A 71-year-old man was punched in the face and robbed of his cellphone in broad daylight near 11th Street and 45th Avenue, with police saying three unidentified men confronted him before fleeing on foot. The incident happened at approximately 10:00 a.m. last Wednesday, November 4, in Long Island City, within the 108th Precinct, which covers Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside.
According to a NYPD Crime Stoppers
post, three unidentified male individuals approached the victim and engaged him in a verbal dispute that quickly turned physical. During the altercation, one of the men punched the victim about the face while the other two forcibly removed his cellphone from him. All three then ran off on foot to parts unknown, per the same account, leaving investigators with no suspect descriptions to release publicly.
NYPD Crime Stoppers is now asking anyone with information to come forward, and the department's Crime Stoppers program is offering rewards of up to $3,500 for anonymous tips to the 800-577-TIPS hotline that lead to an arrest and indictment, according to NYPD. No arrest or case update has been announced since the post went up.
A Precinct Already Watching Its Numbers Closely
The 108th Precinct has had an uneven year on crime statistics. Through August 23, the precinct had logged 126 robberies in 2026, two fewer than the 128 reported at the same point in 2025, the station's report notes. Felony assaults were down too, with 189 reported through that date compared with 195 a year earlier, a 3.1 percent decrease, per the same account from QNS.
Still, not every trend line points downward. The 108th Precinct saw overall reported crime climb 3.2 percent in 2025, with murders rising from one to two, according to the Queens Chronicle. Queens as a whole followed the citywide pattern of steep robbery decreases that year, even as borough-wide murders ticked up from 55 to 58 while the citywide count fell from 380 to 302.
Other Recent Robberies in the Area, Unconnected So Far
This is not the only daytime robbery reported in western Queens this year. In August, police said a 66-year-old man was approached by a man and a woman while walking in front of City Acres Market on Queens Plaza South; the suspects punched and kicked him, took his bag, and ran off, with the victim sustaining minor injuries but refusing medical attention at the scene, QNS reported.
Earlier in the year, a separate series of knife-point robberies spanned the 115th and 108th precincts, including a March 30 incident in which a 52-year-old man was approached at 65th Street and 43rd Avenue by a suspect on a two-wheeled vehicle who took his bag at knifepoint. That case was the fifth in a string of five incidents involving a suspect who used a knife while riding a two-wheeled vehicle, and police said at the time they believed the robberies were connected, though no suspect description was released, according to Shore News Network. Nothing in the available reporting ties that spree to Wednesday's robbery of the 71-year-old man.
For now, investigators are relying on the public for leads. Anyone with information about the November 4 robbery is urged to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 800-577-TIPS, with tips kept anonymous and eligible for the reward program outlined by police.
