Two young crooks robbed two Central Park passersby in a robbery Tuesday night – less than 24 hours after three teens were arrested in a similar heist, cops said.
Investigators are investigating whether the two incidents are linked to a series of larger robberies in the park, possibly carried out by migrants, police sources said.
The thieving duo approached two 20-year-old men at West 62nd Street and West Drive around 10:40 p.m. and confiscated their jewelry, hat and vape pen, police and sources said.
No injuries were reported in the robbery, police said.
The suspects, who appeared to be teenagers, then fled and remained at large Wednesday.
The robbery happened just a day after three teenagers, ages 14, 16 and 17, were arrested in the robbing of three other men, ages 15, 21 and 35, inside the iconic green space, authorities said.
The three male victims were near the park’s Grand Army Plaza, at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, when four juvenile suspects approached them around 1 a.m., police said.
One of the boys gestured as if he had a gun before his accomplices snatched the victims’ AirPods and jewelry, police and sources said.
One of the robbers managed to escape after the robbery, but the other three were quickly handcuffed, police said.
They were both charged as adults with second-degree robbery, a felony, police said.
While police have not officially confirmed any connection to other incidents at the park, police sources say investigators are looking into whether the two crimes are linked to at least five other thefts at the park – dating back to June 27.
Investigators also believe the crimes have a “migrant link,” the sources said.
In one such incident on August 1, a gang of up to 20 people, some believed to be as young as 8 years old, surrounded and robbed Julian De Flandres, a 37-year-old software developer, as he sat on a bench near the Wollman Ice Rink.
In an apparently unrelated incident around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, an 82-year-old woman was walking along the reservoir path at East 95th Street and East Drive when a much younger threat growled, “You shouldn’t be here” as he jogged past, cops said.
He then pushed her to the ground and continued running, police said.
The victim was taken to the Central Park Police Station, where paramedics treated him for minor injuries to his nose, elbow and knee, police said.
The attacker has not been arrested.
The Post reported last week that robberies and assaults were skyrocketing in Central Park.
The park has seen a 222% increase in the number of reported thefts so far in 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, according to NYPD data.
The 29 incidents reported so far this year already exceed the total number reported in 2019, the data showed.
Criminal assaults increased 100% from five to 10, up from seven in all of 2019, the data shows.
