Walking Through Central Park and the 22nd Precinct

Central Park 

It’s an old New York truism and the command of many mothers: Do not walk through Central Park at night. Male or female, young or old, no one interviewed was willing to enter the park after sun-set. This, in their opinion, was common sense.

“I’ve never had an incident,” said Jools Antiniadis, a 30 year resident of New York and frequent visitor to Central Park. “But I still never cross the park at night.”

Nearly everyone interviewed agreed with Antiniadis: Walking through Central Park after dark is asking for trouble. “Why expose myself to that threat?” Antiniadis asked. 

But is this an accurate perception?

The park’s dangerous atmosphere is an impression often fueled by television. Over its seven seasons, CSI: NY has aired eight episodes dramatizing victims’ murders in Central Park, according to episode synopses on IMDb. That’s eight TV murders since September of 2004. 

“It makes you weary,” said Tom Troyer, a tourist visiting from Toronto when asked about the impact of television. “But in a city like New York you always have to be aware of the dangers.”

The problem: Over the past seven years, there have been no actual murders in Central Park. The park, in fact, and the 22nd Precinct have the lowest crime rate in the city, according to CompStat reports released by the NYPD.

In the last 28 days there have been only four reported crimes and 12 misdemeanors in Central Park, a figure many who were interviewed considered impressive, especially for the largest park in Manhattan. Central Park and the 22nd Precinct cover 840 acres, according to the 22nd Precinct’s website. That’s roughly the size of 150 city blocks. 

With 58 miles of pedestrian paths and 690 acres of land available to visitors, the fact that central park has had no cases of murder, rape, felony assault, burglary, or grand larceny auto this year is indeed impressive. To date, CompStat reports released by the 22nd Precinct show only four robberies and four incidents of grand larceny this year. That’s four fewer cases than reported during the same time period in 2010. 

But do these statistics hold any value? Are people feeling any safer when walking through the park?

When asked if she feels safe in Central Park, Vicki Samuelson answered “absolutely.” Samuelson has lived in New York all her life. The park, she said, has been much safer since the city cleaned up the underbrush. “Before, you couldn’t see people. You didn’t know who was coming.” Now, she said, the park is open and bright. 

Peter Schon also agrees: Central Park is much safer. Schon’s experience with the park’s more dangerous perception is, perhaps, more personal than most. In 1987, Schon was attacked in Central Park at 10 p.m. while walking with his girlfriend. “I was jumped by about 12 kids. They tried to separate the two of us,” said Schon.

During the attack, Schon had a broken bottle thrust against his neck while jewelry was taken from his girlfriend. “I’m still not sure why they let us go. I guess I talked my way out of it,” he said.

Today, Schon was visiting the park with his wife and his two children. “Now that they’ve cleaned the park up,” he said, “I have no problem bringing my kids.” 

Even with a cleaner park, Schon still wouldn’t brave the paths in the evening. “That’s something I’m never going to do again.”

For Martha, a New York City mother who preferred not to give her last name, the park’s sense of community is what makes it safe. Every year, anywhere between 16 and 20 million people visit Central Park, the 22nd Precinct’s website reports. For many, the park’s 21 official playgrounds are a major attraction. 

“People watch out for each other,” said Martha; and many who were interviewed agreed with her, Harriet Hunter in particular. 

“There’s people around,” Hunter said. “Enough people to make you feel safe.”

For Zenaida Cabrera, a lifelong New Yorker, the change in Central Park is harder to pinpoint. “Before,” she recalls, “there were a lot of homeless people and drug addicts. You would always think more than three times before going [to the park].” Today, however, the atmosphere is different. “You don’t see anything out of the ordinary,” Cabrera said. 

One thing that is unusual is Central Park’s apparent lack of police men. After spending three hours conducting interviews, the reporter of this article saw no members of New York City law enforcement in the park. When the 22nd Precinct office was contacted, the police man who answered declined to comment.