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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

4 Violent Robberies Hit Lower East Side Streets Over 4 Days, NYPD Says

LOWER EAST SIDE — A taxi passenger robbed and punched his driver in the face after the driver opened the door for him Wednesday morning, police said — one of four violent robberies and attempted robberies to occur in the neighborhood since Sunday.

The 29-year-old male driver was dropping the man off at the corner of Allen and East Houston streets around 3:50 a.m. when the passenger socked him on the left eye before snatching his $25 watch and fleeing eastbound on Stanton Street, police said.

The suspect is described as standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 150 pounds, with short black hair, according to a police report.

Three other robberies have taken place in the 7th Precinct over the past four days, according to authorities:

► A 79-year-old man was threatened with a firearm Wednesday morning in an attempted robbery, according to authorities.

The victim was walking south on Pitt Street near Delancey Street around 9:55 a.m. when a man in a black hoodie and red, white and blue shorts with stars approached him and said he had a gun, demanding he hand over his money, police said.

The thief ultimately fled westbound on Grand Street empty-handed, police said.

The suspect had facial hair and carried a black backpack, according to a police report.

► A woman exiting the East Broadway subway station Sunday morning was robbed by a man who made off with her wallet, police said. The 28-year-old woman was at the corner of Rutgers and Madison streets about 6:30 a.m. when a man approached her on the sidewalk and put an unknown object against her back and said, "Give me your s--t," according to a police report. The woman handed over her wallet, which contained $70 in cash, and her $80 Casio G-Shock watch, police said. The suspect fled on foot in an unknown direction and the victim was not injured, police said. The victim was unable to provide a description of the suspect.

► Two men beat another man unconscious in an attempted robbery in front of the Baruch Houses early Sunday morning, police said. The 32-year-old victim was walking on Delancey Street around 3:35 a.m. when the two suspects approached him and punched him in the face and back of the head, causing pain and swelling, according to a police report. The suspects tried to grab the victim's pockets, the victim told police, but ultimately did not steal anything. The victim was knocked unconscious during the altercation and was taken to Lower Manhattan Hospital for observation, he told police.