E-Bike Gang Swiping Headphones; Body Found in the East 53rd Street Subway Station

There’s a new robbery gang in town. Unsurprisingly, the gang chose CitiBike e-bikes to maraud Manhattan on March 17 and steal the headphones off at least seven people’s heads: five women, two men.

Because CitiBike e-bikes—which can travel 20 mph with no physical effort—are easily stolen and can be checked out without any record of their actual user, NYPD is asking for help in ascertaining the identity and whereabouts of the perpetrators.

The e-bike rampage began in the West Village, and continued in Harlem, Central Park, and the Upper East Side. The likelihood that such a geographically wide-ranging crime spree could have occurred on pedal bicycles is remote.

In all seven incidents, no injuries were reported and the perpetrators fled to “parts unknown.” The mode of robbery was repeated in all subsequent incidents. Details are as follows:

Incident #1 (6th Precinct):

At approximately 4:15 p.m., a group of unidentified individuals on e-bikes approached a 31-year-old female in front of 1 Jane St., at the corner of Greenwich Avenue, and “snatched headphones from the victim’s head.”

Incident #2 (6th Precinct):

At approximately 4:30 p.m, the gang victimized a 26-year-old female near West 14th Street and West Street.

Incident #3 (28th Precinct):

At approximately 5:50 p.m., the e-bikers victimized a 41-year-old male near West 124th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue).

Noting the 80-minute time between these incidents, it’s unclear if they committed more than have been reported.

Incident #4 (28th Precinct):

At approximately 6:20 p.m., the headphone snatchers victimized a 33-year-old female near West 119th Street and Manhattan Avenue, an intersection that includes a Police Athletic League center and the P.S. 180 athletic field.

Incident #5 (Central Park Precinct):

At approximately 6:40 p.m., a 22-year-old female was victimized near West 103rd Street and West Drive.

Incident # 6 (19th Precinct):

At approximately 6:50 p.m., a 27-year-old woman was victimized near East 73rd Street and Third Avenue.

Incident #7 (19th Precinct):

At approximately 7 p.m, a 31-year-old man was victimized near East 81st Street and Third Avenue.

Photos obtained from incidents #2 and #3 show multiple black males, likely in their teens or 20s, riding CitiBike e-bikes.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, in Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

Subway Fatality at 53rd Street/Fifth Avenue Station

On Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at approximately 12:25 p.m., police responded to a 911 call of a person on the tracks at the 53rd Street/Fifth Avenue station, within the confines of the Midtown North Precinct/Transit District 1. Upon arrival, cops discovered an unidentified male in his 30s, unconscious and unresponsive on the tracks. EMS responded and pronounced him deceased at the scene. The investigation is ongoing. The Office of Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.