On Feb. 1, a 23-year-old man was observed using a credit card that was not his at a high-end clothing store on Madison Avenue. The man had spent $4,545 on clothes. He had apparently obtained his victim’s personal information and used a counterfeit card. Police also determined that the man had several stolen credit cards in his possession. He was arrested for stolen property. The 20-year-old female victim, who lives in Massachusetts, canceled her credit cards.

Hamburger Heist

A 29-year-old woman from Brooklyn was at a hamburger joint on 86th Street on Feb. 1. A man offered to assist with her food. She didn’t feel any bumping or jostling. Upon receiving her food, she proceeded to walk out. Later she noticed her wallet was missing, and $522 in charges had appeared on her Amex account. No arrests have yet been made, but the perpetrator , if caught, will likely be charged with grand larceny.

Woman’s Wallet Stolen on Bus

On Feb.1, in the afternoon, a 29-year-old woman who lives on West 74th Street said that she was on a bus. She felt the usual rush-hour bumps, and afterward noticed her wallet was missing. Checking her credit card account, she found unauthorized purchases totaling $2,336. All in all, a debit card, two credit cards and a wallet worth $180 were stolen.

A Fragrant Theft

A 23-year-old man from Queens was at his gym on Park Avenue on Feb. 1, when a perpetrator was observed trying to use a credit card belong to the gymgoer. He was found to also be in possession of other stolen credit cards. The victim had been of possession of his cards when he entered the gym, and also had other items stolen from him, including some cologne. No arrests have yet been made.

Bar Fight

A 43-year-old man visiting from Delaware said that he got into an altercation with a man in front of a bar on Second Avenue at 2 a.m. on Feb. 1. The man had been drinking at the bar when a younger man also drinking at the bar bumped into him. After a verbal exchange, the younger man challenged his victim to a fight outside. Once they went outside, the perpetrator punched his victim in the face, causing pain and swelling. The victim left the scene via a cab. His assailant is wanted for assault.

Shoplifting Incident at High-End Clothing Store

Inside a high-end clothing store on East 65th Street on Jan. 31, at 5:50 p.m., a 38-year-old man said four unknown men walked into the store while an employee was helping other customers. The four men removed items from the shelves, went into the dressing room and stuffed the items into their backpacks. The perpetrators exited with the items, but surveillance footage is available. The four men are wanted for grand larceny. In total, $1,500 worth of clothes as stolen.

STRANGERS ASSAULT MAN ON STREET AFTER ARGUMENT
On Saturday, Jan. 26, a 34-year-old man reported that he was walking near East 82nd Street when four or five suspects bumped into him. After an exchange of words, the suspects circled him and started to beat him, causing lacerations to their victim’s eye. The man walked to the hospital himself, and called police. But he had left the hospital by the time the police arrived. The case has been closed, although no arrests have been made.

THIS IS A STICKUP!
On the afternoon of Jan. 28, an unknown man entered a bank on Third Avenue and walked up to the teller window. He pushed a note under the window that said, “Don’t be stupid, just give me $100s, $50s and $20s.” The bank teller gave $1,800 to the perpetrator, who then exited the bank, fleeing down 88th Street. Surveillance footage is available.

INTERNET HACKING CASE
A 31-year-old woman who lives on East 63rd Street reported that her bank account was accessed remotely on Jan. 25, and $8,000 was removed from her account. After calling her bank, investigators traced the account activity to the woman’s workplace address. The theft occurred sometime between Jan. 2 and Jan. 25. Chase knows the recipient of the money, but will not disclose it at this time. The woman closed all of her accounts. No arrests have been made.

MEN ARRESTED FOR CELLPHONE THEFT
A 33-year-old man reported that in the middle of the night on Jan. 25, he was walking down East 85th Street when two men approached him and asked for the time. The two unknown men walked away, then started to circle back. The man walked into a deli to avoid them, and after he exited, the two perpetrators confronted him. One said, “Don’t freak out.” Their victim tried to back away, but the assailants punched and kicked him. One of the men took away his victim’s iPhone. Both attackers were arrested for robbery.

INTOXICATED MAN BEATEN AND ROBBED OF PHONE
Late at night on Jan. 30, a 33-year-old man was returning home from a night of carousing. He was approached by two unknown men on East 79th Street and shoved to the ground, where they repeatedly kicked and punched him. The assailants then removed their victim’s phone from his pocket and fled the scene. There were no cameras on the street. The victim described his assailants as two white men: one, bearded and about 5’8”, wearing a dark hat, and the other about the same height and bald. The Blackberry phone, worth $250, has not been recovered.

A police officer is already stationed every day at the 93rd Street entrance. Still, there have been several thefts. Neighborhood kids are allegedly being targeted by the “Money Comes First” gang, a gang linked to the Crips. The alleged gang members have intimidated and bullied their victims, swiping mostly cellphones while students are walking to and from school.

One student’s phone was stolen on Dec. 13 before school, and another student was targeted just one week later outside the 92nd Street entrance.

Councilmember Brewer spoke with principals of nearby schools who have reported similar problems.

MIDTOWN LIBRARY SET FOR MAJOR RENOVATIONS
The New York Public Library’s main branch is getting a very expensive makeover. The work will begin this summer in a renovation worth $300 million. The project will create a multi-level atrium complete with views of Bryant Park inside the Fifth Avenue landmark.
The plan stirred up some controversy when it was initially proposed that millions of books be moved into storage. But no worries, bibliophiles: The New York Public Library changed course in their latest plan, stating that 3.3 million of the original library’s 4.5 million research volumes will remain in the building while the rest are placed in storage.

Despite fewer books, library president Tony Marx calls the renovation “the greatest that this building has seen in its history.”

Construction will begin this summer, and is expected to be completed by 2018. The library will remain open.

NYPD LAUNCHES NEW APP
Feel a little bit safer on New York City streets with the newly released NYPD free iPhone and iPad application. The app features wanted sections to view breaking news, wanted posters, crime and NYPD videos, and the NYPD Facebook page. You can also look up crime statistics and precinct boundaries, as well as submit crime tips. There’s even a section on how to join the Police Department. The NYPD hopes the app will allow for faster and easier public information. Now city residents from all walks of life can help fight crime on the go.

CITY PARKING RATES TO INCREASE
It is not such a happy new year for New York City’s motorists. Starting Friday, Jan. 25, the Department of Transportation will be increasing parking-meter rates south of 96th Street in Manhattan. The new rate is $3.50 an hour, or $.50 for 8:34 minutes. That’s up from $3 an hour. By the end of January, all single-space parking meters will be replaced by muni-meters citywide. There is one silver lining, though: Be glad you don’t live in Chicago, where hourly rates soared to $6.50.

‘PIPPI’ PUPPET SHOW BACK IN CENTRAL PARK
The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater has brought back its 2007 hit puppet version of Pippi Longstocking, Pippi. The show premiered Jan. 15 and features over two dozen marionettes. Award-winning playwright Zakiyyah Alexander brings this fun-loving children’s classic to the stage, and laugh along as the imaginative redhead overcomes bullies and burglars with her friends.

Reservations required. Busy this winter? Not to worry—the show will run until June. The marionette theater is located near West 79th Street in Central Park. Tickets cost $8 for adults and $5 for kids under 12. Visit the City Parks Foundation website, www.cityparksfoundation.org, for tickets and showtimes.

PURSE SNATCHER
An unidentified man attacked a 51-year-old woman as she was walking along East 80th Street on Monday and seized her purse. According to the victim, an East 85th Street resident, the man approached her around 11 p.m. and demanded money. He then threw her against a pole and onto the ground as he grabbed her purse, but only took a pack of cigarettes from a small bag within the purse. The thief fled toward Fifth Avenue, and remains at large.

SHOPLIFT FEVER
One shoplifter did not know when to quit on Monday. Workers at a pharmacy on Second Avenue first confronted him outside their store around 4 p.m. after he swiped goods from their store. He argued with the workers, then fled toward East 63rd Street. A witness told the workers that the shoplifter left a shopping bag in a newspaper box on 63rd Street, so the workers went to investigate, and were confronted by the shoplifter, who told them, “That’s my stuff.” The group got into another dispute, then the thief suddenly grabbed a gold chain off the neck of one of the store workers, a 59-year-old Bronx resident, and fled toward Third Avenue. The workers chased the perp and found the chain discarded on the sidewalk. The thief has not been caught.

BODEGA BRAWL
Two men got into a fight in a Second Avenue bodega on Saturday. A 37-year-old was talking with friends around the grocery store’s entrance before the altercation at about 12:45 a.m., and then was attacked by a 27-year-old, who punched him in the face multiple times. What caused the fight was not reported, but the attacker was arrested for assault shortly after the incident.

PHONE SWIPE
A young woman riding the M86 bus was busy with her iPhone around 10 p.m. on Monday when the device was suddenly snatched from her hand. Startled, she looked up and saw a teenage boy’s back as he ran off the bus at a stop. The victim, a 26-year-old who lives on East 88th Street, stored her driver’s license and credit cards in the phone’s case. Police were able to arrest the thief, a 15-year-old, later in the day.

MEAN CUSTOMER
A rowdy patron crossed the line last week when he punched a bar worker in the face. Prior to the attack, the worker, 56, asked the 18-year-old patron and his friends to leave the Third Avenue bar around 1:30 a.m. last Thursday, Nov. 22. The patron was apparently unhappy with this request, and lashed out at the worker, causing a laceration over the worker’s right eye. The worker reported the attack to police, and the patron was arrested for assault.

DISAPPEARING SCOOTER
An Upper East Side resident’s scooter disappeared on Friday when she parked it along Central Park. The 46-year-old arrived at West 64th Street around 8 p.m., then left the vehicle, a red Yamaha Vino, on the street to go about her business in the city. When she returned, the vehicle was gone. She reported the missing scooter to the police, but no nearby security cameras were available to give any clues to the theft.

UNFAIR FIGHT
A group of young girls ganged up on a woman outside her West 66th Street workplace last week to rob her. The woman walked out of her office at 5 p.m. on Friday and was approached by four strangers. One of the young girls began to accost her, then launched into an attack, punching her head and body. The other three girls quickly joined the melee. One grabbed the woman’s purse during the assault, then the four fled toward Columbus Avenue. The woman was left bruised and with cuts, but reported no serious injuries. Her purse contained a yellow metal ring, numerous credit cards and her passport.

GRAND LARCENY
Over $250,000 was stolen from a West 64th Street resident after she gave her personal information to a fake credit card worker. The theft began last month when the woman, 57, received a call from a stranger who claimed to work for American Express. The stranger told the woman the credit card company needed her personal identification number, and she gave it to the caller. The woman recently checked her bank account and realized that over a quarter of a million dollars was missing, charged throughout the month to expenses in the city and out of state.

DRUG BUST WITH A CHASE
Two young men were busted during a drug deal on Wednesday, Nov. 14, but one tried to get away. Cops saw the 24- and 25-year-olds exchanging marijuana and money on a street corner along West 59th Street at around 5 p.m. The officers approached the men and began to arrest them, but the 25-year-old lashed out, kicking his arresting officer in the shin and punching him in the head, then fleeing into oncoming traffic as the officer recovered. The cops on the scene could not pursue the perp, but he was apprehended just down the road by other officers as he attempted to escape.

A 40-year-old man and a trio of teenage girls were arrested on Saturday after attempting to rob an electronics store on Lexington Avenue. At around 1:45 p.m., the perps entered the store and removed six pairs of studio headphones worth almost $2,000. Police caught wind of the heist and pursued the robbers, and during the chase one perp pushed an officer to the ground to divert him, injuring his right hand. When the police caught the robbers, the officers found that they had wire cutters and booster bags in their car. Police recovered the headphones and arrested four of the crooks, but an unidentified fourth female accomplice escaped the scene and is still at large.

PIZZA PLACE ROBBERY

A pizza place on Second Avenue was robbed on Saturday. The burglary took place around 2 a.m., when an unknown perp broke the front window with a brick and climbed in. The perp swiped an iPad and a cash register with $1,500 cash, together worth roughly $2,000. Security cameras inside the location and at neighboring buildings picked up a few of the perp’s physical details, but the perp remains at large. The store’s owner did not recognize the robber from the cameras’ images.

ROAD RAGE

An angry driver punched and spat on another young driver when the two got in an argument over a turn. According to the victim of the attack, she made a right turn into the other motorist’s driving lane at Madison Avenue and East 59 Street around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The motorist was not happy with being cut off, and managed to get into a shouting match with the victim, though the exact details of the altercation were not given in the incident’s report. The cut-off motorist punched the 22-year-old driver while she was in her car, then spat on her and drove off. The victim was unable to give the driver’s physical details, but reported his license plate number to the police after the attack.

CELLPHONE SWIPE

A teenage girl lost her iPhone on Tuesday, Nov. 2, to an agile thief. The girl was walking around Third Avenue and East 95th Street and took out her phone to make a call at about 10:30 p.m., then all of a sudden a man ran by and snatched the device. The thief fled east on 95th Street then bounded up north along Third Avenue. The victim could not identify the man, though mentioned that he was around 20 years old and 5’5”.

According to the taxi driver, as the car pulled near the police station, the woman removed the stolen goods from her bra and placed them on the floor of the cab to make it seem as if the items had slipped from his pockets. The daring woman was arrested soon afterward.

Downtown Bag Snatchers
This next crime reminds us to always keep our bags in sight at all times. A 27-year-old man from Maryland put his knapsack down on a bench at a park on West Street and North Moore Streets to skateboard. Although he was close by the entire time, an enterprising thief ended up stealing the bag, which contained $200 in cash, $60 worth of clothes, a $25 skate tool, his cell phone worth $150, iPod worth $120 and a bus ticket back to Maryland.

In a similar case on the same day, a 24-year-old woman left her pocketbook on a bench in a park area on South Street. The bag was right next to her when a 20-year-old man snatched it and ran. Luckily, he was apprehended and arrested. The bag, containing $57 in cash, a $300 iPod, an iPhone worth $400 and $110 Ray Ban sunglasses, was successfully recovered.

Vanishing Vespa
If you’ve left anything of value in a certain place for a year without it getting stolen, you’d probably trust the location. For one woman, unfortunately, this was not the case. The 37-year-old woman, who has been parking her 2004 green Vespa worth $3,000 in the same parking garage on South End Avenue for the past year, discovered it missing at midnight last week. Parking attendants and the woman are befuddled as to how it could have happened.

Unnoticed Jewelry Heist
The 42-year-old owner of a jewelry store on South Street was doing his nightly routine of checking surveillance tapes when he noticed criminal activity had been recorded that same morning. The tape shows two men removing many items of jewelry from the store, worth a total of $1,975. They include six bracelets worth $210 in total, six rings worth $150 and 18 pairs of earrings worth $590. Also part of the loot was a $50 lampshade, $90 statue, 12 jewelry gift sets worth $605, two turquoise rings totaling $70 and seven stone rings worth $210. Police are still investigating the theft.

Adolescent Quartet Attempt to Rob a Store
Four adolescent women acted in concert at a retail store on Broadway when they tried to take clothing items totaling $195. The two 20-year-olds managed to get away, but the 17-year-old holding the items in a foil-lined bag, which renders the security tags ineffective, was caught by a security guard. A 16-year-old was caught. Both teenagers fought off the guards, biting, kicking and scratching them. One of the teenagers got away, but was later caught and positively IDed by the guard in a lineup.

Yet Another iTheft
Thieves continue to target those with Apple devices. A 22-year-old woman was recently walking home on Water Street at around 2 a.m. when she put earbuds in to listen to music on her iPhone. A few seconds later, a burly man snatched it from her hands and tried to flee. The brave woman struggled to get it back, but in the process broke the ring on her finger and sustained minor scratches to her arms and finger. The thief got away with the iPhone.

Compiled by Adel Manoukian

STREET ATTACK
As a 36-year-old man was walking southbound from 96th Street on Lexington Avenue on Tuesday, someone punched him from behind. When the man turned to defend himself, someone else punched him. The man suffered pain and small cuts on the inside of his upper lip and chin. The attackers, a 19-year-old and a 25-year-old, were arrested on the southwest corner of East 93rd Street.

BREAK-IN AND CASH GRAB
On Saturday evening, someone cut the security gate of Max Cleaners on East 81st Street between York and East End avenues and entered through the front door, which is usually left unsecured. The person then snatched $200 from the cash register and the establishment’s TV monitor.

LOOTING FOR LIQUOR
One Upper East Side thief raided a local eatery for a significant supply of booze early Monday morning. The person got access to La Turka Restaurant on the corner of Second Avenue and East 74th Street when he broke the East 74th Street entrance with an unknown object. Inside, the culprit grabbed $500 worth of assorted liquor bottles and fled the store in an unknown direction.

TEXTING TROUBLE
Texting while walking cost one Upper East Sider her phone this weekend. A 29-year-old woman told police that on Sunday night, she got off a city bus on East 96th Street and Lexington Avenue and began walking along East 95th Street while texting on her phone. As she walked, a man came up behind her, knocked her to the ground and snatched her iPhone, worth $300. The man then fled toward Lexington Avenue. The woman tried to chase him, but lost sight of him near East 95th and Park Avenue. When the woman used the “Find My iPhone” application, it pointed her to East 110th Street, but police canvassing of the area could not locate the phone.

EVENING GUEST NIGHTMARE
A 24-year-old man told police he was intoxicated when he brought a girl home to his First Avenue apartment near 91st Street after having drinks at the Brass Monkey Bar on West 12th Street. When he woke up, he discovered both of his iPhones, one personal and one for business, as well as his debit card, were missing. When the man contacted Bank of America, he learned that his card had incurred $6,000 in fraudulent charges. The man suspects that the woman he brought home, in her mid-20s, was responsible for both the phone robberies and the debit card charges.

FOOD CART FIASCO
One 18-year-old man’s attempt to get away with free food failed this weekend. The young man was arrested on Saturday at 4 p.m. after he attempted to grab a handful of food from a cart on the northeast corner of East 86th Street and Third Avenue and punched the 48-year-old cart vendor in the face, causing an abrasion to his right cheek.

Sweet Music for Thief
One musician found that her car is not a safe place to keep her instrument. A 21-year-old woman told police that she parked her car on the southwest corner of Park Avenue and East 95th Street, and when she returned at 7:30 p.m. she discovered that someone had broken her rear driver’s side window, taking one violin and two bows—worth $22,000 total—from the back seat. None of the items were recovered.

Attempted Break-In
Someone shut off the power and pried the lock at F.D. Jewelry on East 65th Street between Madison and Fifth avenues overnight on Sunday. The store’s hallway was also found with four holes punched in the walls, the third-floor camera was turned upside down and the roof door was broken. However, the perp was not able to break into the store because the side doors were blocked by a wall, and nothing was taken from the store.

Armed Robbery
A 30-year-old woman told police that two men stopped her on the northwest corner of Third Avenue and East 95th Street on Saturday at 10:30 p.m., pushing a gun against her stomach, saying, “Give it up or we will hurt you.” When the woman handed over her iPhone 4, worth $300, the men fled east on 95th. The phone was not recovered.

Motorcycle Stolen Off the Street
One 40-year-old motorcycle driver woke up to a startling realization: his black Suzuki motorcycle, which he had parked on East 72nd Street between First and York avenues on the evening of July 19, was missing. The motorcycle, worth $6,600, has not yet been recovered.

Scooter Stolen
A 52-year-old man told police that he parked his scooter on York Avenue between East 72nd and 73rd streets, and when he returned on Sunday at 12:30 a.m., he realized that it was gone. A security camera captured footage of the 2013 Kymco Super 8 scooter—worth $3,400—being placed in a van and taken away.

Random Attack
A 38-year-old man told police that he was leaving work at 11 a.m. on July 17; as he walked at the northeast corner of First Avenue and East 90th Street, a group of men punched him to the ground. The man told police that he had been drinking and was unable to describe his attackers, neither who they were nor what they were wearing. He suffered facial swelling from the attack.

Credit Card Fake-Out
A crafty credit card forger made a crucial error in judgment when he tried out his phony plastic in full view of a police officer. Last Thursday, the perp went into an Upper East Side electronics store and attempted to purchase a $400 iPhone. At the register, where an officer could see what was happening, the man tried to pay with a credit card that failed to process numerous times. A manager came over and confirmed the suspicions of the cashier—the card was fake. The perp then tried to leave the store, but was stopped by the police officer. He denied trying to use a credit card at all, but when he was searched, the officer found seven more fake credit cards on him. The 22-year-old was arrested on the spot for attempted grand larceny.

Sidewalk Bump and Steal
A woman was walking north on Lexington Avenue toward 60th Street last Thursday around 4:30 p.m. when she felt the swell of the crowd around her. She felt a bump from behind but didn’t attribute it to anything more than normal sidewalk jostle. When she walked into a nearby store, however, she noticed that her wallet was missing from her backpack. By the time she called her credit card companies to report the stolen cards, there had already been fraudulent activity on them. The victim lost several gift cards, a school ID and driver’s license and a flash drive along with the wallet, and has no idea who might have taken it. Police warn locals to be especially vigilant on the streets during crowded summer months and always keep belongings close.

Drugs on Wheels
Sometimes, a reckless cyclist poses a bigger public danger than meets the eye. Last Tuesday at about 10 p.m., police received reports of man riding his bike on the sidewalk, endangering passersby and weaving erratically for a six-block stretch along Fifth Avenue. When police officers stopped the man to question him, he granted them permission to search his backpack. There, the officers discovered 10 decks of heroin, four hypodermic needles, three large plastic containers of marijuana, 32 acetaminophen pills, three 800mg Neurontin pills, six Clonidine pills, three Remeron pills, five Lorazepam pills and nine ibuprofen pills (possibly to treat the back pain he must have been suffering as a result of carting all those illegal drugs on his back). The 26-year-old biker was arrested for criminal possession of controlled substances, leaving the sidewalks of the Upper East Side a little safer and the streets with a little less heroin.