REGO PARK — A man with a miniature baseball bat allegedly mugged a new Rego Park man early Monday morning as he stepped into his building’s elevator with suitcases in hand, a neighbor and the NYPD said.
After a concerned neighbor reported the incident to TimesLedger Newspapers, the Police Department confirmed an assailant with a mini bat stole a Samsung cellphone, laptop, clothing, luggage and wallet from a man in The Savoy Gardens elevator just before 6 a.m.
Carlos Rodriguez, a resident of The Savoy Gardens building on Saunders Street near 62nd Avenue, said he was dismayed to learn his new neighbor Willis Zhang was the victim of an alleged mugging shortly after he scoured the city for safe housing and selected the Rego Park residence.
“Unfortunately, he just moved in recently,” Rodriguez said. “We haven’t had this in the neighborhood for a while. We’re trying to get this out so there’s more awareness.”
Zhang got in the elevator at about 5:45 a.m. with luggage because he was planning to travel, Rodriguez said.
Once the elevator doors closed, the neighbor said a man with a black mask over his face, gray hooded sweatshirt and black backpack allegedly threatened to strike him with a bat unless he handed over his belongings.
The assailant allegedly grabbed Zhang’s stuff and instructed Zhang to continue riding the elevator down to the basement and keep quiet as he stepped out in the lobby, according to Rodriguez.
