Photo of sledders in Central Park last month by Amelia.
Three kids going sledding in Central Park around 86th street had their sleds stolen by a group of teens on Monday, according to police. When the sledders tried to get their property back, the teens assaulted them — even punching a 12-year-old girl in the face, they said.
The three teens — brothers Arthur and Enzo Zani, ages 14 and 10, and 12-year-old friend Gabriella Thorpe — were sledding at around 5:30 p.m. when three boys came up to them and asked to use the sleds, according to the Daily News. When they handed the plastic sleds over, the boys walked away. The Zani brothers and Thorpe followed after them, causing the assailants to threaten them and then to push Arthur and punch Thorpe in the face, the victims told the News.
The siblings walked to their Central Park West home, told their mom what happened and reported the incident to police.
The boys’ mom, Lillian Zani, 35, was outraged.
“New York is supposed to be safe,” Zani said. “I am so disappointed in the park and the city.”
The boys who took the sled were described as being African-American and between 10 and 16 years old, according to A Walk in The Park.
A few hours later, a man was assaulted nearby, but it’s not clear whether the attacks were related.
Geoffrey Croft, who runs A Walk in the Park and advocates for parks issues, is calling for more police in the parks as he has done in the past.
Why am I not surprised…
Kids say? So it’s their allegation that their sleds were stolen and the girl was punched? Nice, really nice.
The initial reports we read attributed the story to the victims. We’ve updated. WSR
Bring back stop & frisk and ARREST !!!!!!
Er, doesn’t seem like they were armed. So that would accomplish squat. But good try, I guess?
End public housing.
so of course this is a not very veiled racist remark.
Nope. In Boston, the Irish live there. Our NYCHA is a failed system. It still exists because somebody is making money from it. The housing stock is in horrible condition. Supported by taxpayers, no time limit is set on how long you can live there. Extended family has been coming up for decades from the South to move in with relatives in these apartments. People pee right in the lobby or in the elevators. Gang letters are written on the hall walls. I know a boy who was a shaken down and badly beaten in an elevator because he would not join a gang. His family moved out. Come up with a better system and you end much of the petty crime that we have. A condo is no blessing either, your neighbor could be selling drugs or maybe even be a hooker.
I don’t believe “the Irish” is the demographic that lives in public housing on the UWS.
and what does this have to do with the posting about a group of kids stealing sleds?
your characterization of UWS public housing is a gross generalization and one-sided.
“New York is supposed to be safe”. What a moronic and naive statement.
Pjrod, why do you take umbrage with that statement? Shouldn’t we have the right to live and play here without the expectation that we’re going to get mugged? It’s the ones who throw up their hands and say, “Well, that’s life in the big city” that create a dangerous anything-goes atmosphere.
We deserve a safe city and it’s up to us to DEMAND that from our elected officials, not upbraid a mom who’s child was just assaulted.
If Taylor Swift says so then it must be true.
Couldn’t have said it better myself! The expectations you set are a self-fulfilling prophecy!
A similar incident happened to me and my son at around 2pm. An older man (50s) took my son’s sled and started using it. No one else was on the slopes but us. He ended up giving it back but then started cursing at me. Luckily some park rangers stopped by to help. As a mother of a young child, I felt quite helpless and scared.
Why are you publishing the names of minors in your newsletter? Yes, a crime was committed, but children are entitled to privacy rights!
Their names were reported in the Daily News. The mom spoke to the paper. WSR isn’t violating their privacy at all.
This is terrible. I am sickend over this incident. Innocent kids cannot even have a little fun in the snow without being threatened and assualted. What is happening to this City? I do not know what the solution is, but something really needs to be done to make the Park safer for the good guys. It feel like the bad guys (and gals) are winning and that is not right. We need to take back our Park.
di Blasio + ex fat man “not so” sharp TON.
You elected the mayor.
You sleep with the fishes.
we saw the start of city wide crime rise(shootings, robberies etc.)BUT NOT MURDERS in year 1 of the progressive movement. Curious to see what the warmer weather months of year 2 bring.
Well, what were they thinking? Going sledding in the park at 5:30 pm? this is a big city..
“Stop and frisk” and find what… a sled?
so, one group of teens and pre-teens stole some plastic sleds from another group… and a punch was thrown.
stop the presses!
Seriously, this is news? this is the “rising crime rate”? this is the degeneration of society under that crazy liberal De Blasio?
did anyone here actually grow up in NY? when did we all become such wusses?
if this is the worst crime that took place yesterday on the UWS, then it is truly a very safe place.
Wwwwwow, Bruce! We already know that you shrug off more heinous crimes like rape, but now you’re actually calling folks “wusses” because they’re angry and upset that a little girl got punched in the face and had her sled taken away? What drives you to accept such behavior as normal? I’ve never seen anyone set their own bar so low. The values of a NYC native shouldn’t be any cheaper than someone from Peoria.
here we go… the “Bring Back Stop and Frisk” Brigade once again accusing me of “shrugging off… crimes like rape.” what a lie. a despicable lie. you’re just trying to throw mud and hope it sticks.
I grew up in NYC. terrible crimes like kids taking each other’s plastic sleds happened EVERY DAY… even in Queens. Yes, it was often bullying. But it was hardly a crime wave.
and yes, I am anti-bullying.
If i knew these children’s mother i would commiserate. but this incident is proof of nothing… and to try to make it so is sad.
What I object to is the bizarre level of panic in so many comments. People act like there was ZERO crime under Bloomberg but the world’s now going to hell under De Blasio. Guess what: People were punched, robbed and shot in the previous administration too. UWS Guy above says broken windows needs to be brought back. Do a little research: De Blasio supports Broken Windows and brought in the police chief who invented it.
I’m a parent and I worry a HUGE amount about crime. If it’s going up that’s a problem. But every incident doesn’t warrant a full-scale OH MY GOD OUR CITY IS FALLING APART response.
agreed!
Webot said:
“the outrage is not about this one unfortunate incident. its about the increase in crime, to where these events are happening almost daily.”
Actually, almost 3 times daily in the 24th Precinct… at least in 2014. there were 1,020 “serious” crimes (grand larceny and above) in the 24th in 2014. and i haven’t looked but there were probably an equal number in the 20th.
But guess what? these numbers are down 32% (!) since the end of the halcyon Giuliani era, when there were 1,503 serious crimes in the 24th (2001). 4 a day in one precinct alone! plus the 20th! close to 10 a day.
We are simply dealing with the law of large numbers.
you are missing the point.
the outrage is not about this one unfortunate incident.
its about the increase in crime, to where these events are happening almost daily.
Double amen.
Amen.
Bruce, you’ve been the gold standard for bullying, word-twisting, and personal attacks on the WSR since I’ve been reading it, so it’s a laugh when you accuse others of doing the same. Tone down your own rhetoric and attacks and perhaps everyone else will treat you with the respect that most normal people deserve.
anyone who cares to read the thread above can see that I was not the one engaging in personal attacks.
its very simple logic ( or is it illogic?)
landlord: bad
tenant: good
white: bad
black: good
business: bad
government: good
Bruce – I’m usually the one to suggest that people are overreacting, and no, I do not think this is the crime of the century, but yes – I think it is news when children are threatened and punched in the park. There is no reason to expect this to happen in a residential neighborhood – or,really, anywhere. The fact that it isn’t the biggest crime ever doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem. We should be able to live in the city without fear of phsyical assault and theft. Obviously, we’ll never get 100% there, but it is what we should aim for, and when we can’t let kids out to play in the snow without fear of assault, we should be paying attention and addressing it. Here and elsewhere in the city.
Once again your comments suggest that you have no empathy towards families, women or children living in our neighborhood.
This is why you think the neighborhood is perfectly safe, you don’t need to worry about your wife walking down your street past the shelter. Nor do you need to worry about your child being assaulted in the park. You would be singing a different tune if you lived on w95th with a family Mr. Bernstein.
I would appreciate it if you refrained from attacking me personally and attacking my lifestyle — of which you know nothing, as I have never discussed it with you. You know that I live on W. 95th Street. Unless you have been doing personal investigations (which makes you more than a little creepy), you know nothing else, as i have never discussed my personal life here. So let’s keep the comments to the matter at hand.
I’m sorry if you took my comments as an attack on your lifestyle, although I must say it doesn’t vibe with your comments made on this board, “did anyone here actually grow up in NY? when did we all become such wusses?”
I certainly did not attack you, nor do I know for a fact that you have no family but given your comments that I’ve read over the past 24 months it’s very unlikely that you do.
A father/mother or a husband/wife would certainly take notice of local violent crime and worry about his family. You however have downplayed every single crime (minor and major) that this site has reported on. Mr. Bernstein, many would argue that your comments on the little girl that was punched are very creepy.
“so, one group of teens and pre-teens stole some plastic sleds from another group… and a punch was thrown”
Yes a little girl 12 years old was punched in the face and your comments are entirely inappropriate and provide additional insight on your point of view.
I don’t “downplay crime.” I’ve been a victim myself.
What I downplay is agenda-driven hysteria and over-reaction, as well as exaggeration.
Mr. Bernstein, if you had a 10 year old daughter walking around the w90s, you would not be downplaying crime. If your wife was getting off the subway at 10 pm, you would not be so happy about the homeless shelter on your block.
Your point of view along with your 3+ years of comments tell your full story without anyone needing to jump to conclusions.
to say i have “downplayed every single crime that this site has reported on” is a lie, pure and simple.
And you have no idea whether i have a family, whether i am gay or straight or transgender, how old i am, divorced, married, or single. Apparently you like to jump to conclusions about people.
I don’t think that any of us are suggesting that this was the worst crime to take place in the neighborhood on Monday. In fact, there was another crime in almost the exact same spot later that day that sent a man to the hospital.
In this case, the rest of us are dismayed that a twelve year old girl got punched in the face. You may feel differently about little girls getting punched in the face, and that’s certainly your right, although you’ll probably find few who share that view outside of prisons.
I’m dismayed that one kid – a girl — got hit by another kid. If I was the girl’s mother I would be POed.
I’m also betting there are probably 100 fights between kids of that age group on the UWS or any neighborhood in NY every day, if one punch constitutes a “fight.”
unless these pre-teens subsequently went on some sort of crime spree, this is not news. unless WSR is going to start covering every schoolyard bully who takes someone’s lunch.
Age 16, stealing sleds. Age 18, stealing cars. Age 20, robbing bodegas with guns. Sigh.
Totally agree with you. These kids are thugs and it won’t stop with stealing sleds or assaulting a younger child. Broken Windows needs to be brought back before this city goes down the toilet as our mayor lets these animals run wild and defangs our police.
Why do some people on this wonderful online publication always have to resort to racist comments? That is not representative of the UWS I’ve known since the late 1960s. Disturbing…
Where’s the racism? Show me.
slightly veiled or not veiled at all racist remarks above:
“end public housing”
“Broken Windows needs to be brought back before this city goes down the toilet as our mayor lets these animals run wild”
Perhaps it’s your own views on race that make you believe that a statement such as “end public housing” has racial undertones.
Public housing has no color does it Mr Bernstein? There are good apples and bad apples of all colors in public housing. If anything the statement discriminates against those in lower income brackets, class’s warfare if you will, but playing the race card in this instance is not appropriate.
thank you… there are indeed many racist comments, either slightly veiled or not veiled at all, above.
this sort of thing is traumatic for the parents and the kids. i don’t mean to offend them.
All i’m saying is… at least when i was coming up, it was incredibly common, almost a rite of passage. i don’t think it qualifies as headline news or as fodder for anyone’s political agenda.
Longtime WSR lurker here….
I could not disagree more with just about everything Bruce Bernstein posts. I wish he would take an economics course and see just how stupid his calls for more regulations and price controls are.
However, I appreciate his respectful tone, and his attempts to bring actual statistics into these discussions. A stolen sled – eh, that stinks, but such is life. Punching a 12 year-old? Not ok either. We can be concerned about quality of life crimes without indicting the mayor and calling for more stop and frisk. Let’s keep it in perspective people.
thank you UWSgal. I’m glad you noticed that i have not been attacking people personally, despite endless claims that I have. I appreciate what you said.
As for my so-called call for “price controls”: the only things you could be referring to are my support for continuation and strengthening of rent regulations, which most NYers would agree with, and the fact that I’ve tried to get commercial rent regulation into the discussion.
longtime UWS Councilwoman (and icon) Ruth Messinger proposed a form of commercial rent regulation in the 1980s. I believe she was prescient but it didn’t pass the Council, or perhaps got vetoed.
I’m very troubled by what is happening to our local small stores and see it as one of the biggest problems facing the community. We have to have a creative discussion about what can be done. the small store owners need some form of protection and the unrestrained free market is not going to do it.
hey, maybe there’s a better way to protect them. that’s what we have to discuss. But I don’t think the answer is to close our eyes and/or say “change is always good”, as some do.
as for economics classes: My beliefs are in line with many liberal and Keynesian economists, including quite a few at Columbia and CUNY, some with Nobel prizes. Of course you have the right to disagree but what I write is not out there in the ozone or uninformed.
You should take it up with Avi about not posting about these trivial “rite of passage(s)”.
Sorry you have been so hurt and traumatized by comments to you.
Maybe now you know how it feels to be attacked.
Let me guess: not a single person who says the neighborhood is falling apart has gone to a single meeting, helped organize a neighborhood watch, or attended an NYPD community council to voice concerns. If you’re really concerned do something!
I think you misunderestimate your neighbors. Fact is that both our elected officials and our police precinct are not terribly responsive to individuals in the community when it comes to crime.
that is untrue of the elected officials and, if you’re talking about the 24th Precinct, also untrue. It’s easy to sit back and make accusations.
i leave out the 20th only because I have no personal experience.
Helen Rosenthal’s office responds with boilerplate, and the 24th Precinct does not even have an effective method of electronic communication. If you have a different personal experience, please share, otherwise I will write you off like most others here have.
I am happy to share the response I received from CM Rosenthal’s office when I wrote to her with my concern about increased crime in our neighborhood.
Thanks to both of you for the response. Bruce, I will call the switchboard, as you suggest. In my experience, there is so little engagement with the community from the 24th precinct on a day-to-day basis, that I figured calls to the station switchboard were unwelcome. In any event, if I *was* calling the wrong people, I should have been directed to the right ones.
I’ve lived in the 24th for about the last ten years, and I can only recall one time that an officer attempted to relate to me in a positive way (we were in an elevator, and he made a point of letting me out first). Clearly, they can do better.
Jeremy,
My recommendation if you have a matter to discuss with officers at the 24th PD that is not an emergency (911) and not a 311-style complaint (noise, neighbors throwing garbage in the alley, and so on) is to call the switchboard # and ask them whom you should talk to. If the person is not there you might very well be able to get a name and a direct email. Officers do give out their emails.
I think Community Affairs is a very small unit — maybe 2 or 3 officers in the 24th. I could be wrong on this.
I am pretty sure 311 has web submission forms… and that is probably at least one reason the precincts don’t.
I have found the switchboard to be very helpful if you explain exactly what you need. But of course it has to be a relevant and appropriate request.
Jeremy,
I have had contact with CM Rosenthal on a variety of issues, to which she has responded favorably. While I don’t agree with some of her positions, I do believe she cares about the quality of life issues plaguing the West ’90’s. She has come out in favor of closing the Freedom House homeless shelter for example.
Regarding the 24th Precinct, they have pretty fast response time to 911 calls (including a few of my own), and they also understand the problems in the area. The problem is their hands get tied from orders coming down from the top. For example, Chief Bratton ended their raids on the homeless shelters even though they were successful in uncovering many residents with outstanding arrest warrants. Incidentally, they now have a Twitter account.
BP Gail Brewer, however, could care less in my opinion. She laid waste to the UWS then went on to greener pastures, and I’ve never gotten one response back from her or her office. But that doesn’t stop me from trying.
Point is, although it can be frustrating, it’s important to keep the pressure on all of our elected officials and the NYPD. We need to be heard.
I have called 24th Precinct “Community Affairs” about two different issues and have never received a call back. They do not have public email. It’s 2015 – requiring someone to show up in person to get service or to ask a question is just another name for avoiding responsibility. There is no question in my mind that the 24th Precinct is trying to limit interaction with the public.
of course, if you have complaints about responsiveness, you can always attend the 24th Precinct Community Council and express them. Capt. Larin and other leading members of his command attend and listen to all questions and comments.
yes, i’ve had many positive experiences with the 24th Precinct. I choose not to share them as they are private.
there is a long list of phone numbers online where you can call the 24th Precinct. I have found them to always be responsive.
As for “electronic communication” (I assume you mean email): the NYPD as a whole does not seem to take reports that way. i imagine there is a good reason.
24th Precinct contact #s:
https://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/precincts/precinct_024.shtml
None of these opinions get expressed at the many meetings held by public safety officials and elected leaders in the neighborhood.
If you’re really worried for your families why wouldn’t you attend these meetings and express your concerns directly to police or civilian leadership, look them in the eye like an adult and hold them to account. Upper West Siders have been doing that for decades. You claim you’re terrified for your family and you sent 2 emails?
Or is this just trolling?
I’m not sure who you’re attacking here, Jeff, but I’ll bite.
The universe has moved on from needing face-to-face meetings to communicate things. Certain electeds and police do a great job of communicating by phone or email – why don’t we deserve the same?
Lack of engagement on a constituents’ terms is an archaic way of thinking about public service.
who is the troll?
the issue of crime and safety have been directly addressed to community leaders and the police. to their face.
When and where? How many people spoke? CB7 meetings have minutes and community council meetings are chronicled on WSR. The top officials attend these meetings to gauge public concerns.
i agree with Jeff… I have been to several 24th Precinct Community Council meetings. Captain Larin is absolutely 100% interested in what people have to say — as long as you are polite and reasonable. In fact, he listens even when people are NOT polite. As do the other top commanders… Lieut Bakes, for example.
Zeus, despite some of your semi-insulting words, i actually agree with you… too many posts by me on this thread. that is not good for the site.
my bad.
Bruce,
You posted over 15 times on this story.
We all get the notion that you are a public minded person, and I command you.
But dude, get a life.
Step outside to the fresh air we are lucky to have now and relax a bit.
But don’t stop posting on other stories.
Your opinion counts and you get a lot of others to join the talk.
Jeff, while I personally haven’t been able to attend a CB7 meeting, there are other venues to voice our concerns. I assume Webot, Jeremy, and myself are not the only ones doing just that. Read our posts above. That said, I agree, if possible we should attend the meetings. Incidentally I forgot to mention that I personally called and emailed CB7 on various issues but received no responses.
I would just like to point-out, to those attacking webot and a few others here, that webot recently made a post in which he made it clear that he supported a woman’s right-to-choose and LGBTQ rights. And I have little doubt that the same is true for the others here who are on the same side as webot when it comes to economic, housing and crime issues and get attacked along with him for it.
People, look, as much as we may disagree with these posters on such issues, do we really want to alienate anyone who is on our side on issues as critical as reproductive freedom for all women and LGBTQ rights? Can we afford to, at a time when Roe vs. Wade and marriage equality hang on as little as one vote? Can anything be more important? Living on the UWS where nearly everyone is on the right side of these issues (is there even ANYONE left who isn’t?), it can be easy to forget that there are unfortunately still many people in this country who stand in the way of progress and equality. Are we going to allow our enemies– the bigoted homophobes and misogynists who are the enemies of progress and enlightenment– to weaken us by dividing us. United we stand, divided we fall.
Increased police patrols along Riverside Drive would be good idea. I have lived in the W.90′s near the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial for sometime and it has felt increasingly unsafe. Rarely do I see NYPD cruising the area…especially at night. Its a no brainer. It is an isolated area and many children play there- which will only increase when the weather gets warmer. There has been an increase in vagrancy and a surge in property defacement (i.e.,graffiti). I am afraid the area is taking a turn for the worse. Parents should remind their children to stay vigilant and encourage their local precincts to heighten security. If the NYPD doesn’t step up to the challenge it is the UWS community that should respond with community watch groups that patrol Riverside Drive and the park paths. Just a thought from a concerned citizen.