It happened just after 3 p.m. Sunday inside an apartment building in the vicinity of East 149th Street and Morris Avenue in the Mott Haven section.
The victim was in the elevator with the assailant, who first exited and looked around the floor before returning and grabbing the woman's purse.
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He then dragged her out of the elevator, and she hit a wall and fell to the ground and he fled the scene.
Raw video:
85-year-old woman dragged out of elevator in purse snatching
The woman complained of hip pain and was taken by EMS to Lincoln Hospital.
"That is how it is over here," a neighbor named Andre said. "They haven't learned. They are still doing the same stuff like they were doing year ago, robbing ladies, robbing old men and stuff."
Police recovered the woman's purse, but her wallet was missing.
Area resident Rita Sanne says someone tried to steal her pocketbook in the middle of the day last week.
"A lady came to me, she tried to grab my bag, but she wasn't able to," she said. "She told me someone told her to come and get your bag...I was so scared I didn't know what to make of it.
Sanne said has her guard up at all times.
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"I've lived in this neighborhood for 15 years, I'm always vigilant," she said. "I try to put on the basic clothes and hide my pocketbook, and I'm always aware of my environment. It's scary."
Anyone with information in regard 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).
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