Suspicious package scare
The heightened security in New York City since the Boston Marathon bombings migrated to Tribeca on April 22 when a bomb squad was called in to investigate an abandoned package, which proved to be harmless.
The package in question was left on a city bus April 22 as the bus parked for its last stop on Church and Worth Sts., nine blocks north of the World Trade Center. The package was reported at about 9:10 a.m., presumably by the bus driver as an N.Y.P.D. spokesperson said that the bus was empty of passengers at the time.
A Twitter post at 10:11 a.m. reported that the streets were blocked and buildings were asking employees to remain indoors.
Another tweet by @phdinweed reported that “They’re diverting all traffic from going down Church Street at Thomas…”
The police wrapped up the investigation by about 10:40 a.m., said a police source who added that the contents of the alarm-raising package turned out to be a pair of shoes.
The day before, a terminal of John F. Kennedy Airport was reportedly evacuated for over an hour, as a bomb squad investigated a package containing toothpaste, duct tape and wires.
Rug assault
One man’s decorative touch is another man’s weapon, or turned into one when police say he hit a woman with a rug on a subway platform Downtown.
Michael Warner, 38, was arrested for assault, police said after the hour-long incident, which started off in the subway system beneath Fulton and Nassau Sts. and ended on the streets of Brooklyn.
The victim, 42, stated that she was on the platform of the A/C Train at the Broadway/Nassau Street subway station at about 6:37 p.m. on Thurs., April 25. She said that a man was walking through the platform with no regard for the people around him while carrying a large rug. She exchanged words with him and was literally floored when the man swung the rug at her head, knocking her to the ground and causing her to hurt her back and neck, she stated.
Instead of staying down, she told police that she boarded the same southbound A Train as the accused, and again exchanged words with him. She got off at the same stop, at Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn, where she said called 911 while he attempted to flee by jumping into a cab. The man was arrested, however, and the woman was checked by an ambulance on the scene.
Attempted robbery foiled
Police arrested a man who was reportedly trying to take a woman’s purse by force on the street one block from the First Precinct station.
At 6:15 p.m. on Sat., April 27, an officer observed a man strike, shove and grab a young woman during a struggle for the woman’s purse on the corner of Ericsson Pl. and Hudson St., police said. The man, Joseph Barlow, 33, was allegedly trying to take the purse by grabbing it and pulling it away, causing the strap to break. The woman, 22, managed to hold on to it, but suffered blows to the chest, arms and shoulders.
Police said that assailant resisted arrest, struggling with the officer, and then tried to flee and was pursued by police on foot. He was apprehended and charged with attempted robbery.
Caught napping
Another man managed to chase down a thief in FiDi who stole his wallet with over $2,000, while he was snoozing.
The victim, 37, told police that he entered the subway system at Hewes St. in the Bronx, and boarded a southbound J Train on Fri., April 26. He then fell asleep and awoke around 3:45 a.m. to another man going through his right front pocket. The stranger grabbed his wallet and fled. The victim chased him off the train and out of the subway station to Broad St. and Exchange Pl. where an M.S.A. Security officer detained the thief until the N.Y.P.D. arrived.
The accused, Marc Hawkin, 51, was searched at the station house and the victim’s MetroCard and wallet were recovered along with the 22 $100 bills inside it.
Street fair felony
A woman working at the Tribeca Family Festival reported to police that her cards, key and ID were stolen when she left them unattended.
The woman, 27, said she had left her property on a table while she was working on Greenwich and Jay Sts. between 3:30 and 5 p.m. on Sat., April 27. When she returned to look for them, they were missing. She further reported that fraudulent charges had been made on the two credit cards. She later canceled the cards. A police canvass turned up no results.
Sham theft
Two couples waltzed out of a Soho furnishing store without paying for over $1,000 in bedding.
An employee of the flagship store of Dwell Studio at 77 Wooster St., reported that four people entered the store and made off with merchandise between 3:55 and 4:10 p.m. on Sun., April 28. One couple allegedly distracted the employee while the other couple put the merchandise into shopping bags.
She described the first man as about 50 years old, white, 5’11” and 180 pounds, wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and a grey baseball cap. His partner was a thin woman, also about 50, with brown hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing a denim jacket and a pair of sandals. The other man was in his late 50s, black, wearing glasses, a blue vest over a plaid shirt and a grey hat. The woman was described as about 46, in an orange T-shirt and capri shorts, and walked with a black cane.
They managed to bag two Modern Border Tangerine Duvet Sets, and a Chinoiserie set, each worth $350 and tangerine shams, worth $115.
iPhone stolen
A theft from W.i.P., the Soho bar and nightclub at 34 Vandam St. attached to Greenhouse, left one angry patron without her phone or ID.
At 5:21 a.m. on Sat., April 20, a 24-year-old woman reported to police that her $400 Apple iPhone 4S and photo ID had been removed from her purse, which she stated was on her when the incident occurred, sometime between midnight and 5 a.m. However, a bouncer at the club said that she had left her bag unattended on a table while she was dancing. Police noted that the woman refused to cooperate further or make a report and left the scene.
— Kaitlyn Meade
