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Three Teens Arrested in Hudson Heights Muggings, Police Say

By Carla Zanoni | April 4, 2011 11:52am
After police made several arrests for robberies on Fort Washington Avenue, between West 180th and 183rd streets, parents say they will begin a neighborhood watch to try and reduce the amount of attacks in the area.
After police made several arrests for robberies on Fort Washington Avenue, between West 180th and 183rd streets, parents say they will begin a neighborhood watch to try and reduce the amount of attacks in the area.
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Flickr/Jag9889

By Carla Zanoni

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

HUDSON HEIGHTS — Police have made three arrests in connection with a string of muggings in Hudson Heights over the past two weeks that have had parents on high alert.

Police arrested three teenagers Thursday for robberies on Fort Washington Avenue, between West 180th and West 183rd streets, according to Captain Jose Navarro of the 34th Precinct.

During the arrest, police discovered a "replica firearm" that was used in a mugging on West 180th Street. The suspect is accused of using the fake gun to steal a cell phone from a person walking on the street, police said.

Police believe the two of the three teen suspects may also responsible for muggins another teenager last week.

"It is possible that the two who were arrested may have been responsible for several other cell phone robberies on Fort Washington Avenue," Navarro said.

Despite the arrests, parents in the area are concerned with the frequency of the robberies along that stretch of Hudson Heights and have called for an increased police presence.

"This has been going on for a while and it is really only a matter of time that things escalate," wrote one parent on an Upper Manhattan email group. "This all for a phone!"

Police increased patrols of the area late last year in response to an uptick in crime, but the extra officers assigned to the precinct were reassigned to other areas of the city in January.

Several area parents said they are now looking into how to create neighborhood safety patrols modeled after the Inwood Safety Patrol, which was started after similar incidents in the Park Terrace area of Inwood and Inwood Hill Park.

Concerned residents are invited to attend the 34th Precinct Community Council meeting on Wednesday, April 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Eleanor Roosevelt JHS 143, 511 W 182nd Street, between Audubon & Amsterdam avenues.