New York City briefs

Tourists robbed

in Central Park

Two female visitors from California were robbed at gunpoint Sunday night in Central Park when two masked men demanded their wallets, credit cards and cellphones, police said Monday.

The robbery occurred about 9:45 p.m. on 106th Street at West Drive near Great Hill, police said.

The victims, ages 23 and 16, were sitting on a bench when the two men approached them asking for the time. The women became alarmed and quickly left the bench but were followed by the men, who were then wearing masks.

The women told police one man aimed a black gun at them demanding their belongings. The women were not injured, police said.

City's lawyer heads back to private firm

New York City's longest-serving chief lawyer in modern times is returning to his former law firm after 12 years representing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration.

Michael Cardozo said Monday he is looking forward to rejoining Proskauer Rose LLP. He worked there from 1967 until 2002.

Cardozo led the administration's legal strategy on matters ranging from calorie counts on menus to the stop-and-frisk police tactic.

In 2009, the city Law Department said Cardozo passed a more than seven-year tenure record set in 1882. Before the city created the job in its current form, a legal officer served as what was then called the city recorder for about 12 years in the 1600s and 1700s.

After NYPD, Kelly has public speaker job

New York's longest-serving police commissioner is going to work for the Greater Talent Network as a public speaker.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement released by the network Monday he was looking forward to the challenge.

Kelly has held the post since 2002 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Under his watch, crime has dropped and the city avoided a terror attack. But minorities say they felt targeted by some policies.

The Greater Talent Network's speakers bureau is home to authors Sebastian Junger and Nicholas Sparks, as well as former NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark and former National Security adviser Tom Donilon. Kelly's speaker's fee was not disclosed.

William Bratton takes over the NYPD Jan. 1. He was chosen by mayor-elect Bill de Blasio.

Funeral for officer killed in off-duty crash

An NYPD officer killed in a crash on a bridge ramp is being remembered for her compassion and love of life.

A police honor guard bore the flag-draped casket of Officer Elisa Toro at her funeral Monday in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Toro, 36, was off-duty Dec. 10 when her car crashed on an exit ramp of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. Her vehicle rolled and struck a vacant storefront. She died at the scene.

Toro's survivors include two teenage sons.

Police probe brawl

between 'Santas'

A brawl caught on video of a group of men dressed in Santa suits is being investigated by the New York Police Department.

Police said the men had dispersed by the time officers responded to the scene near Union Square on Saturday evening.

The video was posted on YouTube.

The NYPD said no one filed a complaint of an assault at the location on Third Avenue between 16th and 17th streets. Police said it wasn't clear if the group had been participating in the annual pub crawl known as SantaCon.

SantaCon started Saturday morning in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Thousands of red-suited revelers then spread out through the city's bars and snowy streets.

The event has been criticized by some for being too rowdy.

Compiled with wire service reports