UPPER EAST SIDE — Burglars broke through basement locks to steal money and personal items from four Yorkville businesses in a series of incidents police are probing as a pattern, the NYPD said.
In the first incident, just after 5 a.m. on Aug. 20, three male suspects removed a padlock from the basement door of Drop Spot Cleaners at 1615 First Ave. near 84th Street and grabbed $242 from its cash registers, police said.
A few days later, on Aug. 23, an unknown number of burglars cut the lock to the basement at Salvo's Pizzabar at 1477 York Ave. near 78th Street just after midnight, stealing a cash register worth $200 and $150 cash inside, police said.
That same morning, some time after 1:20 a.m., two burglars also got into the Bagels & Co. basement at 1428 York Ave. two blocks away and took two cash registers worth a total of $1,000, police said. When the suspects realized there wasn't any cash in them, they dumped the damaged registers on East 76th Street, police said.
A little more than a year ago, a serial burglar was arrested for smashing the bagel shop's door with a brick and a kick, police said.
Then, on Saturday around 11:30 p.m., an employee of Bar Coastal at 1495 First Ave. noticed that the bar's basement door had been broken into and that his belongings had been stolen, police said.
The burglar or burglars took $75 in cash, his $15 wallet, an $80 pair of pants, a $92 Tommy Hilfiger backpack, a $180 pair of Nike shoes, a Citibank card and the man's driver's license, according to police.
Police are investigating the four burglaries as a pattern.
No one could be reached for comment at the four businesses.
Other notable incidents from the 19th Precinct blotter include:
► Shoplifters Swipe Pricey Sunglasses
A man and women went into the Sunglass Hut at 1023 Third Ave., near 61st Street, on Thursday after 6 p.m. and pocketed $1,730 worth of sunglasses, police said. The stolen shades included two pairs of Gucci glasses worth $720, a pair of Armani glasses worth $270, a pair of Prada glasses worth $330 and a pair of Mio Mio glasses valued at $410, police said. The pair fled the store in an unknown direction.
► Scammer Fools Woman Into Wiring Him $2K
A 95-year-old Upper East Side woman told police she got a call from a person claiming to be her nephew on Thursday night around 7:30 p.m. The man said he was in trouble and needed $2,000, so the woman went to a nearby Duane Reade and wired him the money. She later got in contact with her actual nephew, who said he was fine and not in trouble, police said. There have been no arrests.
► Bargoer Has Purse Swiped at Dorian's
A 30-year-old from Lower Manhattan realized her Kate Spade purse was missing after leaving it unattended at Dorian's Bar, at 1616 Second Ave., around 1:20 a.m. on Aug. 18, police said. Around 2 a.m., one of the victim's friends yelled to her that "someone is taking your bag" and saw a man fleeing, police said. The $60 fake alligator purse contained a fake leopard skin wallet from Kate Spade worth $200, a blue leather Tiffany's card holder worth $200, a $700 iPhone, a makeup bag and makeup worth $500, and others items worth $1,500, according to police. The suspect hasn't been arrested
► Teen Tries to Buy Clothes with Fake Cash
A 19-year-old used fake cash to buy $174 worth of merchandise from Bloomingdale's, at 1000 Third Ave., on Aug. 20, police said. Around 5:30 p.m., the woman tried buying a pair of pants for $37, a pair of shorts for $98, and a Guess top for $39 with the fake bills, police said. She was arrested and charged with six counts of forgery and six counts of possession of forged instruments, police said.
► Group of Teens Tries to Steal Man's Bike
An 18-year-old from The Bronx flagged down police after five teens followed him to his workplace at the southeast corner for First Avenue and 69th Street and tried to steal his bike, police said. When he arrived outside of work, the teens surrounded him and tried to forcibly take the bike from him. Officers arrived and arrested a 15- and 16-year-old, charging them with attempted robbery, police said.
