New York the fearful or random attacks can rest a little more easily.
A Manhattan therapist, who was randomly attacked in broad daylight, is launching his own mobile “uber for pedestrian” mobile application that seeks to increase street safety in numbers.
Pamela Garber, resident of the Upper East Side, said her invention, Never walk in New YorkIt will combine users with other pedestrians in a “Friends System”, similar to shared travel services such as Uber or Lyft, so they can travel without fear.
“Walking is a will to be freedom,” he told The Post, “”[but] I am going to people beyond people shooting, I keep someone who looks hostile and call my promising saying: “Stay by phone with me.”
“If we cannot simply walk and sponsor restaurants and stores, we will lose all our way of life, particularly in New York,” he added.
Garber’s fiance died tragically in an accident before the couple could marry, but said he found comfort walking around the city, until the Covid pandemic brought more disorder to the streets.
“My strong desire for family disappointments and Subferent always calmed down when walking through the streets of the city,” said Garber, 55.
“The streets of New York were always comfortable. It was always as if the city was a great neighborhood with the best of the hospitality of Northast, and the welcome of colorful jokes.
But Garber began to notice “visible” changes on his trip on foot from the Upper East Side to his former office in the Financial District, and in 2019, after almost a decade of walking through the center, “it simply became impossible for its Safy.
“I only know that the environment changed, which changed visually,” he said, adding that the idea of the full flow application occurred in 2020 duration of the pandemic.
Garber said he was also inspired to take measures after being flooded with horrible anecdotes of his psychotherapy clients.
The therapist remembers that his clients had witnessed stabbing, followed by blocks and assaulted after leaving a grocery store.
“They feel helpless,” he said. “This application sacrifices a practical solution.”
His determination to launch the application was strengthened after his own assault in the summer of 2022, he said, when he was beaten in the neck repeatedly by a stranger in his own neighborhood on Saturday afternoon.
“The police, he thought professional, did not judge my attacker,” Garber said. “He [same] The woman attacked a pregnant woman immediately after me. “
The assaults of serious and serious crimes throughout the city fell 1%and 1.8%, respectively, until now in 2025 compared to this period of time last year, coordination to police data, while the robbery decreased 21.2%.
But for Garber and others, an assault experience can be enough to look for an alternative to walk or take the meter alone.
The application is still in the development phase, since Garber cuts investors for the effort of approximately $ 250,000. She plans to launch beta tests in the next 12 months with 100 Manhattan participants.
“I am risking my life on the taxi rate”, a Promotional video For the application, he clearly states.
Some New Yorkers told The Post that they are alerted in a similar way in the streets of the city, and that walking with another person would add a very necessary level of protection to their trip.
“Being a New York, I am always a child or that I am in mind. I promote a little more attention in the trains and [to] People around, ”said Janice Tsao, resident of Midtown East and real estate agent.
“Sounds interesting,” Tsao added. “It would be curious to see if there are enough people for that, and if it would be quick enough to get something because you don’t want it to happen to you while you are waiting [on the street] For that person. “
Upper East Stevie resident, who refused to provide the last name here, said “I feel it is a great idea,” but said he would not stop all concerns.
“If I am with other people, I would feel safer, definitely, even [with] Another woman, when I am with a man, not long ago to help, “he said.
Stevie added that he doubted that a “system of friends” could crush all random attacks, as one who saw a woman stabbed in a Soho street full of people earlier this month.
“Does it really make a difference? [to walk in a group?]”She asked.” Someone They stabbed me on the neck And I say, “Well, yes.” I feel that society only needs to be better for women. “
Garber said he plans to implement background verifications and virtual interviews to evaluate users as a way to calm the fears that the application can fall into the wrong hands or be used by people with disastrous motifs.
For people, never walking alone that New York will follow a “Citi bicycle model”, in which the application coordinates a meeting place for each meter season every hour, Garber said.
Companies, schools and other institutions can also “subscribe” and customize their own meeting points.
Garber expects the application to cost around $ 25 per month for individual users and a tight price for institutions based on the size of the company.
Groups with an internal subscription would effectively use their own hiring or admission process as a de facto “research” tool.
While waiting for possible private investors, Garber is also trying to coincide with the interest of the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, and argues that the application could be a multimillion -dollar income generator for the city through advertising, subscriptions and data mining.
“We are increasing security walking together, obtaining social opportunities embedded in real life and intervene in a health component,” he said about his project.
“I just need the business company for the walking company to happen.”
