Attempted Robbery but I’m Still Walking

I never imagined that this would be the kind of post I would be making this month. This has been a tough winter thus far for many reasons (here and here). I can’t tell if my luck is improving or getting worse, but I think it just is what it is. There are things that happen that are just beyond my control. It is just getting ridiculous with the increasing levels of crime here in New York City.

For those who don’t know, I do not own a motor vehicle of any kind. I walk nearly everywhere. I walk to and from work, I walk to get my groceries, I walk to local stores, and I walk in local parks just to relax. If I need to get somewhere that is too far to walk, I will take the subway or bus. However, I nearly all of my travels are on foot.

I’ve walked to work and back (about 35-40 minutes each way) for the past 5 years and this is the first time this has ever happened to me. I was walking home, it was around 4:30 PM, and I was on a main road with cars and people walking by. There were two guys walking in front of me who were acting strangely (one picked up a TV from the trash and just threw it – not normal behavior for decent human beings).

I could tell these thugs weren’t from the neighborhood. There are just some people who you know are suspiciously out of place.

So, I decided to try and cross the street to put some distance between myself and these thugs. Suddenly, one of them yells out at me accusing me of stealing something of his. Both of them moved to the middle of the street to block my path.

The first thing I looked for was weapons in their hands. The first thug had both hands free with no weapons. The second thug had one hand free with the other hand in his pocket as if he was holding something in there. I was most concerned with that guy.

I said I didn’t steal anything of his and tried to walk back to the other side of the street. They still blocked me. Then one of them grabs my arm and says that he couldn’t left me go and that I need to go with them “down there”. Basically, they were trying to pull me into a dead-end street; which was away from people and traffic. Thus, an isolated area.

I knew way better then to let them take me into an isolated spot. I decided if it was going to go down, then it was going to go down right there. That was the line in the sand. I knew odds were against me in a 2 on 1 fight, especially if one did indeed have a weapon. I had to get away to a highly populated avenue that was just up the block. It was time to break away and run.

I pushed off the thug who was holding on to my arm, spun myself around him, and bolted down the sidewalk as fast as I could. One or both thugs gave chase (I couldn’t tell because they were behind me) for about 3-4 seconds, but I was way too fast for them. There were two other pedestrians in front of me who saw what was happening and they also started running and yelling.

I managed to reach the end of the block in probably less then 10 seconds. That was one hell of a sprint. When I reached the corner, I looked back and both thugs were gone. They fled the other way.

I was surprisingly calm and alert throughout that whole ordeal. Hard to believe, but this is part the recent crime wave that has engulfed this entire city.

I still walk the same route to and from work. Being able to walk from work has saved me a bundle of cash. Getting a car to travel with is really out of the question for me. According to AAA, the average cost of owning a car is nearly $10,000 per year. In addition, with the rise in gas prices due to recent events, not needing to own a car is quite a financial blessing.

Sure, I could take the subway to work and back (I’ve done it before during extremely bad weather). I live a block away from the subway line and it usually takes 7-10 minutes for me to get to work by subway.

But that’s where the expenses add up if I did that every day. The fares would cost me $27.50 per week, therefore $110 per month, and thus, $1,320 per year. By walking to work and back, I am saving that amount.

In addition, the subways have, in many ways, become more dangerous than the streets. It is like every other day someone is being slashed, struck with hammers or other objects, or pushed onto the tracks. A couple of weeks ago, one guy attacked a random woman on the subway and smeared feces in her face. It has gotten so bad a special initiative was put in effect by the mayor to police the subways more.

It hasn’t worked. This really boils down to a failure of leadership here. It’s not that the police aren’t making more arrest during this crime wave. They certainly are; however, the court system in place is weak and doesn’t detain these offenders. Most of them are back on the street the same day. There is no fear of consequences (because quite frankly, the way the laws are set up, there are none).

The guy who attacked the woman with feces above, he had a long criminal history of attacking people, including an attempted robbery with a weapon just a week prior. He was released that same day after the feces attack (and released the same day for this other crimes). This really does symbolize what the criminal justice system has devolved into in this city the past couple of years.

It just sucks. Just got to stay alert and aware of my surroundings when walking. That all could have gone down a lot worse. Other then that one incident, this has been a less stressful month for me after such a turbulent first two months of 2022. I have been able to slow things down and get some rest and relaxation in. I am looking forward to the spring.

Crazy stuff huh? Has anything like that ever happened to you before? How are things in your area? Let me know in the comments below!