By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CITY HALL PARK — A former runway model was attacked and robbed of a $2,000 handbag and groceries in City Hall Park on Friday night, police told the New York Post.
Julia Melnova, 24, said she was talking on her BlackBerry while sitting on a bench just steps from City Hall when the mugging took place at 11:20 p.m. on Friday. Two men wearing hoods came up from behind the model and robbed her, the Post reported.
"I couldn't believe it was happening. I felt like my eyes were blurring. I felt nauseous," Melnova told the Post.
Melnova said the men took her red Lanvin bag, worth $2,000, with her wallet and credit cards inside, as well as groceries she had just purchased at Whole Foods, the paper reported.
One of the muggers is described by police as a 5-foot tall and 140 pounds. The other is described as a 5-foot-1 man weighing approximately 190 pounds, police told the Post. Both men were wearing black jackets, sweatpants and hooded sweatshirts.
Melnova worked as a runway, print and TV model for the Bloom Modeling Agency in 2008 before taking a job in the financial services industry last year.
