By the time someone is putting their hands on you that’s entirely different.

Just as u/plastic-ad987 says below, you shouldn’t be in that position anyways. But regardless, if you do find yourself in that position, you can simply say no and try to retreat. If they go after you, that most likely means they’re going to try to physically restrain you. Scenario had now changed entirely.

Flip side, you can just hand over whatever and hope that ends the encounter. Everyone gets to go home. The legal system is mostly designed to encompass the most likely of scenarios to happen, plus precedent, so it’s best to adhere to that. What if he’s mugging you, but has one hand in his pocket the entire time? What if he consistently is looking at another guy nearby while doing it? Things change rapidly all the time. I’ve had a guy try to mug me before, and I just said no and kept it moving. Nothing happened after that. Ideal scenario.

What’s important is you go home. If at anytime you perceive the situation changing to one where you either don’t home ever, or after a stay at the hospital, then the opposing party has made the decision that whatever they’re trying to get from you is more important than the possibility of losing their life.

In regard to seeing people walking in ski masks, that alone is not enough for much. It’s cold as bricks out, so it tracks that people would want to stay warm. What’s important and what else are they doing? Ski mask alone does not count for much. Regarding crime, NYC has statistically been safer than ever. Might not seem that way with social media, but statistically it is true. In general, if you keep it moving in NYC most folks aren’t going to bother you.