NYPD adds patrols in Central Park amid crimes

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 10 meters 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 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.

Spate of robberies

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.

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.

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

Starting at the end of the month, 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.