NYC Crime Spike Hits Ultra-Wealthy Neighborhood

As gun violence and murders spiral out of control in New York City amid BLM riots and the decision to disband the NYPD’s plainclothes anti-crime units, the city’s crime spree has reached the Upper East Side – home to billionaires and mere multi-millionaires alike.

According to Fox News, the 19th Precinct – which oversees the Upper East Side between East 59th Street and East 96th Street – is “one of the most densely populated residential areas in Manhattan.”

And now, it appears The Purge has encroached on the upscale neighborhood – with robberies soaring 286% vs. the same period last year with 27 robberies – 20% of which were at gunpoint.

Three gunpoint robberies were reported over a one-hour period just last weekend – a group of four people struck on East 73rd Street, then downtown at East 65th Street before moving uptown to East 86th Street, police said. –Fox News

YTD the 19th Precinct had seen 14 robberies at gunpoint vs. just four in 2019.

Some more statistics:

2020 (to date) gunpoint robberies total: 14

2019 (entire year) gunpoint robberies total: 4

Thats a 250% increase.

The public is urged to call 1-800-577-TIPS or DM @NYPDTips with any info regarding these crimes or illegal firearms.

— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) August 3, 2020

According to Fox, a group of four teenagers hit several victims in the span of an hour on Saturday evening – with the first incident occurring at approximately 9:30 p.m. when the four approached a 45-year-old man near East 73rd Street and York Avenue, flashed a gun and robbed him of his cell phone before running away.

Approximately 40 minutes later the four robbed an 18-year-old man of his wallet approximately one mile, or 11 blocks, from the first victim in the area of East 65th Street and Lexington Avenue.

Minutes later, at 10:20 p.m., they struck again – this time accosting a man and a woman, both 22-years-old, who said they were robbed at gunpoint in the Central Park footpath near East 84th Street and Fifth Avenue. The woman’s cellphone was taken.

Three of the teenagers – two 16 and one 17-years-old, were arrested in connection with the spree and charged with first-degree robbery. A loaded gun was recovered from one of the suspects.

Saturday, 8/1/20:
9:33pm: In front of 523 East 73rd St.
10:00pm: East 65 St. & Lexington Ave.
10:22pm: Inside Central Park near East 86th Street.

— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) August 3, 2020

According to Fox News, billionaires John Paulson and Glenn Dubin “live just blocks, if not a block, from the East 84th Street robbery.”

Paulson, worth an estimated $4.2 billion, according to Forbes, founded hedge fund company Paulson & Co in the mid-90s. He is known for making his fortune betting against subprime mortgages as the American economy headed toward collapse in 2007.

Dubin, 63, co-founded Highbridge Capital Management in 1992 before selling to JP Morgan Chase 12 years later, according to Forbes, which reported that the hedge funder boasts an estimated net worth of $2 billion.

According to The Real Deal, Dubin coughed up $32 million in 2006 to buy a Fifth Avenue apartment previously owned by fellow billionaire David Koch. –Fox News

The 10pm Saturday robbery near East 65th Street and Lexington happened just one block from the home of Henry Kravis, a financier which Forbes estimates to be worth $6.5 billion.

And as Fox further points out , the spate of robberies happened fewer than 10 blocks from 740 Park Ave, known as the “world’s richest apartment building,” according to a 2006 book by Michael Gross.

Maybe the de Blasio administration will reconsider its actions to weaken law enforcement now that spiking violence is in the backyards of their very best friends.