The NYPD said Wednesday that it is moving more resources into Central Park to help stop rising crime in the city’s great greenspace.
According to the latest crime statistics, several major offenses are soaring in the iconic park. Robberies have reportedly increased by a whopping 200%, with 30 reported so far this year compared to just 10 in 2023 — while felony assaults are up 42%.
Hoping to curb the onslaught, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said on Aug. 14 that additional officers will be surged into the park and centered around a mobile command center to supplement the Central Park Precinct‘s efforts.
“We will be deploying numerous resources throughout the days, throughout the weeks, until we take care of this problem,” Chief Chell said. “We can’t cover every single space in the city, but by virtue of what we’re doing tonight, collectively, we will be preventing his robberies, and we’ll make some arrests.
According to Chell, the mobile substation, located in the area of the park off Columbus Circle, will serve as a base of operations for the increased police presence. Upwards of 100 extra cops a day will report to the mobile base for patrol duties, increasing police presence and response. The additional police resources will include foot patrols, officers on bikes, and Mounted Unit members on horseback.
“There are no secrets being kept here. Crime is up in this park, particularly robberies,” Chief Chell said. “Robberies are the name of the game here.”
Chell alleged that some of the robberies have been allegedly committed by migrant individuals, noting that cops arrested two youths — a 11-year-old migrant boy and his 17-year-old cohort — that morning for a string of thefts.
The arrest came on the day after an 82-year-old woman was assaulted near the Central Park Tennis Center, located at 1 West 96 Street and Central Park West at around 10:17 p.m. on Aug. 13. A man whom police described as a jogger shoved the senior to the ground, cops say, causing injuries to her nose, elbows, and knees. EMS treated her at the Central Park precinct for her wounds.
Despite the reported rising crime, parkgoers tell amNewYork Metro that their experiences have been positive.
Belinda Lemay, 56, is a tourist from Canada and says she has been riding her bicycle through the park every day for a week and has enjoyed her time.
“I feel like it is a safe park and I have enjoyed my time,” Lemay said. “I love seeing people out enjoying themselves.”
In addition to more cops on the beat, police say they will also soon be deploying eyes in the skies in the form of drones to allow officers to respond to locations more quickly.
