The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
Man terrorizes woman, young sons with knife near Central Park Carousel
A man terrorized a woman and her two young sons with a knife near the Central Park Carousel Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
nypost.com
Man terrorizes woman, young sons with knife near Central Park Carousel
By
Amanda Woods
October 3, 2022 9:40am
Updated
New Yorkers reflect on crime and safety in the city
A man terrorized a mom and her two young kids with a knife near the Central Park Carousel on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
Damien Greene-Ayala, 30, brandished the blade and menaced the 27-year-old woman and her boys, 9 and 6, as they tried to purchase tickets to the carousel around 2 p.m., cops alleged.
Greene-Ayala, who lives in Queens, was taken into custody a short time later, police said.
He was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing, authorities said.
As of Sept. 25, major crime in Central Park is up 27% this year compared to last, a spike that’s largely driven by upticks in felony assault and robbery, NYPD data show.
00:01 01:08 Damien Greene-Ayala, 30, of Queens was busted for allegedly endangering the welfare of a child, among other raps.Robert Miller
In late August, a man tore through the green space on a Saturday morning and sucker-punched two people – a 34-year-old man from Colombia and an 83-year-old woman, police said at the time.
The 34-year-old declined medical attention but the elderly woman hit her head after she was pushed to the ground and was sent to the hospital, cops said.
Damien Greene-Ayala, 30, allegedly menaced a mom and her two young boys waiting in line for the Central Park carousel Sunday afternoon.Robert Miller
On Sept. 18, a real estate broker was walking home from the Upper East Side around 12:45 a.m. when three teens robbed him at knifepoint.
“I heard three people running behind me so I turned around so they wouldn’t run into me,” the victim, Zach Gutierrez, 35, told The Post in an email after the incident.
“One of them took my arm as if he was my friend and wanted to tell me something. His friends pulled out a large white knife and then he took out a similar one.”
Gutierrez “panicked” and gave the teens his wallet and phone before they sprinted off into the dark.
“I realize walking through (the) park at night could be dangerous, but it never has been for me in the years I’ve done it,” Gutierrez said.
On Aug. 14, a tourist from Saudi Arabia was just outside of Central Park near the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 59th Street when he was mugged at gunpoint around 4:30 a.m., cops said previously.
The 24-year-old’s cell phone was stolen and he was not physically injured.