NYC's Upper East Side Logs 286 Percent Increase in Robberies museum mile street marker is shown in front of a tree and building (Dreamstime)
By Marisa Herman | Wednesday, 05 August 2020 11:52 AM
One of New York City’s poshest neighborhoods is experiencing a surge in armed robberies, according to Daily Mail.
Data released by the New York Police Department shows that Manhattan's Upper East Side reported 27 robberies over the past four weeks, which is a 286% increase compared to the number of robberies that took place over the same time frame last year.
According to the NYPD , 14 of those robberies involved residents being held at gunpoint. In 2019, the Upper East Side logged only four armed robberies.
The area is known for having a large concentration of billionaires. According to Daily Mail, residents have an average annual income of $322,400.
NYPD reported that three teenagers held a man at gunpoint on the corner of East 65th St. and Lexington Ave. before making off with his wallet last weekend. Fox News reports that billionaire financier Henry Kravis lives a “stone’s throw away” from where the incident took place.
The robbers then snatched a woman’s cell phone on East 84th St. and Fifth Ave., which is nearby the homes of billionaires John Paulson and Glenn Dubin, according to Fox News.
Police officers caught the teens and seized a loaded gun, according to a post on Twit ter.
Even though data indicates thefts are down citywide, robberies are on the rise in several other wealthy neighborhoods.
The NYPD's 1st Precinct, which patrols the tony SoHo and Tribeca neighborhoods, reports that robberies rose 175% in July from last year.
The West Village, which is where Sarah Jessica Parker and Anderson Cooper reside, logged a 50% surge in robberies.
Over in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, data noted a 40% uptick in thefts.
Robberies aren’t the only crime up in the city. On Monday, the NYPD released crime figures for July, and reports showed that shootings and murders were up from the same time frame last year.
Data shows that murders increased 20%, burglaries 21% and shootings 17% compared to July 2019.
NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea described the current status as “challenging.”
“Amid the ongoing challenges of these times, the NYPD's commitment to public safety never wavers," Shea said earlier this week. “Our men and women officers represent the best of the policing profession and work every day alongside those they serve in an ongoing joint mission to protect life, prevent crime and build safer neighborhoods for everyone across our great city.”
The spike in crime comes after Mayor Bill de Blasio slashed the NYPD's funding by more than $1 billion in the wake of national calls for police reform.
Poster Comment:
They asked John Dillinger once, "Why do you rob banks?" He said, "Because that is where the money is."