Photo of suspect, courtesy NYPD

Several nearby construction workers heard the woman scream and rushed to help; the attacker fled. The victim was taken to an area hospital where she is in stable condition.

The suspect is described as being in his mid-20s and was last seen wearing a red Adidas jacket over a black hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-8477(TIPS). All callers to Crime Stoppers remain anonymous and all calls will be kept confidential. You may also submit tips to the Crime Stoppers website by visiting:
www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text your tips to 274637 (crimes) and enter TIP577.

Prior to his entry into law enforcement, Hunter graduated from St. Johns University with a double major in Criminal Justice/Pre-Law and Accounting and an impressive GPA.

Hunter says the NYPD has been facing some common issues lately, the nature of which will likely come as no surprise to most New Yorkers. NYPD officers have been working hard to raise awareness about the major risks associated with unattended property, particularly in Hunter’s Upper East Side precinct.

Examples of this include the well-worn story of leaving items unattended at a coffee shop, or draping bags over the backs of chairs in restaurants, only to later discover missing items.

Hunter told Our Town earlier in the year that while thefts are subject to spikes around certain times, like the holidays, this year’s numbers generally mirror last year’s.

Some of the most popular items among thieves are flashy electronic devices.

Hunter says the NYPD is also trying to encourage New Yorkers to register these personal electronic devices so when these items are stolen, the police can be more helpful in retrieving them.

In the past year the NYPD has also been involved in some major accomplishments, according to Hunter. They have worked with community members to solve safety problems posed by delivery bikes, including combatting sidewalk riding, riding through stoplights and riding the wrong way on streets. The NYPD’s crackdown on delivery bikes, beginning over the past summer, is an important safety measure for everyone, from pedestrians to motor vehicle drivers.

Hunter also describes increased communications over the past years with various community organizations.

“These [communications] help the NYPD direct the proper resources to areas of concern and helps us get information to the community involving crime patterns,” he says.

While Hunter is lauded for his crime-fighting prowess, he hopes to someday go back to school and get his law degree to round out his career.

When he’s not on the job, Hunter devotes his spare time to family—his wife, Allison, and their teenage daughter, Brianna.

The statistics, which were also divided by precinct, showed that minorities were even more likely to be stopped in wealthier areas like the Upper East Side. In the 19^th precinct, for instance, 76 percent of stops were minorities, even though only 17 percent of Upper East Side residents are minorities. This disparity has long angered local community leaders.

“It’s become abusive, particularly to minorities in low-crime neighborhoods,” said Assembly Member Michah Kellner. “It says this community is not welcoming of all people, if so many of our black and Latino neighbors are going to be stopped and frisked. Is that them message we really want to send?”

According to Robert Gangi, the director of PROP, the Police Reform Organization Project, people on the street can only be stopped if they look suspicious, or are committing a crime. In addition, police can also stop an individual if they fit the description of a known criminal in the area. Gangi said that although this practice is legal, sometimes police officers go over the top.

“There’s a lot of pressure for police to meet their quotas and in a desperate effort to do so, they will engage in unwarranted or illegal stops,” said Gangi.

According to NYPD statistics, however, not only did stop and frisks increase steadily from over 686,000 in 2011 from 540,000 in 2008, but crime has also steadily decreased. Murders are down 43 percent, and this year, on November 26^th, not a single person was reported stabbed, shot or slashed, according to the NYPD.

Nick Viest, the chair of the 19^th precinct community council said that he supports the NYPD Stop and Frisk policies.

“From what I’ve witnessed, they’ve handled these things very professionally and appropriately,” said Viest. “When you look at these statistics at face value, people get concerned, but they are responding to specific descriptions. They are doing the job necessary to keep the community safe.”

As far as stopping those who fit a certain description, Victor Goode, a professor at the CUNY School of Law, said that he doesn’t quite buy that explanation.

“Let’s say there a report of purse snatching a young African-American male, 14-16 years old,” said Goode. “When the suspect is characterized as broadly as that, it gives them an excuse to stop almost anyone.”

Next month, Darius Charney, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and his colleagues, will try to challenge the constitutionality of NYPD Stop and Frisk practices like these. However, he did stress that Stop and Frisk is not an illegal police tactic in and of itself.

“Their argument that black and Latino people are more likely to commit crimes is not the best, because these are law abiding folks that are being stopped,” said Charney. “Are you saying that black and Latinos are more likely to look suspicious?”

The trial, “Floyd vs. The City of New York,” a class action lawsuit, is set to begin on March 11^th.

On Feb. 1, a 23-year-old man was observed using a credit card that was not his at a high-end clothing store on Madison Avenue. The man had spent $4,545 on clothes. He had apparently obtained his victim’s personal information and used a counterfeit card. Police also determined that the man had several stolen credit cards in his possession. He was arrested for stolen property. The 20-year-old female victim, who lives in Massachusetts, canceled her credit cards.

Hamburger Heist

A 29-year-old woman from Brooklyn was at a hamburger joint on 86th Street on Feb. 1. A man offered to assist with her food. She didn’t feel any bumping or jostling. Upon receiving her food, she proceeded to walk out. Later she noticed her wallet was missing, and $522 in charges had appeared on her Amex account. No arrests have yet been made, but the perpetrator , if caught, will likely be charged with grand larceny.

Woman’s Wallet Stolen on Bus

On Feb.1, in the afternoon, a 29-year-old woman who lives on West 74th Street said that she was on a bus. She felt the usual rush-hour bumps, and afterward noticed her wallet was missing. Checking her credit card account, she found unauthorized purchases totaling $2,336. All in all, a debit card, two credit cards and a wallet worth $180 were stolen.

A Fragrant Theft

A 23-year-old man from Queens was at his gym on Park Avenue on Feb. 1, when a perpetrator was observed trying to use a credit card belong to the gymgoer. He was found to also be in possession of other stolen credit cards. The victim had been of possession of his cards when he entered the gym, and also had other items stolen from him, including some cologne. No arrests have yet been made.

Bar Fight

A 43-year-old man visiting from Delaware said that he got into an altercation with a man in front of a bar on Second Avenue at 2 a.m. on Feb. 1. The man had been drinking at the bar when a younger man also drinking at the bar bumped into him. After a verbal exchange, the younger man challenged his victim to a fight outside. Once they went outside, the perpetrator punched his victim in the face, causing pain and swelling. The victim left the scene via a cab. His assailant is wanted for assault.

Shoplifting Incident at High-End Clothing Store

Inside a high-end clothing store on East 65th Street on Jan. 31, at 5:50 p.m., a 38-year-old man said four unknown men walked into the store while an employee was helping other customers. The four men removed items from the shelves, went into the dressing room and stuffed the items into their backpacks. The perpetrators exited with the items, but surveillance footage is available. The four men are wanted for grand larceny. In total, $1,500 worth of clothes as stolen.

The 2011 NYPD data on the controversial policy bears out common criticism of the practice

The NYPD recently re-released citywide Stop and Frisk data from 2011 that reinforce what many opponents of the controversial policy have criticized: Almost 90 percent of all people stopped and frisked citywide in 2011 were minorities. The statistics were re-released just in time for the trial next month that will determine the legality of this police practice.

The statistics, which were also divided by precinct, showed that minorities were even more likely to be stopped in neighborhoods with higher percentages of white residents, like the Lower East Side. In the 1st precinct, even though blacks and Latinos only make up 27 percent of the population, they constituted 85 percent of all stops. In the 9th precinct, blacks and Latinos make up almost half of the population, while almost three-quarters of all stop and frisks in 2011 were black and Latinos.

“It’s not really ‘I don’t like you because you’re black or Latino’; it’s ‘I see you as a potential criminal,’” said Babe Howell, a professor at CUNY School of Law explaining her theory on the numbers. “If you stop a black or Latino kid, chances are you aren’t stopping someone who will be related to the mayor or a city council member.”

But according to Robert Gangi, the director of PROP, the Police Reform Organization Project, people on the street can only be stopped if they look suspicious, or are committing a crime. In addition, police can also stop an individual if they fit the description of a known criminal in the area. Gangi said that although this practice is legal, sometimes police officers go over the top.

“There’s a lot of pressure for police to meet their quotas and in a desperate effort to do so, they will engage in unwarranted or illegal stops,” said Gangi.

NYPD statistics show that not only did stop and frisks increase steadily from over 540,000 in 2008 to almost 686,000 in 2011, but crime has also steadily decreased. Murders are down 43 percent, and this year, on Nov. 26, not a single person was reported stabbed, shot or slashed, according to the NYPD.

Nick Viest, the chair of the 19th precinct community council on the Upper East Side said that he supports the NYPD Stop and Frisk policies.

“From what I’ve witnessed, they’ve handled these things very professionally and appropriately,” said Viest. “When you look at these statistics at face value, people get concerned, but they are responding to specific descriptions. They are doing the job necessary to keep the community safe.”

As far as stopping those who fit a certain description, Victor Goode, a professor at the CUNY School of Law, said that he doesn’t quite buy that explanation.

“Let’s say there a report of purse snatching [by] a young African-American male, 14-16 years old,” said Goode. “When the suspect is characterized as broadly as that, it gives them an excuse to stop almost anyone.”

Next month, Darius Charney, a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and his colleagues, will try to challenge the constitutionality of NYPD Stop and Frisk practices like these. However, he did stress that Stop and Frisk is not an illegal police tactic in and of itself.

“Their argument that black and Latino people are more likely to commit crimes is not the best, because these are law abiding folks that are being stopped,” said Charney. “Are you saying that black and Latinos are more likely to look suspicious?”

The trial, “Floyd vs. The City of New York,” a class action lawsuit, is set to begin on March 11.

On Foursquare, most people recommend the chocolate chip walnut cookies at Levain, which is known for its big gooey cookies. Bouchon, meanwhile, is more of a French lunch and pastry spot, known for its unusual flavors of macarons—like peanut butter and jelly.

FURRY FRIENDS FOR SALE!
This February, bring home a puppy or kitten without breaking the bank. Bideawee, the pet welfare center located on East 38th Street at First Avenue, will be holding a monthlong “Name your own price” sale. The sale is in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and is Bideawee’s first adoption promotion this year! Plus, if you think your brand-new pet is super photogenic, Bideawee will be taking photos of each new adoption, and putting them up for a public vote. The winner will have their pet featured as Bideawee’s Facebook timeline image. This promotion will run until Feb. 28.

DOT ANNOUNCES NEW SAFETY PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY BIKES
The DOT announced recently that they have teamed up with Delivery.com to provide 1,500 commercial cyclists with free bike lights, bells and retro-reflective vests. Delivery cyclists from all over the city can attend one of the multi-language commercial bicyclist forums held all over the city to receive the safety equipment.

Other bicycle safety efforts include NYPD enforcement and inspector visits to businesses that use delivery cyclists. These inspectors serve to both inform and oversee the legal regulations such businesses are required to follow.

DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan notes, “Safety is everyone’s business, so it’s significant when the private sector steps up to the plate to make efforts in the public interest.”
Jed Kleckner, CEO of Delivery.com, is one of many who share in this sentiment. “In a city where food, groceries and wine can be at your doorstep in moments,” he said, “we empower the neighborhood economy by equipping our merchant partners with the right tools for making safe and speedy deliveries.”

Revised administrative procedures regarding bike safety will be enforced starting this April.

FURNITURE FROM COLUMBUS EXHIBIT UP FOR SALE

Remember the living room that was perched atop the statue at Columbus Circle? Now you can own a part of the former exhibit, “Tatzu Nishi: Discovering Columbus” which closed in December. Art Space is selling the furniture that completed the look of the “living room above Columbus Circle.” Much of the furniture has been gobbled up by art collectors (or people who really need a couch). But a $1,500 MG + BW chair is still available, as well as a $2,700 Samsung 48” TV, and several other items. And members of Art Space get a discount that slashes prices in half. According to Art Space, while it was still on display, the artwork drew more than 100,000 visitors from over 30 countries around the world.

Since New York’s new Safe Act, gun enthusiasts at Westside Pistol & Rifle Range have felt under siege. In an exclusive interview, we get their view on gun control.

He stands at the front of the small classroom of skinny-jeans-wearing twenty-somethings, cocking a .22-caliber rifle.

“Welcome to Westside Pistol and Rifle Range,” he says. “Long before it became cool, hip and trendy to hate guns, there used to be more of us around the city.”

And thus begins the 7 p.m. rifle class at Westside Range on West 20th Street, taught by Howard Kwok.

Westside Pistol & Rifle Range, where many of the NYPD’s men and women in blue—and other gun enthusiasts—have come to train and practice, is the last of its kind in Manhattan. The range offers shooting classes and memberships, as well as firearms, and they help first-timers get their gun licenses.

Ever since the Newtown school shootings, and more recently, New York State’s new gun control legislation, the phone at Westside Rifle has been ringing off the hook. After Newtown, it was mostly media requests, most of which were refused.

“If you are a responsible gun owner, you are blamed when tragedies like this happen,” says Raymond Lacson, an instructor, who has worked at the Westside Range since 2009. “That’s the downside to being engaged in this type of sport.”

Since New York’s SAFE Act, new customers and regulars alike have been calling to ask how the legislation will affect them.

The new law is the strictest of all 50 states. It requires, among other things, that gun owners keep guns locked away and out of reach from those barred from gun ownership (i.e. felons, mentally unstable people and those who have served time for domestic abuse in the last five years). It also bans all ammunition magazines holding more than seven rounds and requires gun owners to go through a more rigorous mental health check, as well as update their gun permits every five years.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the new gun legislation is unpopular with the Westside Range. Lacson shakes his head and hesitates before offering his opinion on the new law.

“I agree with the mental health checks, but not with the other parts of the law,” he says, taking a magazine of bullets out of his handgun. “Right now, I have eight rounds in this gun. If I take one out, it’s considered safe by the government,” he says. “To me, a bullet is a bullet. One shot is one shot.”
Lacson says that the extensiveness of the law is really unnecessary in New York City, where it is already an extremely daunting and lengthy process to g et a gun license and buy a firearm. The NYPD approves all licenses, and the processing fee for a handgun license is $430, with a waiting period of five or six months. Halfway through that period, he says, the applicant meets with a psych evaluator, and goes through a background check. After approval, the applicant is given one month to choose a gun, and then the serial number of the firearm is stamped on the back of the gun license within three days of approval. Every time the applicant buys a gun, the process takes another two months.

He also says that licenses from out of state, and even gun licenses from upstate New York or Long Island, are not valid in the city.

Asked how the range deals with shady customers, or ones who make them uneasy, he says, “We try not to be judgmental, but we always send away drunk people,” Lacson says. “If there’s something off, the application and evaluation will take care of that.”

So, who does come to the shooting range?

Meet Francisco Castano, or Frank, as he’s known at Westside, a soft-spoken man who comes from Parkchester in the Bronx, and has been shooting for about a year. His attitude toward guns changed, he said, when he was working in the World Trade Center on 9/11, which made him feel that danger was lurking in unexpected places. He now owns a 9mm Glock for protection and security, to help out his family and people around him if they are ever threatened.

“People say gun owners are the ones who kill people, but that’s not true,” he says. “I don’t like the new law. They should really focus on the guns that are out there right now illegally on the street.”
Now, many members of the Westside Range community agree that guns, even legal ones, are a touchy subject. New Yorkers, they say, have an attitude vastly different from residents of other states and cities, where carrying around a concealed weapon is the norm.

Back in the beginner rifle class, Kwok is explaining different types of guns to his seven students.
“Automatic guns, commonly known as machine guns—don’t even ask me about those.” he says.

A police officer is already stationed every day at the 93rd Street entrance. Still, there have been several thefts. Neighborhood kids are allegedly being targeted by the “Money Comes First” gang, a gang linked to the Crips. The alleged gang members have intimidated and bullied their victims, swiping mostly cellphones while students are walking to and from school.

One student’s phone was stolen on Dec. 13 before school, and another student was targeted just one week later outside the 92nd Street entrance.

Councilmember Brewer spoke with principals of nearby schools who have reported similar problems.

MIDTOWN LIBRARY SET FOR MAJOR RENOVATIONS
The New York Public Library’s main branch is getting a very expensive makeover. The work will begin this summer in a renovation worth $300 million. The project will create a multi-level atrium complete with views of Bryant Park inside the Fifth Avenue landmark.
The plan stirred up some controversy when it was initially proposed that millions of books be moved into storage. But no worries, bibliophiles: The New York Public Library changed course in their latest plan, stating that 3.3 million of the original library’s 4.5 million research volumes will remain in the building while the rest are placed in storage.

Despite fewer books, library president Tony Marx calls the renovation “the greatest that this building has seen in its history.”

Construction will begin this summer, and is expected to be completed by 2018. The library will remain open.

NYPD LAUNCHES NEW APP
Feel a little bit safer on New York City streets with the newly released NYPD free iPhone and iPad application. The app features wanted sections to view breaking news, wanted posters, crime and NYPD videos, and the NYPD Facebook page. You can also look up crime statistics and precinct boundaries, as well as submit crime tips. There’s even a section on how to join the Police Department. The NYPD hopes the app will allow for faster and easier public information. Now city residents from all walks of life can help fight crime on the go.

CITY PARKING RATES TO INCREASE
It is not such a happy new year for New York City’s motorists. Starting Friday, Jan. 25, the Department of Transportation will be increasing parking-meter rates south of 96th Street in Manhattan. The new rate is $3.50 an hour, or $.50 for 8:34 minutes. That’s up from $3 an hour. By the end of January, all single-space parking meters will be replaced by muni-meters citywide. There is one silver lining, though: Be glad you don’t live in Chicago, where hourly rates soared to $6.50.

‘PIPPI’ PUPPET SHOW BACK IN CENTRAL PARK
The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater has brought back its 2007 hit puppet version of Pippi Longstocking, Pippi. The show premiered Jan. 15 and features over two dozen marionettes. Award-winning playwright Zakiyyah Alexander brings this fun-loving children’s classic to the stage, and laugh along as the imaginative redhead overcomes bullies and burglars with her friends.

Reservations required. Busy this winter? Not to worry—the show will run until June. The marionette theater is located near West 79th Street in Central Park. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $5 for kids under 12. Visit the City Parks Foundation website, www.cityparksfoundation.org, for tickets and showtimes.

“It’s that time of year. This is what we get on the Upper East Side,” said Officer Tarik Hunter, the 19th Police Precinct’s crime prevention specialist. He cited eight reported incidents of pickpocketing in his district since August, most of which have occurred in the past month. This increase mirrors last year’s numbers, and, as Hunter emphasized, only accounts for thefts that have been reported to NYPD: Many people do not realize that their belongings are missing until well after the incident, he said, so they are not sure if they were robbed or simply lost something.

A community affairs officer in Midtown North, Manhattan’s 18th Precinct, confirmed a similar spike in larcenies in his district. “It’s usually the same [each year],” he said, and added that the city’s heavily commercial areas endure a regular holiday increase in shoplifting as well as pickpocketing.
Thefts are, indeed, up across the city this month in keeping with annual trends, the NYPD reported. As well as in crowded public transportation vehicles, they said that many sneaky crooks strike in restaurants, bars and outdoor benches, where absent-minded visitors sometimes leave bags unattended and ripe for picking.

“I’m surprised. I haven’t heard of any [increase],” said John Barrett, a commuter waiting at a bus stop along Madison Avenue, whose buses have been heaviest hit by Upper East side pickpockets, according to Officer Hunter. “Pickpockets—that sounds like something from Charles Dickens.”
Despite his startled reaction, Barrett said that he is diligent in guarding his belongings on public transportation, and checks his pockets whenever someone brushes against him—a habit that he says has won him more than a few mean looks from innocent passersby. “It’s so quick that somebody can take your stuff and leave with it,” he said. “I just try to take precautions.”

Another bus rider was less surprised to hear about the holiday-time thieves. “I’m a New Yorker wherever I go,” said Peggy McDermott-Roberts, a city native who recently returned from a trip to California. “I look at my purse 29 times before and after I get on any bus.” She noticed that on her return to the city, people seemed more anxious on public transport around this time of the year, a bit more frenzied and less attentive.

A third commuter, Sandra Hasman, attributed the increase in thefts to the city’s seasonal influx of tourists. “There are so many more out-of-towners here for the holiday,” she observed. The NYPD confirmed that tourists were prime targets for pickpockets, because they tend to be less aware of the danger and more preoccupied with navigating the city.

However, locals are always at risk, too, officers emphasized. According to an NYPD safety report, pickpockets often hit crowds on bus or subway rides when passengers are so crammed together that it is hard to distinguish the feeling of a sneaky hand. New York pickpockets are also known to orchestrate some elaborate distractions, like a staged shouting match between two apparent strangers, to hold commuters’ attention long enough to steal from them.

The NYPD is taking measures to combat the annual spike, but they say that the best prevention is awareness. Use handbags with zippers and locks, they recommend, and never carry wallets in back pockets. If your find your pocket picked on a bus or train, they suggest that you immediately yell out to warn passengers and the driver / conductor. In their words, “Don’t be afraid to be loud.”

A woman was robbed at knifepoint while riding the subway last Friday. At about 2:30 a.m., the 44-year-old Queens resident boarded a southbound 2 train and was approached by a knife-wielding man. “Give me your money,” he demanded, and pressed the knife up against her face as he went through her jacket and pockets. He removed her phone and close to $1,000 cash. At 66th Street Station, he hopped off of the train and ran out of the station. He is now wanted for robbery.

FAILED HOOKUP
A 27-year-old lost his watch last week when the woman he brought home after a fun night out stole it from him. At 3 in the morning on Friday, the young charmer returned to his apartment on West 86th Street with a woman he had met at a bar. He left her alone for a minute for a quick bathroom break, and when he returned, she was gone—and so was his $8,000 Rolex. The thief is now at large. According to the victim, she has a bear or tiger tattoo.

DOMESTIC ABUSE
A 60-year-old woman recently reported to NYPD that she had been abused by her husband. When an officer arrived to investigate at the couple’s Central Park West apartment at 5 p.m. on Saturday, however, the couple did not answer the door. The officer called for backup, and when they attempted to enter the apartment, the battered wife tried to prevent them. Police arrested the husband and the wife, who scratched an officer’s neck while resisting them. The couple was taken to a nearby hospital, and both refuse to cooperate with police.

SNEAK ATTACK
A young Upper West Side resident was robbed over the weekend on West 80th Street. The 25-year-old had just exited a taxi at 12:40 a.m. Saturday when a stranger sneaked up behind her and knocked her to the ground. While she was down, the attacker snatched her purse and then sprinted away to Columbus Avenue. The victim was able to recover her purse, but her wallet and Blackberry had been removed. The robber remains at large.

STOLEN WEDDING RINGS
A middle-aged couple reported to police that two of their rings had been stolen over the summer. On Wednesday, Dec. 5, the couple told police that the landlord of their West 84th Street apartment had alerted them that work needed to be done on their home. After the work was completed in August, the couple’s lives returned to normal, until they recently realized that the 41-year-old wife’s wedding and engagement rings were missing from the clothing drawer they kept them in. The wedding ring is worth $600, and the engagement ring is worth $32,000.