Christo’s The Gates may have survived its visit to New York without significant loss or vandalism-although there were several incidents involving visitors trying to take home a piece of it. Alas, the same can’t be said for a sign warning motorists of Gates-related park closings, which mysteriously went missing from its station at the northeast Read More
There’s more than one way to rob a bank, as a perp employing a scam that seemed ripped straight from a Marx Brothers movie proved on Dec. 17. The thief visited the City and Suburban Federal Savings Bank at 1404 Second Avenue just before 11 a.m. But rather than do anything prosaic, such as handing Read More
Anti-Bush Park Protesters
Cheeky, Not Violent Say Cops
First there was pre-emptive war; now there’s pre-emptive policing. And it was on display around 3 p.m. on Aug. 29 at the 86th Street and Lexington Avenue subway station. That’s where an NYPD Critical Response Team, consisting of eight police officers and one sergeant, set up Read More
Armed Robbers Hold Up
Tony Madison Ave. Boutique
Madison Avenue’s upscale jewelry shops, their front windows bristling with million-dollar baubles, can be intimidating unless you’re a member of the House of Saud or armed with a handgun, as a trio of robbers who visited Michael Ashton Fine Jewelry at 933 Madison Avenue on July Read More
Upper East Side A.T.M.’s
Bitten by Credit-Card Sharks
You may have noticed that characteristic sound-something like the shuffling of cards-that A.T.M.’s make before dispensing money. The more cash you ask for, the longer that shuffling sound before the bills drop into the slot.
However, 10 straight minutes of it is an awfully long Read More
Metropolitan Club, Hot Spot
For Fistfights, Sticky Fingers
The tony Metropolitan Club at 1 East 60th Street isn’t the first place one would think of as the venue for a good old-fashioned street brawl. But then again, even the most exclusive clubs’ admissions policies cease to matter once they open their doors to the Read More
Checks and Balances:
Bank Manager Nets Crook
The cops have put the blame for a recent rash of bank robberies not just on the crooks themselves, but also on the banks they plundered for their lackadaisical attitude toward security. Perhaps taking that criticism to heart, the bank manager at the Commerce Bank’s Second Avenue Read More
Perp Pulls Off Crime,
But Then Pushes Luck
The first rule to a successful life in crime is resisting the temptation to press your luck, as one overreaching perp did on April 27. On that date, the suspect visited Champagne Video, at 81st Street and First Avenue, at around 8 p.m. and absconded with Read More
N.Y.’ers Like a Good Laugh,
But This Joke Did Not Ignite
There are three kinds of bomb scares-well, at least three. There are those involving innocent objects (such as attaché cases or even paper bags) that in this diabolical age are mistakenly suspected of being explosive devices. Then there are actual bombs packed with Read More
Impersonating Perps Dress Up,
Then Get Dressed Down
You know those crooks who impersonate police officers? The ones who shake you down after flashing their mail-order police shields? You have to wonder why they even bother going through the ruse. Couldn’t they save time-not to mention the cost of the badge-by dispensing with the Read More
