NYPD steps up patrols of Riverside Park's 'trouble spots'

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - Riverside Park along Manhattan's Upper West Side sits between the Hudson River and Riverside Drive. It is the perfect place to relax on a hot and humid day. The four-mile strip of land between West 72nd Street and West 125th Street is also growing more popular with criminals. Neighbors may have even noticed more police in the area recently.

Geoffrey Croft is the president of New York City Park Advocates, a nonpartisan watchdog group dedicated to improving public parks. He says Riverside Park has recently become a hot spot for crime. He would like to see more police patrols and park police assigned to Riverside Park.

The mayor's office said: "Crime across the city is at an all-time low - and crimes in parks remain rare. Just like they do on the streets, NYPD is focusing resources on trouble spots using a model of precision policing that has made our city the safest big city in America."

The NYPD said increased police presence in certain parts of the park is to ensure the safety of park users and is not in response to any one incident.