The new year has not started auspiciously when it comes to violent crime in New York City.
Robberies in the Big Apple are up 5% (960 from 913) in the the first three weeks of 2024, compared to the same period last year, NYPD data show.
Robberies soared 12% in Queens (174 from 155) and 9% in the Bronx (301 from 277) and Brooklyn (258 from 237) through Jan. 21, the stats state.
Staten Island and Manhattan saw robberies decrease by 58% and 1%, respectively.
The silver lining is major crime is down 7% across the city and murders have plummeted 41% (16 from 27).
spate of newsstand robberies.
Cops are hunting four brazen brutes who are part of a gang that has robbed sidewalk clerks nine times since Jan. 1, the NYPD said.
The hoodlums ambush the typically-older sellers at night, pulling them out the side door of the newsstands, and knock them to the ground.
They then threaten to shoot or slash them before making off with whatever they have in their pockets or cash register, cops said.
“If the NYPD can control grand larcenies and [auto theft] in 2024, crime will be down, that’s a given,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who called the continuing rise in robberies “a cause for concern.”
