Tenezee Johnson took a leap of faith and moved to New York City to pursue her dream career in fashion! Here is her story

Tenezee Johnson Profile

(MANHATTAN) What began as a class assignment quickly turned into a crime scene when my cell phone was stolen from my bag while I conducted an interview in Morningside Park.

In the past year the number of American’s with smartphones has jumped to nearly 50 percent from 25 percent a year ago, according to the FCC. This rapid growth in smartphone ownership has caused a rise in personal property theft, especially in New York City. 

Stolen cell phones can be easily and quickly be reset and sold on the black market making it almost impossible for law enforcement to locate them.  To combat this epidemic the FCC has partnered with major city police chiefs and the major wireless service providers AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint to create “the PROTECTS Initiative – a series of practical, meaningful solutions to combat cell phone theft.”

“More than 40% of all robberies in New York City involve smartphones and other cell phones” noted the FCC.

In October 2011, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death while getting off of his school bus in Jamaica, Queens for his phone. December 2011 a Columbia student was asked at gunpoint to give up his cell phone but when he gave him a blackberry the perpetrator gave it back.  A 15-year-old boy was held up with a knife as a man demanded his cell phone near Saint Edwards and Willoughby Ave on Aug. 7. On Aug. 29 a man was help up at gunpoint at the 103rd St subway for his cell phone and wallet.

I became another statistic when I was robbed. Here is my story.

On Sept. 2, I set out in my beat to find a story for my assignment.  I entered Morningside Park at the 123rd St entrance and found the community enjoying the last days of summer.  As I walked, I heard music playing, smelled food cooking on grills, and watched as children blew bubbles at the NYPD officers patrolling the park.

In the middle of the park between 118th and 119th streets a group of young men played basketball as others sat on benches and watched.  After sending a text to a classmate noting my light concern about approaching the group about a story, I gathered up enough courage to enter the basketball court and talk to them.

I convinced one of the boys to talk to me about his playing basketball and his plans for Labor Day.  While I set up the audio equipment I placed my phone into the equipment bag and set the bag at my feet on the risers.  I noticed the bag fall during the interview, but I, being naive, thought a combination of the wind and the raggedy risers caused it to fall.  Once the interview was over I went to retrieve the bag and my phone was nowhere to be found.  Just that fast, and right under my nose, it had been stolen.  After confronting the boys about the missing phone I quickly realized that I needed to get out of that situation as fast as possible.  I packed up my equipment and fled to campus and to public safety where reports were taken by public safety and NYPD. 

According to statements released by in April, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the initiative involves creating a database that will prevent the use of stolen devices by disabling them and decreasing their value on the black market, having the devices automatically prompt users to enable passwords on their devices and launching a public awareness and education campaign aimed at educating consumers on how they can protect their property.

On the Columbia University Crime Prevention newsletter, they acknowledge the trend in cell phone theft and offer a list of websites and services designed to help locate a phone if it is stolen. 

I attempted to use Apple’s “Find My iPhone” service but because the phone has been turned off, the system was unable to locate it.  I also downloaded AT&T’s device location app that is designed to track and save the phone’s location.  It last tracked my phone at 418W 123rd St, about 10 blocks away from the basketball court it was taken from.

Morningside Park is notorious for theft related crimes.  19-year-old Silas Rogers told me “This is the park where there is major drama.  Things always go missing in that park”.

Although it might be too late for me, In eight months, the national database is expected to debut which would completely black list all stolen smartphones making them virtually useless.


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Northattan broadcasted a live show on October 2, 2012, covering stories from all over northern Manhattan and the world. I was the host along with Mustafa Hameed. 

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Northattan broadcasted a live show on October 2, 2012, covering stories from all over northern Manhattan and the world. I was the host along with Mustafa Hameed.

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