Rolex Robber Targeting UES Seniors: Police

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY – Just before 1 p.m. on Aug. 31., an 80-year-old woman was walking along a tony stretch of Park Avenue near 75th Street when a man approached her from behind and forcibly removed a watch from her left wrist, according to police.

The approximate value of the Ebel 18-karat gold timepiece she was wearing? $20,000.

She wasn’t the first East Sider to fall victim to a thief who police have connected to a string of similar incidents in the neighborhood.

A week earlier, on Aug. 24, an 81-year-old man was walking near the corner of 68th Street and 3rd Avenue, when he too was approached from behind by a man who forcibly removed a watch from his left wrist, according to police.

The value of his Omega watch? $25,000.

On Aug. 5, just after 12 p.m., a 74-year-old woman was walking near 66 East 83rd Street – not far from Park Avenue – when an unidentified individual approached her from behind, forcibly removing a watch from her left arm after a struggle, according to police.

The value of her Rolex? $7,000.

Police describe the man connected to the incidents as a male with a dark complexion, approximately 40 to 50 years of age, 5’9” in height, 155 pounds, and of slim build. He was last seen wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt with white lettering on the front, light-colored jeans, white sneakers, a dark-colored New York Yankees baseball cap, and a blue face mask, police said.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). All calls are strictly confidential.