NYC hit by spate of thefts on well-heeled residents by armed moped thieves

New York City has been hit by spate of recent thefts by armed moped thieves who aggressively drive up onto city sidewalks and attack unsuspecting victims.

Three of the most recent attacks happened over the weekend where thieves ripped a $12,000 watch from a man’s arm while he was walking in Chelsea and the very next day, two women walking near the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side fought off thieves on a moped who tried to snatch their jewelry. 

A third attack happened in Inwood. In all three, the thieves on bikes jump the sidewalks, reach out at their unsuspecting victims and attempt to rob them. 

Major crime in NYC is on the rise with a 35 percent increase since the same time last year, according to NYPD data. Robberies, grand larcenies, and auto thefts fueling the crime wave. 

This weekend’s moped attacks began on Friday when a 64-year-old man was ambushed as he was walking along West 23rd Street toward 7th Avenue in Chelsea around 1 p.m. 

Thieves on dirt bikes and a moped jumped the sidewalk cornering him. They snatched a $12,000 Rolex watch from the victim’s wrist, knocking him to the ground, before they sped off. The victim sustained lacerations to his right arm and hand.

The next day, two more brazen attacks involving thieves on mopeds were reported in Manhattan – including one near one of the city’s most popular museums.

On Friday, a 64-year-old man was walking along West 23rd Street toward 7th Avenue in Chelsea around 1 p.m. and snatched a $12,000 Rolex watch from the victim’s wrist, knocking him to the ground, before they sped off

On Saturday, a pair of brazen thieves rode up on two 28-year-old women walking down a sidewalk just around the corner from the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side. 

Police say the attack happened around 12:17 p.m. on East 89th Street when the thieves attempted to snatch a necklace off the woman’s neck, but the woman fights back against the thief’s reach, causing her to stumble to the ground. 

As her friend tries to pull her out of harm’s way, the passenger of the  moped then hops off the bike and lunges at them, trying once more to grab the necklace from the victim who is now struggling and kicking at the thief on the sidewalk. 

The two thieves gave up and sped off on the moped empty-handed. Police say the woman who was attacked suffered minor injuries but refused medical attention. 

In another brazen attack the same afternoon, two men on bikes attempted to steal a necklace from an unsuspecting victim walking on the sidewalk in Inwood, an Upper Manhattan neighborhood. 

On Saturday, a pair of brazen thieves rode up on two 28-year-old women walking down a sidewalk just around the corner from the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side.

Police say the thieves on a moped rode up onto the side on the corner of Nagle Avenue and Arden Street where they chased down a 29-year-old man. 

One thief maneuvers the bike, while the other reaches out and grabs him and punches him in the head. 

A Good Samaritan jumps into help and the thieves flee from the scene on the moped and three shots were reportedly fired. No one was injured in the incident. 

‘It’s good people on the block helped each other out,’ Miseal Romano told ABC7. 

‘That’s something nice, and good to be in the community where we have each other’s back, even though it’s still pretty scary.’ 

In another brazen attack the same afternoon, two men on bikes attempted to steal a necklace from an unsuspecting victim walking on the sidewalk in Inwood, an Upper Manhattan neighborhood

Residents told ABC7 that it’s not unusual to see bikes on the sidewalk, like e-bikes that deliverymen use, so New Yorkers don’t always have their guard up.

Many of the bikes, including the ones involved in the incidents over the weekend, do not have license plates – which makes it harder for police to track them down. No arrests have been made. 

Major crime in NYC is on the rise with a 35 percent increase since the same time last year, according to NYPD data. Robberies, grand larcenies, and auto thefts fueling the crime wave.

There were about 3,000 more robberies reported to NYPD in 2022 through August 21 than there were last year.

Felony assaults and rape are also slightly up from last year, but the number of murders and shooting victims has declined.

Mayor Eric Adams indicated he won’t be entertaining calls to decrease the number of cops in the city, but will discourage ‘heavy-handed’ policing from NYPD officers.

Police officers are part of the mayor’s ‘public safety apparatus,’ he said last week, adding: ‘You can’t remove police from this equation,’ which includes dealing with the issues around homelessness and improving the school system.

He added he doesn’t plan to stop talking about crime in the Big Apple, and said ‘I’m not going to be inconsistent and not talk about the violence that has happened in our cities every day.’

Overall crimes are up by a third so-far this year, compared for the same period of 2021, with felony assaults hitting 16,692 by August 21, compared to 14,045 for the same date last year.

Images of ongoing NYC violence have stunned the United States and much of the rest of the world, and are feared to be hampering efforts to attract workers and tourists back to the COVID-ravaged metropolis.