A 71-year-old man and a 61-year-old man were punched in the face outside 3959 Broadway in Washington Heights before an unidentified attacker ripped a selfie stand tripod away and ran off, according to the NYPD. The confrontation unfolded around 6:50 p.m. on September 14, when a dispute between the two victims and the unknown individual turned physical. Police say the attacker fled on foot to parts unknown with the tripod in hand.
The NYPD Crime Stoppers unit made the case public on October 12, nearly four weeks after the incident, according to a wanted notice posted by NYPD Crimestoppers on Facebook. The public appeal came nearly four weeks after the September 14 crime date. The attacker remains unidentified, and no arrest has been announced.
A Busy Sidewalk Outside a Children's Hospital
The address where the robbery happened serves as the main entrance to NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, a major pediatric campus at West 165th Street, according to NewYork-Presbyterian. The stretch of Broadway sits within the territorial jurisdiction of the NYPD's 33rd Precinct, which patrols Washington Heights south of West 179th Street out of its station house at 2207 Amsterdam Avenue, per information compiled by Columbia University. The precinct was carved out of the original 34th Precinct in 1994 specifically to concentrate patrol resources on street crime and quality-of-life issues in lower Washington Heights, as Hoodline has reported.
Potential Felony Exposure for the Suspect
Because the attacker allegedly caused physical injury while forcibly taking property, the theft could be charged well beyond basic grand larceny. Under New York Penal Law, forcibly taking property without a weapon is ordinarily Third-Degree Robbery, but causing physical injury during the theft elevates the offense to Second-Degree Robbery, a Class C felony carrying up to 15 years in prison, according to FindLaw. The 71-year-old victim's age could also trigger a separate enhancement: intentionally causing physical injury to a person 65 or older when the attacker is more than ten years younger constitutes Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony punishable by up to seven years in state prison, per the New York State Senate.
Part of a Rising Trend in Upper Manhattan
The Broadway robbery lands amid a broader spike in violent crime across Upper Manhattan. NYPD CompStat data through mid-2026 showed a 13.3 percent rise in robbery reports and a 13.6 percent increase in felony assault complaints compared to the same period in 2025, Hoodline previously reported. The neighborhood has seen a string of street-level violence this year, including a beer bottle attack that left a 43-year-old man critical earlier this month.
A separate incident involved a 48-year-old man who was punched unconscious inside the Radio Tower Hotel on June 14, with police seeking the attacker in September. Elderly pedestrians in particular have been targeted elsewhere in Manhattan this year — in April, NYPD Crime Stoppers issued a wanted bulletin after a daytime mugging attempt on Central Park South left a 71-year-old woman and a 70-year-old man knocked to the sidewalk.
How to Report Information
The NYPD is asking anyone with information about the September 14 robbery to call the Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The Crime Stoppers program, run in partnership with the nonprofit New York City Police Foundation, offers cash rewards of up to $3,500 for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest and indictment in felony cases. The attacker is still described only as an unidentified individual, and investigators have not released a physical description or surveillance image alongside the notice.
