Three teenagers were arrested early Tuesday morning in the robbery of another trio in Central Park, as the number of robberies in the iconic green space increased, authorities and sources said.
The three male victims, ages 15, 21 and 35, were near the park’s Grand Army Plaza at the corner of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue when they were approached by four young suspects around 1 a.m., police said.
One of the boys imitated a gun before his accomplices ripped off the victims’ AirPods and jewelry, police and sources said.
One of the crooks managed to escape after the robbery, but the other three were soon taken away in handcuffs and are facing charges, police said.
Their ages were not immediately disclosed, but police sources said they are all teenagers.
The early morning theft came days after The Washington Post revealed that both robberies and assaults in Central Park were exploding.
According to NYPD data, the number of reported robberies in the park increased by 222% in 2024 compared to the same time in 2023.
According to the data, the 29 incidents reported so far this year already exceed the total number of incidents reported in 2019.
The number of serious assaults has increased by 100%, doubling from five to ten, and for the whole of 2019 it was seven, according to data.
In one incident on August 1, a gang of up to 20 people, some believed to be as young as 8 years old, surrounded and robbed 37-year-old software developer Julian De Flandres as he sat on a bench near Wollman Rink.
And in mid-July, a hateful Citibike rider beat 70-year-old Allan Ripp, calling him a “fucking Jew pig” and threatening to kill him on West Drive near the West 97th Street Transverse.
