Thieves on e-bikes wanted in string of robberies targeting women's chains in Manhattan
UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police are working to track down a group of thieves connected to a string of robberies while on scooters or e-bikes in Manhattan.
The NYPD says crimes in New York City involving e-bikes and scooters have increased significantly over the last several years.
Authorities believe the most recent robbery pattern involves five men responsible for at least three similar robberies in Midtown and on the Upper West Side.
A woman who wishes to stay anonymous says she had just parted ways with a friend near West 47th Street and Eighth Avenue on Sept. 7, and as she was heading to a subway station, she says an e-bike approached her.
"I think it was the person on the back of his hand stretched out and reached for the chain on my neck and pulled it because they were biking past and they ran after them," the victim said. "I think I just wanted kind of confirmation from other people that it happened and it was real because it felt very unreal."
Police do believe it's part of a pattern.
Someone on an e-bike snatched a necklace from a woman on West 50th Street and Eighth Avenue on Aug. 11 and someone on an e-scooter ripped a necklace off a 64-year-old woman and pushed her to the ground on Aug. 5.
Criminal activity tied to e-bikes and e-scooters was a topic of discussion at the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance town hall Tuesday night.
According to the NYPD, there have been 452 robberies involving e-bikes and scooters as of August -- a 33% increase from last year and a 72% increase from 2022.
Advocates are now pushing for Priscilla's Law, which would require electronic bikes and scooters to be registered, inspected and insured -- making streets safer and easier to track down people who used them to flee after a crime.
Anyone with information 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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