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Ladies Better Watch Their Purses at Bars, Police Warn

By Leslie Albrecht | February 22, 2011 2:41pm
There's been a rash of purse thefts at Upper West Side bars recently, including a Feb. 5 incident at Jake's Dilemma on Amsterdam Avenue.
There's been a rash of purse thefts at Upper West Side bars recently, including a Feb. 5 incident at Jake's Dilemma on Amsterdam Avenue.
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By Leslie Albrecht

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER WEST SIDE — Ladies, watch your bag when you're out boozing on the Upper West Side.

Police reports show there has been a rash of purses stolen from drinking holes this month, with four women reporting bar bag thefts in the 20th Precinct, which covers West 59th Street to West 86th Street.

Police have seen an overall 27 percent drop in property thefts in the 20th Precinct this year, but it remains the number-one crime on the Upper West Side.

Police reports detailed the following thefts:

On Feb. 19, a 19-year-old woman at the bar on the top floor of the Empire Hotel, at 44 West 63rd St., left her bag on a chair, then discovered it missing when she went to retrieve it. The alleged thief made off with the victim's BlackBerry, debit card, an American Express card and a Tiffany & Co. gift card valued at $133.

On Feb. 13, a 31-year-old Hong Kong resident reported a theft at the Empire Hotel bar sometime between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. The victim was relieved of a $2,000 Chloe bag, a $3,000 fur jacket, a $400 white iPhone, a $600 black iPhone, a $400 BlackBerry, a $500 blue Bottega Veneta purse, a $250 gray scarf, a $400 ivory TSE sweater, a red and silver $700 Sony video camera and $650 in cash.

On Feb. 6, a 28-year-old woman told police she was drinking at The Gin Mill on Amsterdam Avenue and West 81st Street when she put her $900 Louis Vuitton purse down on a chair. Someone stole the purse, which contained a $250 Marc Jacobs wallet, keys, a passport and credit card.

On Feb. 5, a 28-year-old woman from Copenhagan, Denmark, had her wallet stolen while she was at Jake's Dilemma on Amsterdam Avenue and West 81st Street. The wallet contained a Visa card, some cash, a MetroCard and a Danish press card.

The recent bar purse thefts follow a pattern that police say is typical: the victim is out in a place where they feel comfortable, such as Starbucks or the gym, and they leave their valuables unattended.

Major crime is down 37 percent in the 20th Precinct this year, according to NYPD statistics. There have been 73 grand larcenies, or property thefts, reported as of Feb. 13, compared with 101 reported during the same period in 2010.