Startling numbers from the nypd show that while Violent Crime has dropped citywide, down 50 in central park, its up 23 in other parks. Weve never seen a jump like this before. Reporter jeff croft is president of new york parks advocates, which crunched the latest nypd crime reports comparing the most recent nine months to the same period last year. It found rapes were up 40 , felony assault jumped 34 , and robberies spiked 15 . 417 victim of Violent Crime. Its pretty shocking. And the fact thats more than a person a day. Reporter topping the list, crotona park in the bronx, which had 17 Violent Crimes. An increase of 89 over the past nine months. Followed by prospect park, where 15 Violent Crimes represented a jump of 275 . Flushing meddles on, 67 meadows park has been a forgotten stepchild of the new York City Parks system. Our crime rates have always been relatively high compared to other large parks. Reporter overall, crime in parks is only up 3 . Commissioner bratten says you have to put the stats in perspective. Some of the victimization youre seeing is reflective of those many larger numbers of people in the parks. The overall numbers are still very, very small. Reporter its true that only five parks register doubledigit Violent Crime riverside in manhattan round out the top five. The percentage of increases raises questions about Law Enforcement in the parks. Youre inviting the public into public parks, but youre not providing adequate security. And thats a huge, huge issue as weve seen from this enormous spike in crime. Reporter i reached out to the Parks Department and the Mayors Office responded saying crime across the city is at an alltime low. Crimes in parks remain rare. Officers. Later this week, we look into whats being done to keep you safe out there. Thank you. More investigations mean more answers. If you have something you think 4 investigates should take a closer look, call 1866news244. New at 5 00, police on the jersey shore searching for the driver behind a deadly hit and run. The victims husband apparently heard it all over the phone. Barn cut Township Police say 61yearold victim was out for her regular walk before 8 00 this morning when she was struck by a large suv. The driver left the scene. Police say the woman was on the phone with her husband at the moment of impact. He heard a loud sound like a thud. Then the line essentially went dead. Her husband tried calling back, wasnt sure what had happened. Came out looking for her. A public works employee found the victim on the road and began cpr, but it was too late. There were no witnesses, but measurement equipment. They believe the suv was a chevy silverado, tahoe, or suburban. The suspect charged in a shooting at irving plaza in may is suing the concert venue. Troy avenue is a rapper whose real name is roland collins. Hes blaming poor security for the gunfight that killed his bodyguard at a t. I. Concert. He was also shot in the leg. Troy avenues lawyer says security does not check for guns for the vip area and claims thats what led to the rapper if you come in the front door here, everyone gets wanded and patted down. When people come in the back, they were not. Going through a lot. I just want to get my life back. Thats it. Police say collins was caught on Surveillance Video firing a gun at the venue and is still facing charges. He and his lawyer maintain that any gun brought into irving plaza did not belong to him or anyone associated with him. So far, no comment from irving plaza. And new tonight, a new York Campaign to raise awareness about us and sexual assaults. The campaign kicked off and will be seen on billboards, social media, and heard on local radio stations for two months. The campaign aims to inform students about their rights and reduce the number of sexual assaults through prevention. Starting today, connecticuts department of Motor Vehicles will automatically register residents to vote. The dmv says every application or renewal of the license or nondriver i. D. Will serve as voter registration. Customers can check a box to opt out. The change is part of an connecticut and the u. S. Department of justice. A dolphin saved after getting trapped in a new jersey creek. In 15 minutes, the difficult rescue caught on camera. Plus this reporter can these glass jars cure what ails you whether youre an olympic athlete or just an ordinary new yorker . Im roseanne colletti. Ill tell you what you need to know about cupping therapy. Comfortable conditions may lead today with temperatures in the 80s. Its going to start to feel like few days. Ive got your storm team 4 many people noticed this on Michael Phelps back. See that, those circles . Those big purple circles youve seen there and on other athletes are from a form of therapy called cupping. Believe it or not, you dont how some new yorkers are getting in on the action. Reporter the little glass jars leave the distinctive purple and red welts. The residual marks of good therapy for sore muscles, according to Gold MedalistMichael Phelps and other members of team usa. This 14yearold new yorker with a twisted ankle concurs with them. My muscles after it usually feel a lot looser instead of being uptight. Reporter whats healing art dating back to the egyptians and chinese. William kai is a licensed acupuncturist but didnt need a license to learn or practice cupping. Since im 7 years old, i do myself. Reporter he says the treatment involves first igniting a tiny bit of flammable substance such as alcohol inside of a glass cup or jar. When the fire burns out, place the cup upside down on the skin, and the cooling air inside the redden as the blood vessels expand. Important reporter fear of broken skin or a burn does little to dissuade proponents who look to cupping to reduce pain andin flamz. Chris gonzalez believes combined with acupuncture, the treatments helped him recover from facial paralysis of bells palsy. Some said it would take years, six months. Mine was less than a month. Reporter hes trying cupping what do we know about this treatment . Western medical societies remain somewhat skeptical. They say existing studies on the efficacy are too small and too poorly done to be convincing beyond a placebo effect. That is doing nothing to detract from the olympic moment of an old remedy. Roseanne colletti, news 4 new york. Tune in tonight at 7 30 for the inside look at everything olympics tonight. Meal the human emoji and how the local gymnast earned the nickname. The olympic zone at 7 30. Special program could help you breeze through the airport on your next trip. Learn about how it works and what could be keeping you from signing up. Plus this reporter phone scammers are at it again. This time using Green Technology to try and steal from homeowners. Coming up, what theyre doing and how you can protect a rescue team made a rare stuck in a creek. Because it was low tide, the animal couldnt get out. The team used kay ax and cargo kayaks and cargo net to rescue the sevenfoot dolphin. Neighbors who lived in the area for 30 years say theyve never seen a dolphin here before. Sometimes they get lost or could be looking for food and wander and dont have enough sense about them to turn around and go back the way they came. They keep going. Rescuers drove the dolphin about a mile down the road and released it into the delaware bay. Job well done. Janice saying we better brace for humidity down the road . Not you, david, but sabila, bad hair day youre lucky you dont have to deal with it. Im grateful. Okay. You know what i mean. Im good with it. Im good with it. Temperatures across the tristate. 81 in la grangeville. 86 in wapin g ers falls. Comfortable today, 83 in the city. 84 in newburgh, 79 in monticello and islip. 70s to the midafternoon. Humiditys not that bad. Generally in the range of, say, 40 to 50 . Some areas seeing 30 relative humidity. Higher along the shore. Overall, the temperatures werent all that hot today. It felt relatively comfortable. The central part of the country, above 100 through texas to the gulf coast, through new orleans. Theres all this tropical moisture spinning over florida, georgia, and alabama. Once our winds kick in out of the southwest, well tap in to some of that. That starts on wednesday. Thats when we get the bad hair days. 73 tonight, its mild, comfortable. Sunshine tomorrow. A little bit warmer, up to 88. Its worse when we get to wednesday. The rest of the week into the weekend, high humidity, high heat. Hit or miss thunderstorms. This goes into the weekend. Were talking about tropical downpours where its like turning on the faucet and shutting it off. We could see flash flooding in spots. Its going to be like a steam path once we reach the 90s steam bath once we reach the 90s. You f youve sat in a steam room or bath, you know what im talking it. 50s and 60s in the suburbs. A south wind kicks in. Tomorrow, we still have that south wind. Were up to 88. Its going to be a warmer day tomorrow and a touch more humid. Well start to feel it tomorrow. By the time we get to the weekend, look out. Into the 90s. And even though the temperatures only around 90 to 92, tell feel close to 100. Hazy, hot, and humid. Three hs the next several days with relief not until next week. Thank you very much. Thank you. One step forward in the fight against drug addiction. Scientists now have the green light to Start Testing an anticocaine vaccine. Researchers at cornell medicine and new york presbyterian have developed the treatment. Animal studies show the vaccine weaken the impact of cocaine by preventing the drug from reaching the brain. The vaccine allows ant fwoids attack cocaine antibodies to attack cocaine when it passes from the lungs to the blood stream. New york state is remindin while driving. The new warning comes on the heels of a new report that shows more and more people are snapping pics behind the wheel. More than 70,000 posts on instagram are of driver selfies. New york state is eighth on a list of the most instances across the country. If youre an at t customer, you might get a refund check in the near future. The companys agreed to pay nearly 8 million in refunds and fines following a federal investigation. Without their knowledge for phony Directory Assistance Services provided by third parties. At t says its implemented strict new policies. One way to avoid long lines at airport customs is to join a preapproved Traveler Program like global entry. A new jersey woman was shocked to find out what she was denied. She said better get baquero. By u. S. Customs and Border Protection. They allow preapproved travelers they consider low risk faster clearance at customs. You go to a special kiosk, scan your fingerprint and complete a customs declaration, and youre through. Thats why the program appealed to sharon ross. Sharon ross and her husband are big travelers with a bucket list of places theyd like to see now that her husband was diagnosed with parkinsons disease six years ago. Was really his idea because through the long lines, and his brother who travels even more than we do said its such a breeze, its great. You know, should have no problems. Reporter theres a 100 nonrefundable fee apply for global entry. You fill out an application on line, and if thats approved, theres a mandatory inperson interview. She did say, have you ever been arrested, you know, convicted of a crime. Thats the way i heard it. I honestly just said no bec i think background check are really must go into some background today because it never interfered with my nursing career, with my teaching career. Reporter it is the time when sharon was arrested as a teenager. Then when i got the letter, said denied, new jersey, 1974. I think reporter you had to go back. Yeah. You know, then i remembered that the charge appeared in her background check because within a week, they dropped all the charges on me. Reporter she appealed the decision right away. We checked with u. S. Customs and Border Protection which says all applicants get a thorough background check from criminal, Law Enforcement, customs, immigration, agriculture, and terrorist agencies. She admits she didnt reveal the 40yearold charge but says even after she remembered it didnt think it would be an issue. Iss when you do these naughty things. Even if it was a real long time ago. True. If you are denied, for example, if you give false or incomplete information on an applicationor if youve been convicted application or if youve been convicted of any criminal offense, you can appeal to the cpb trusted traveler ombudsman. We asked them to look at sharons case, and the good news is, problem solved. For global entry, and shes now grateful that it will be a little bit easier for her to continue working on that travel bucket list with her husband. You do have to be careful. Try to remember everything. Back to you. Good job. And to get in touch with our consumer investigative team, log on to nbcnewyork. Com gethelp or call 1866news244. Everyone who reaches out will get a response from our team at our consumer investigative center. Next, were shining a on a scam that does sound legit. How a promise to get the government to pay for solar panels on your home could wipe out your bank accounts. And chuck has a look at whats coming up at 6 00. This will sound almost sacrilegious to some, the city is considering making a major change to the 133yearold Brooklyn Bridge. Well show you what it is. Plus, the major changes on the jersey shore. The beach town made famous for partying thanks to snooki and the situation is taking drastic action to change its ways. Those stories and more all new we have a warning about a new scam. Calls from windslers who claim they can help you get grants for solar panel installations. Apparently what they want is your personal information so they can rip you off. We have more on how they make the scam sound legitimate. Reporter this latest phone scam began popping up here in brookhaven a couple weeks ago. Officials say the scammers are register a local number when in fact the calls are coming in from either out of state or even out of the country. Thank you for calling the contact center. How can i help you . Reporter brookhaven towns hotline has received more than a dozen complaints about the latest phone scam. Resident say the scammer claim to be working with the town to promote the use of solar panels. These calls are false, theyre scams. Theyre preying on people. Reporter brookhavens supervisor says the scammers pris solar panels. Along the way, they ask for personal Financial Information like bank account or Social Security numbers. How many people know about solar panel . What are they going to question . Reporter thats why the scam hit home with the head of the ronkonkoma solar panel company. The industry which is growing gets a black eye. Reporter sun nation cofounder mike bayliss worries that a scam like this could hurt legitimate Solar Companies like his. That could ultimately come back to harm them. Reporter as with every telemarketing call to your home, the advice is the same be skeptical, ask questions, and when in doubt, hang up. No one should be giving Financial Information over the phone at all. Youve always got to be alert, you know. Its a tough world these days. Reporter right now its unclear if anyone has actually lost money as a result of these phone scams. But these calls, you should report it to new yorks attorney general. Were in brookhaven town, news 4 new york. And that does it for us. Thank you for watching. Stay with us as the news continues. Now at 6 00, Brooklyn Bridge expansion . Why the city says this legendary landmark bridge 1995 undergo a major change bridge 1995 undergo a major change to make it safe for the thousands who cross it every day. The queens neighborhood murdered unites as the search for her killer continues. And dirty golf. How did a public golf course become a stage for strippers in broad daylight . An iteam exclusive. News 4 at 6 00 starts now. Good evening, im chuck scarborough. Im natalie pasquarella. One of new york citys most famous landmarks may soon be altered and expanded. Safety concerns for pedestrians and bike lifts might force a change on the Brooklyn Bridge. The city busier than ever, and Record Numbers of tourist crowding streets and landmarks. The tight walkway across the and that has the city thinking about expanding the historic promenade, changing the appearance of the iconic bridge. News 4 has more from lower manhattan. Andrew . Reporter well, youre exactly right. What a recipe for congestion. A Record Number of tourists, a Record Number of cyclists, all on a very famous bridge. Today the city said its time to start thinking about doing something about those crowds. On the citys most famous crowd does it get . Super disgustingly crowded. Reporter sarah of park slope said a surge of cyclists and tourists has jammed up her daily walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Usually im getting slapped in the face by tourists using selfie sticks. Reporter many blame the bikes which whiz by within inches of peoples arm and legs. I think they come down here too fast sometimes. Its not necessary. This is a pedestrian walk. Theres a lot of anecdotal ne crowded. I dont think anyone would deny otherwise. Reporter transportation commissioner Polly Trottenberg announced a sevenmonth pilot study to see if the city could widen the 17foot bridge path on the 133yearold bridge, or potentially build a new walking deck above the vehicle traffic. A bit crowded. Reporter engineer daniel sharp said its doable anythings possible. Comes to money. How much money they want to