Some terrible and just plain strange crime stories involving older New Yorkers:
- A 68 year-old woman was punched in the face over the weekend by a heavyset black man in his 40s as she was walking in the Central Park. The incident occured on Saturday morning, near West 63rd Street. According to reports, the man said,
"What are you -- blind?" and punched her. She was found, passed out, and the paramedics were called.
- Police are still looking for the killer of Rachel "Frenchy" Paliseno, a 74 year-old Brooklyn woman who staggered to a police station after being stabbed by two men last Thursday.
- An 86 year-old woman allegedly hit a 62 year-old woman with her cane, when she saw the younger woman carrying Bush/Cheney poster and stickers in the lobby of her Central Park West building. Linda Fuda says Ruth Spitz told her "get out of here with that trash, you don't belong here," and whacked her with her cane. Spitz denies attacking Fuda, but did admit to telling Fuda she didn't belong in the building. Of course, the NY Post reports on this story.
Sadly, seniors are one of the most preyed upon populations in the city. Think about volunteering your time to spend with seniors - many have stories to tell about the city and the neighborhoods you live in before they were the gentrified boulevards they are now. More information from NYC's Department of Aging and NY Cares.
