As crime rates in Central Park remain high, Adams says the NYPD will soon deploy drones and other technologies

Although the New York Police Department has installed more cameras throughout the northern part of Central Park, this does not appear to have had a significant impact on the significant 46 percent increase in most serious crimes in this popular leafy enclave.

Mayor Eric Adams said police may soon resort to drones and other high-tech devices to ensure the safety of park visitors.

“I think we could better monitor such a vast area using drones to monitor it from the air,” Adams said. “And we are looking at new technologies that I think will help us. We will introduce them when I think the time is right.”

Adams also hinted at “new tactics,” but declined to give details after claiming it would warn criminals.

“We're going to use a combination of public safety tactics in this area,” Adams said during his Aug. 13 media appearance. “We don't want the bad guys to know what we're doing because I know they 'just listen to the news' for tips.”

In the most recent incident, on the morning of August 13, a teenager and two men were allegedly robbed at gunpoint by four youths at the park's entrance to Grand Army Plaza.

The NYPD responded to a 911 call and arrested three of the suspects without incident; the fourth fled.

This is just the latest incident of its kind, as the number of reported robberies in the park has tripled from last year. Thirty incidents were reported in the week ending August 11. According to police statistics, only ten robberies occurred in the Central Park district in 2023. There were five robberies in 28 days, compared to just three in the same period last year.

Central Park is 800 m wide and over 4 km long. Its 335 hectares are patrolled by its own police station.

The number of serious physical assaults has also increased this year: there have been ten cases so far this year, compared to seven in 2023. The number of serious thefts has increased slightly: up to August 11, there were 31 cases, compared to 30 last year. On a two-year basis, however, the number has increased by 98 percent.

When police announced the additional cameras in late July, they specifically mentioned the attempted molestation of a 21-year-old woman sunbathing near the park's Great Hill in June. A 43-year-old Upper West Side resident, Jermaine Longmire, was arrested in that connection. He allegedly attacked the woman from behind before being fought off and fleeing. He was arrested after an extensive manhunt in which his victim helped. DNA from the woman's bikini was crucial to Longmire's arrest, cops said.

As for the increasing number of robberies in Central Park, some of the most notorious cases have been cell phone thefts. In late May, an 83-year-old man taking photos on the park's West Dr. had his cell phone stolen, police reported. In July, a teenager sitting on a bench on W. 59th St. also reportedly had his cell phone and $80 stolen. In April, a woman was groped in the park and her cell phone was taken, police reported.

In a more recent incident on Aug. 1, a 37-year-old man sitting on a bench near Wollman Rink had his wallet stolen at knifepoint, police said. Authorities said he was surrounded by 15 to 20 people, including suspects who are still at large.