Police say a woman agreed to meet up with the 21-year-old victim on East 92nd Street at First Avenue on the Upper East Side to buy tickets to an event.
While they were talking, a man came up behind the victim and placed him in a chokehold.
The woman took off while the man suspect dragged the victim to the ground and stole his cell phone.
The thief then took off in a black SUV.
The woman is described as Hispanic with dark-colored hair and was last seen wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and light blue jeans.
The man is described as Hispanic and was last seen wearing a dark-colored baseball cap, a yellow metal necklace, a blue and white shirt, black sweatpants and black and white sneakers.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
----------
* More Manhattan news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts