Central Park hit by crime surge as NYPD changes chief

The NYPD quietly ousted the commander of its crime-plagued Central Park precinct this month as burglaries, felonies and rapes rise in the iconic green space.

“Effective today, I have been assigned as commander of the 23rd Precinct,” Capt. Anthony Lavino wrote in an email to community members announcing his transfer to East Harlem.

“Thank you for supporting my efforts to improve safety in Central Park,” Lavino added.

He will be replaced by Captain Timothy Maliente, who has been with Chelsea’s 10th Precinct since 2022.

In Central Park, robberies more than doubled, with 37 in 2024, up from 18 last year — already 61% more than in all of 2023, NYPD data showed. This is the highest number since 1998, when there were 80 robberies in the parks.

There have also been 11 criminal assaults this year, compared with eight during the same period in 2023, a 38% increase.

This year the number of rapes has increased from two to three.

In a shocking attack in the early morning hours of Oct. 26, a man brutally beat and attempted to rape a 38-year-old woman near 85 East Drive in the north end of the park, the NYPD said, releasing a photo of the cyclist. sick.

The assailant walked up and “pushed the victim over a metal fence, punched her in the face several times and attempted to rape her,” police said. They are still hunting for him.

The rise in crime in the once peaceful space is “frightening,” park visitors told The Post.

“When I first moved here, all I thought about was going to the park, but then the tanning incident happened,” said Seattle native and New York University student Harlow Brammett-Dunn, referring to the sexual assault that took place in June homeless maniac on 21-year-old sunbather.

“You would think that in these public places, in daylight, things like this wouldn’t happen,” the 22-year-old continued. “So it was a reality check for me.”

She wondered if a new precinct commander was the solution.

“My question is: what’s the plan?” she said. “Do they think another commander will have a better plan, better crime-fighting goals or what? I don’t know if this is really the solution we’re looking for.”

After the attack by the sunbathers, police came up with a plan they said would bring more attention to the park, including cameras.

The NYPD needs to do more than just move lawn chairs, said City Council member and former Manhattan signal person Gale Brewer.

“I don’t think it’s just leadership—you need real police,” Brewer said.

“He was always asking for more officers and cameras,” she said of Lavino, noting it was unclear whether he was able to bring in additional officers.