Two Recent Central Park Robberies Follow on Spike in 2005

Sunday's two stickups in Central Park - the first two of the year there - come on the heels of a year when robbery was up 61% in the 843-acre park, end-of-year Police Department statistics show.

In 2005, there were 37 robberies, compared with 23 in 2004, the data indicate.

"We had unseasonably warm weather going into the end of the year," a police official said, adding that there was a dearth of rain.

Of the 37 robberies in 2005, the majority involved use of force rather than a weapon, and four were committed by one group of teenagers, who were later arrested. While robbery was up for 2005, major crime in Central Park was essentially flat - 93 crimes, compared with 94 in 2004, a 1.1% change, Police Department numbers show.

The robberies reported Sunday to the Central Park Precinct, which was assigned a new commanding officer January 2, occurred about 30 blocks apart from each other within two hours. Although it has not been determined whether the cases are linked, in both cases the victims were white and described their attackers as black males carrying guns, police officials said.

At 6 p.m. on Sunday, a 63-year-old man was just north of 100th Street when two males approached him from behind and said, "Give me your money," police said. One suspect was armed with a black handgun while the other suspect simulated a gun in his waistband, police said. The robbers allegedly took $250 from the man's pocket and fled on foot. The victim, who was not injured, flagged down a police vehicle and reported the crime to the officers.

About two and a half hours later, a 52-year-old man was walking on the 72nd Street cross-drive near the Bethesda Fountain when five males approached him from behind, police said. One allegedly displayed a gun and demanded the victim get down on the ground. He complied, and the suspects punched and kicked him, police said, taking his wallet, watch, cell phone, and $300.

The suspects fled on foot and the victim went to the Central Park Precinct where he was treated for an eye laceration, police said.

So far this year, major crime is up in the Central Park Precinct. Sunday's robberies bring the number of major crimes in the precinct to four this year, data show. The other two crimes were grand larcenies. For the first eight days of 2005, there was only one major crime, a felony assault, police data indicate.