ASTORIA, QUEENS — A group of men have snatched necklaces from six women's necks in Western Queens in recent weeks, sometimes while riding bicycles, according to police, who detailed the thefts this week as they search for at least two suspects.

The spree began on Aug. 31 in Elmhurst, where a 50-year-old woman was walking near the corner of 43rd Avenue and Forley Street around 11 a.m., police said.

An unidentified man grabbed a yellow chain worth $800 from around the woman's neck, then slapped her on the neck with an open hand as he tried to grab her handbag, police said. He fled north on foot toward Forley Street, while the woman declined medical attention, police said.

Just over a week later, on Sept. 8, a 44-year-old woman was walking around 12:30 p.m. on Jackson Avenue near 47th Road in Long Island City, when a man riding a white bicycle rode up from behind and snatched a gold chain from around her neck.

The man continued west along 47th Road with the chain, valued at about $2,500, and the woman was uninjured, police said.

The pattern continued in Astoria on Sept. 10, when an 82-year-old woman was leaving her home near 43rd Street and 34th Avenue around 11:45 a.m., police said. A man approached from behind and grabbed a gold crucifix from her neck, causing it to break, then picked it up from the ground and fled south on a bicycle toward 43rd Street, police said.

The 18-karat crucifix is worth about $1,200, police said. The woman suffered pain to the neck but declined medical attention, authorities said.

Just 10 minutes later and a few blocks north, on 38th Street near 28th Avenue, an 83-year-old woman told police that a man walked up from behind and grabbed a necklace from around her neck, then jumped onto an e-bike and fled east on 28th Avenue before turning south onto Steinway Street.

The woman's neck was bruised and her necklace was worth about $1,800, police said.

A few hours later, around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 10, a 66-year-old woman was walking on 52nd Street near 39th Avenue in Sunnyside when a man rode up from behind on a gray bicycle and grabbed her yellow metal necklace — valued at around $800 — from around her neck, police said. He then fled toward 39th Drive, police said.

Finally, on Sept. 12, a 27-year-old woman was walking in Astoria near the corner of 32nd Street and 37th Avenue around 11 a.m., when a man walked up and forcibly grabbed a necklace from around her neck, police said.

He fled south along 32nd Street on what police described as a "negulorn slock bicycle" with a big front tire and white lettering. The woman's necklace was worth about $3,000, police said.

Police described the suspects only as men between the ages of 30 and 35. At least two different suspects are involved, but authorities did not specify how many people were being sought.

Police on Thursday released surveillance footage from the Sept. 10 thefts in Astoria, and photos showing the suspects at five of the six thefts.

They asked anyone with information to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips online or on Twitter, @NYPDTips.

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