Tires Slashed on 68th Street: At Least 10 Cars

An estimated twelve automobiles had their tires slashed on West 68th Street between Columbus and Central Park West in the early morning hours on Wednesday, March 6. ILTUWS met with West 68th Street Block Association President Shaen Begleiter to assess the extent of the damage, as many local residents had contacted him about the crime.

As we walked down the block, we noticed three flat tires and three wheels that had already been replaced with donut tires. One vehicle, a Jeep Wrangler, had its backup tire—a spare mounted on the back of the rig—used to replace a flat on the front passenger side. Begleiter confirmed that the Jeep owner had reported the flat to him earlier that morning.

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There was also a Jeep Cherokee with the back passenger tire replaced. Other vehicles, like a blue Audi, had flat tires on the front passenger side, while a blue Volkswagen had its flat on the back passenger side.

A silver Nissan also had a front passenger flat. License plates from New York, as well as out-of-state plates from California and South Carolina, were among those affected.

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“I’ve seen no history of this kind of behavior on the street before, and my relationship with the block goes back to 1979,” said Begleiter, who was checking the tires to determine how they were punctured. He noticed one type of puncture that appeared to have been made with a box cutter, such as the ones on these Volkswagen and Honda tires. Begleiter also believes the slashings could have been carried out by multiple people, as some flats did not have the box cutter puncture, like the one on this silver Nissan.

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Begleiter, aware that tire slashings have become a growing concern on the Upper West Side, wondered if the motive might be linked to a TikTok trend—or scheme, as he put it—where people share videos of themselves damaging vehicles. He was first made aware of the early morning vandalism by a neighbor whose car had been slashed. The neighbor told him they had walked the block and counted about a dozen or so automobiles that had been vandalized. Fortunately for the block president, his SUV was spared in this slashing spree.

Begleiter told ILTUWS that he and a handful of residents have filed reports with the NYPD.

An NYPD spokesperson told ILTUWS that, as of now, no reports of slashed tires were in the system and suggested we follow up (sometimes it takes a day or two).

We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.

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