By Gus Saltonstall
A man was robbed Thursday by more than a dozen youths in Central Park, police said over the weekend.
A 37-year-old man was sitting on a bench around 10:20 p.m. on East Drive near Wollman Rink, when 15 to 20 young people surrounded him and demanded his belongings, police said.
One of the members of the group flashed a knife, while another grabbed the man’s wallet from his pocket, police said.
The group then fled the location, before making multiple purchases on the victim’s credit cards at various stores, police said.
NYPD released a photo this weekend of 12 of the suspects.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
I’m noticing a pattern here.
One of these days, these misguided kids are gonna do this to the wrong person, and their mom’s will be Pix11 news at night holding up toddler photos of them on tricycles saying they were good kids and never did anything wrong.
I know, right? And then certain factions like the ACLU will try to frame it as vigilantism . We live in a backwards, bizarro-world city sometimes.
Lock them up. And throw away the key. I don’t care how old they are – if they are old enough to do this, they are old enough to deal with the consequences. And broadcast it loudly when they are hopefully caught and punished so it deters future potential criminals.
Obviously make sure they have the right people.
Eager to read someone who disagrees with me. Anyone want to bake them cookies? Do chalk drawings welcoming them to the neighborhood? This is a gang trying to get their jollies out of this. Please don’t argue it is some poor person trying to find something to eat.
I am wondering why I never see juveniles doing community service anymore. I do not think minors should be locked up and the key thrown away (unless they murder), but I do wonder why we don’t see them in orange vests, picking up garbage or scrubbing away graffiti.
Back when I was a lot younger, I knew a few boys who had to do this and after 40 hours of mandated clean up and almost all of them hated it so much, they pretty much tried to avoid trouble after that.
Because our city council declared it to be insensitive to people as it was reminiscent of the chain gangs of yesterday
They didn’t really do that much. No violence involved. I actually think this is a perfect situation for a learning opportunity as opposed to spending huge amounts of taxpayer money for incarceration that would likely turn them into lifelong criminals. But I think that we agree that they do need to be caught and held accountable.
Interesting that you consider a large group of menacing kids threatening and terrorizing an adult to be…”not doing that much.” One of them flashed a knife. True that no one was stabbed, but the threat was right there, and if this man had protested, the obvious implication was that the person would stab him.
I hope if you’re ever in this situation, you are as understanding and forgiving then as you appear to be now. I also hope you don’t die.
Thanks for the good wishes. I hope I don’t get murdered too!
You’re delusional. Didn’t do that much? Have you ever had anyone threaten you face to face with a deadly weapon?
Yes. I’ve been held up at gunpoint and kidnapped. Hence my perspective of what occurred.
They didn’t really do that much? I’ve been harassed and threatened by smaller group of males/females more than once. There is a LOT of FEAR. The first time they stuck a knife in my side and punched me in the face because I didn’t have any money to give them. Once a weapon comes into play, that changes the game. What if the person being attacked grabs that knife and uses it against his/her attackers? There’s so much that can go wrong.
I agree they should be locked up but I doubt the punishment for this crime is life in prison. “Throw away the key” sounds tough but it isn’t reality in any jurisdiction. They should be sentenced as harshly as the statutes allow, after being convicted of the crime.
Agree that I was exaggerating and this doesn’t merit life in prison if it is a first offense. But hopefully the statutes are sufficient – it seems like the statutory penalty for this as a first offense is virtually nothing, which is why I felt the need to exaggerate. There is a lot of room between “life in prison” and “small penalty and a stern warning.”
“A stern warning” ?..Are you kidding?
Lock them up. Enough of this crap.
Mayor Adams will assure us that there has been a decrease in crime and, if found, the miscreants will no doubt get released without bail.
Bloomberg closed orphanages. Mean-hearted to the core, his impact on youth in the City continues its destructive agenda. There were “homes” staffed, the shared rooms, cafeterias, recreational and academic support, two in each borough, sex segregated. Social services was ripped apart.
Now homeless youth are “fostered,” many so insecure they leave, find gangs of fellow discarded homeless as “family.” Saving tax money? Bloomberg is antisocial, still seeks prestige and power. Sick.
Dana,
Historically, teenagers in foster care tended to be in “congregate care” type settings with staff (houseparents etc) who provided 24/7 care etc.
The City sought to shift foster care for teenagers from “congregate care” (not “orphanages”) to being with foster families.
In fact, Federal law and policy prioritizes placement of teens with foster families – not in “congregate care” type settings unless there is no alternative or a special need.
Federal law and policy also supports foster care placement with relatives.
Foster care is meant to be temporary – the goal is to reunite children with their birth parents wherever possible.
The juvenile justice process is a different system though it is true that some youth accused of crimes have current or prior foster care history.
Also, depending upon the nature of the crime, Family Court may have jurisdiction for a youth in the juvenile justice system.
The NYC ACS website provides information on foster care and juvenile justice in NYC.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/acs/index.page
Clearly these ‘kids’ aren’t in any type of setting where someone is monitoring them.
There are 2 girls in the photos. They’re much more identifiable because of their size, the way they carry themselves, and their general appearance. Surely someone out there might recognize them.
Are these photos (and the ones from last week) being displayed to the public? How about scrolling them 24/7 on the TV or internet until they’re caught?
The closing of orphanages and replacing them with foster care in individual homes was a nationwide phenomenon. Attributing it to Bloomberg is misguided at best.
Why are we even talking about Bloomberg? He was a great mayor, but he hasn’t been in power for years.
Bloomberg was the best thing that ever happened to this city. The hatred of him is uncalled for. Stop and frisk should have been managed better but the concept makes sense. It is bleeding heart liberal white people who complain about it. The law obeying minority residents of dangerous neighborhoods actually loved it – it made them feel safer. If you and others left your bubble you might actually find that out.
The clown who followed him is the reason why things are a mess. Adams is far from perfect but is better than DeBlasio (not to set the bar too low).
Bloomberg didn’t cause these problems.
Weak families and the disengagement of these kids’ communities are the culprit.
At some point, we are responsible for our own behavior. Blaming others leads absolutely nowhere.
We need to start holding parents more responsible for their children’s bad behavior. It’s the busted family structure that is the root of these problems.
Correct. If those who committed this crime are under 18, perhaps its time to also hold their parents/guardians responsible as well. And, armed robbery is a serious crime. It could have easily gotten out of hand and the victim could have been hurt. All of those involved need to pay the consequences for not only participating in robbery with a deadly weapon but then also for theft via the credit cards afterwards. Whoever is responsible for raising them needs to bear their share of the consequences–reparations to the victim, coverage of all court costs, and maybe coverage of all costs of whatever facility is involved. Ultimately, they need to apologize to the victim and learn how to successfully participate in a civil society. Unless that’s part of their incarceration experience, we’ll be back to square one when they are released. We obviously can’t count on their parents for this task.
That’s fine to say that we are all responsible for our own behavior, but who is responsible when there are people who can’t or refuse their responsibility? That’s why laws and law enforcement exist. A functioning society is a constant struggle.
It sounds like you think I don’t agree with that.
Of course I understand that we have laws and law enforcement for a reason. That has absolutely no bearing on my belief in personal responsibility.
Here is information about the judicial process for youth under 18.
https://ww2.nycourts.gov/ip/oji/raisetheage.shtml
https://law.pace.edu/sites/default/files/CLE/2018/raise_the_age_in_New_York.pdf
There should be a curfew for young people
Who should be blamed for this?
Lack on NYPD foot patrols is a place to start.
They need swift and severe punishment or this will keep happening.
Seems “wilding” is back in fashion!
This same group mugged me near Bethesda Fountain back in MARCH – there was only 8 of them but these are absolutely the same guys. I worked with the police, gave extremely clear descriptions, and provided the location of my stolen phone multiple times as it moved about the city, and they still haven’t managed to curb them. Insane.
Wow, they’ve been at it that long! Was your incident late at night?
I’ve seen some of this same group a few times in the Rambles and by Bethesda Fountain. Strangely,nip don’t see many police in these same areas, despite the volume of traffic in the park. And you will NEVER see a police on foot patrol if you are running in the park after dark.
…and I STILL can’t carry a handgun in the park? Really?
I don’t approve of vigilantism but I understand it.
For folks rightfully concerned about this behavior, which is seemingly now commonplace, do you ever reflect on who you vote for?
Are you indirectly perpetuating this activity, and are you thus negatively impacting the safety and quality of life of yourself and your community?
What would it take for you to demand more from our elected leaders?
It’s time for common sense.
Reminiscent of WILDING by WOLF PACKS in the 1980s and ’90s.