Amid spike in robberies, NYPD adds patrols in iconic Central Park

At one of the main entrances on the southern end of Central Park across from West 59th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, a police poster stapled to a pole reads:

"UP TO $3,500 REWARD FOR INFORMATION REGARDING A ROBBERY." It shows photos of the alleged robbers around 10:25 pm inside the park near East 62nd Street.

The poster says the "perpetrators" robbed a man at knifepoint on Aug 1 there and later used his credit cards.

Early Sunday morning, some 30 feet from the poster was a long "Police Command" vehicle with blinking red lights. An officer knocked on its door to get in. All 14 police vans lined up in front, behind and next to the command post were empty.

"Too early for police and for the robbers," Mohammed, a pedicab driver who said he was from "somewhere in West Africa'' and has worked for nine years in the park, told China Daily. "They will be back tonight, but they won't stay long. It's all for the public — especially tourists — to see."

In the two weeks since that Aug 1 robbery listed on the poster, police said there have been at least 10 other robberies inside or near the park's south end. Central Park is the city's most visited tourist site, with an estimated 42 million visitors annually, according to the private, nonprofit Nature Conservancy, which oversees maintenance of the park.

"This is a migrant robbery pattern," Chief of Patrol John Chell told reporters on Aug 14, from where those police vehicles were parked Sunday.

"We believe these groups are responsible for most, if not all, of them," he said. Chell said they work in groups of eight and 12, as well as in pairs of two.

Where Chell spoke that day was a sea of blue as the NYPD showed how officers will be deployed to counter the spate of robberies — on foot, scooters, bicycles, horseback and in patrol cars.

Up to 100 additional police officers will be in the park at all hours for an indefinite period, according to officials, who said the increased police presence will be most noticeable from 7 pm to midnight.

About 135 officers currently work in the Central Park Precinct. The additional officers are being pulled from various police units.

"There's no secret being kept here," Chell said. "Crime is up in this park."

Police statistics show crime has spiked dramatically this year compared with the same period last year. At least 30 robberies have been reported in Central Park this year, compared with just 10 during the same period in 2023, the ABC News affiliate reported.

There also have been 10 felony assaults this year compared with seven last year, according to police data.

The area of the park where the recent spate of robberies has occurred runs from Columbus Circle on the southwest to around The Plaza Hotel and Grand Army Plaza on the southeast side, areas teeming with tourists.

Most of the victims have been tourists, police said. No one has been hurt during the robberies.

Jen, who declined to give her last name, said she recently arrived from China for a short visit and had been warned about potential violence in the city before visiting but said, "I wanted to come anyway.

"It's daytime, the park is beautiful and safe now with all the runners and walkers. But I would never be here at night," she said.

She was with her friend Liu, who said he also was from China, has worked in the city for more than 10 years in technology, and lives in downtown Manhattan.

"News reports didn't say whether the robbery victims included Asians, but that doesn't matter, because there's already enough hate crime against Asians in the city," he said.

Starting at month's end, drones will be used to cover the park, officials said. They said the drones can respond to incidents in less than one minute and track suspects until police arrive.

"We're not going to tolerate crimes at one of the most iconic locations in the world," said Tarik Sheppard, deputy police commissioner of public information.

Agencies contributed to this story.