Armed trio steals e-bike in latest Central Park stick-up as robberies surge: cops

Three crooks armed with a gun snatched a man’s e-bike in a late-night hold-up in Central Park Thursday – the latest offense as robberies in the iconic greenspace surged this year, cops said. The trio flashed a gun as they approached the 27-year-old victim at East 102nd Street and East Drive around 11:30 p.m., police said. They snatched the bike, in addition to his cell phone, backpack and an undetermined amount of cash, cops said. The suspects – described as three males with dark complexions between 18 to 20 years old, all wearing dark-colored hoodies – bolted after the heist, authorities said. No arrests had been made by Friday morning. Robberies surged nearly 106 percent this year in Central Park so far this year – with 35 incidents reported compared to 17 during the same period last year, according to the latest data. Last month, an 11-year-old boy who was busted in a Queens subway robbery was linked to a spate of heists in Central Park carried out by migrant kids, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell revealed.A group of up to 12 migrant boys or young men have been connected to roughly 10 robberies in Central Park, Chell said.Police could not confirm whether Thursday night’s stick-up was linked to an existing crime pattern. ...