Cops to UES: Crime Wave Targets Auto Wheels/Tires

The stories have been circulating on the internet for a couple of months now: a gang or gangs of skilled thieves stealing the wheels off parked cars on the Upper East Side, like a bootleg New York version of a NASCAR pit crew. To reiterate: They aren’t stealing the car, or the catalytic converter as they were a year ago, just the wheels. Goodbye, rims, goodbye tires, hello a milk crate propped under the car, usually; and hello an incident report with the 19th Precinct—maybe.

We say maybe because it’s difficult to correlate the stolen wheel stories and pictures posted on Reddit /UpperEastSite, NextDoor, and other social media platforms with NYPD’s understanding of events. Which is to say that, for a variety of reasons, not all stolen wheel incidents are posted online, while it’s also very likely that some of these larcenies aren’t reported to the cops.

Bearing this in mind, Straus News can exclusively report that for June and July 2025—the most recent period for which figures are available—the 19th Precinct has reports on 18 vehicles that had their wheels stolen. Details are as follows:

1. 6/11/25—in front of 27 E. 94th St.

2. 6/11/25—in front of 428 E. 71st St.

3. 6/12/25—in front of 1457 York Ave.

4. 6/12/25—in front of 415 E. 71st St.

5. 6/12/25–in front of 19 E. 75th St.

6. 6/16/25—in front of 355 E. 77th St.

7. 6/21/25—in front of 840 Park Ave.

8. 7/4/25—in front of 439 E. 76 St.

9. 7/7/25—in front of 1191 First Ave.

10. 7/8/25—in front of 1830 First Ave.

11. 7/8/25—in front of 506 E. 88th St.

12. 7/11/25—in front of 1334 Third Ave.

13. 7/11/25—in the vicinity of East 89 Street and Third Avenue

14. 7/14/25–opposite 130 East End Ave.

15. 7/17/25—in front of 215 E. 94th St.

16. 7/18/25—in front of 1175 Park Ave.

17. 7/24/25—in front of 1322 Third Ave.

18. 7/24/25—in front of 141 E. 89th St.

While the the individual incident reports haven’t been made available, social media postings add some context.

Most illustrative, perhaps, is a video posted on NextDoor of a July 11 incident (No. 13) that took place in front of the Dunkin’ Donuts at the southeast corner of Third Avenue and East 89th Street.

“This happened at 2am last night,” wrote the poster. “It was caught on surveillance camera. Police caught up with them but decided it wasn’t safe to chase them.”

This sentence, which caused dismay among some respondents, reflects the current reality for the NYPD, which had faced criticism over the injuries sometimes caused during aggressive car chases.

In any event, the video, taken from the vantage point of Dunkin’ looking west, shows a two-man crew dressed in dark clothes and dark hoodies walking up Third Avenue, approaching the vehicle from the rear.

Though their backs are to the camera, one can see they have a car jack, a milk crate, and, though unseen—and unheard, because the video is silent—a pneumatic air wrench to remove the wheels’ lug nuts.

It’s unclear if the visible duo had accomplices on the other side of the vehicle or if the vehicle seen pulling up behind the car whose wheels were just stolen is the larcenists’ escape vehicle.

Most likely, however, the larcenists operate as a three-man crew, two to steal the wheels, one to drive the getaway car.

As Straus News reported earlier this summer, the thieves typically target standard vehicles, such as Honda CRVs, with common wheel sizes, because the tires and rims can be quickly resold to shops for roughly half the retail price.

“They can get all four wheels off a car in under two minutes,” a police source said.

Commenting on the July 24 theft in front of 141 E. 89th St., Reddit user Starkville wrote, “We spoke to a doorman who witnessed one of these; happened on a block with a majority of buildings with 24-hour doormen (though only one has a doorman who stands outside, the others are at a front desk in a lobby). He said it happened so quickly, he barely had time to call 911 and they were gone. He also said they were wearing masks and hoodies.”

A police sources confirmed, “They can get all four wheels off a car in under two minutes.”

On Aug. 13, the 19th Precinct posted a Crime Prevention Division flyer warning about tire and rim thefts and offering advice such as “Park in a well-lit area” and “Install high-quality locking lug nuts.”

Next day, Reddit user Substantial_Zebra_14 posted photos of a gray Toyota near 418 E. 88th St. In this case, only three of the car’s wheels had been stolen, while lug nuts were scattered on the ground like succulent ginkgo fruit fallen from its tree.