and-frisk-down-safety-nyclu-data-analysis
I highly doubt that the New York Civil Liberties Union is the most objective source when it comes to stop and frisk information.
There are plenty of ways to massage data to fit a narrative.
By all means, please show us your contradictory data.
If our cops at the 24th had an ounce of guts they’d have a plain clothes bait detail patrolling the park late at night. Too much work though! And they might run into actual scary criminals, rather than parking ticket felons. Don’t see it happening.
Hmmmm you’re in the park at 3 am ? Are you nuts ? No sympathy senor’..
do you also blame rape victims like this? “you were wearing a short skirt?! are you crazy? no sympathy for you!” Goodness. maybe think through your response a bit more.
It says the first robbery took place at 11:15PM and the second 20-30 minutes later. You can still say that those hours aren’t safe to be walking around there either and I might not disagree (I run–run!–the loop at late hours but damn if I’m gonna be strolling on the bridle path or in the areas around the north lawn late like that), but the place is open and patrolled as such until 1AM and there should be a semi-reasonable expectation of not getting mugged.