Robbery on New York Ave last night

nyave

We got double-robbed last night by a pair of thieves who either took advantage of a building front door that is often left open, or jimmied the lock with a card.

First at 10:30 while we were having dinner at home with a friend, we heard someone in the hallway outside (we thought it was our roommate coming home). The front door to our apartment was unlocked and probably open an inch or two. After dinner we realized that a scarf and our friend's gloves were missing, and the pockets of our coats in the hall had been gone through.

We called the cops to report the theft, although it seemed silly enough at the time.

At 5:30 am, we were woken up by a sound in the hallway. A few minutes later we heard sirens and saw a bunch of cop cars pull up out front. Our downstairs neighbor (who we talked to earlier about the theft) had heard footsteps and called the cops. This time they had gone into a hall closet and rummaged through a box of mostly vitamins.

After the cops left the second time, I realized my wallet was missing from the coffee table and must have been taken during the first theft, when the apartment door was open. Our new police officer friends came back a third time, at the end of their shift, to file what was now a robbery (up from a grand larceny when we thought the thefts had only been in building common spaces).

They charged about $325 in metrocards and $25 at the Dunkin Donuts to my cards, surely all a block away on Nostrand. I was impressed that you could drop so much at that Dunkin No-Donuts.

We're going to get keys to a deadbolt lock on the building front door and closets, and stop leaving stuff in common spaces. Anyway, just wanted to alert people living in the area. We think there were two people entering through the front door, and bold enough to come back for a second round. Heads up!

We're on NY Ave at Lincoln Place. And on the top floor of the building! No fire escape, and the roof was latched, so they just walked in through the front.