A man terrorized a mom and her two young kids with a knife near the Central Park Carousel on Sunday afternoon.
Damien Greene-Ayala, 30, pulled out a knife and swung it around while trying to terrify the 27-year-old woman and her boys, 9 and 6, as they tried to purchase tickets to the carousel around 2 p.m.
Police said, “We took Greene-Ayala, who lives in Queens, into custody a short time after he started to torture the woman and her kids. He has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.”
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.
Police said, “The area is becoming a danger zone for many families just trying to do something fun with their family and friends.”
“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. 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,” police continued.
The other most recent attack was on September 18, when a real estate broker was walking home from the Upper East Side around 12:45 a.m. and 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, said 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. “The robbers got between $20 and $30 and my credit cards, which I immediately canceled. When I got home, I saw they attempted to buy something at a smoke shop.”
