A wave of aggressive robberies has hit New York City, targeting newsstand vendors in some of the city’s most prominent locations, including near Carnegie Hall and the Ed Sullivan Theater. The NYPD is intensifying its search for four suspects linked to a series of violent thefts that began on January 1st.
The perpetrators have been focusing on newsstand operators, typically ambushing them at night. They drag them out of their stands, threaten them with violence, and then flee with cash from their registers. The total amount stolen in these incidents is estimated to be around $15,000.
Al Maruf, 28, a newsstand vendor near 1750 Broadway, recounted his experience of being robbed and said he now closes hours earlier in the hopes of avoiding the roving criminals. The fear instilled by these incidents is palpable among vendor owners as they grapple with the need to earn a living while facing potential threats. For them, it’s a deadly balancing act they have to perform daily; Aruf says “But what can I do? I have to work.”
The crime spree began with the robbery of 70-year-old newsstand clerk Atiar Roman, who was attacked and robbed of $750. In a chilling account, Roman’s brother, Zahid Islam, 68, described being threatened with shooting during a separate robbery.
The police have documented multiple incidents that follow a similar pattern, including assaults on a 27-year-old and a 59-year-old vendor. The vendors say that the main issue is that they carry cash from the lottery tickets they sell, which can stack up pretty quickly; the highest amount ever stolen from one vendor at once was $5,000; the robbery occurred on Broadway and West 54th Street . On their most brazen day, the robbers hit three locations in three hours.
This string of robberies has left the city’s street vendors in a state of extreme anxiety, questioning their safety and pondering potential self-defense measures.
