The incident happened just after 2 p.m. Sunday in the vicinity of East 179th Street and Marmion Avenue in the Tremont section.
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Authorities say 85-year-old Bernice Starnes was sitting in the wheelchair when an unknown woman grabbed her pocketbook and ran.
The purse contained cash and a bank card, and the suspect was also caught on camera later throwing the purse in a trashcan.
Starnes was not injured, but she lost about $115. Later, officers at the 48th Precinct gave her an envelope with cash they had collected to replace it. It was a very emotional moment, with Starnes breaking down in tears at the gesture.
"That's why they're New York's best," she said. "They're the best. They're the best. They're the best."
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The suspect is described as a black female approximately 5-foot-6 and 240 pounds, with a dark complexion and heavy build.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The theft comes days after the NYPD arrested a man for allegedly stealing $600 from a 93-year-old woman's bra as she sat in a wheelchair inside a Manhattan store. That incident was also captured on video.