DNAinfo/Irene Plagianos
LOWER EAST SIDE — A 23-year-old woman unwittingly shared an elevator with a man who planned to rob her, police said.
They stepped into a Baruch Houses elevator at 140 Columbia St. around 6:15 p.m. Monday, with the thief pushing a button for the 12th floor after the woman pushed a button for the floor above, police said.
The man got off the elevator when it reached the 12th floor, according to the NYPD, but popped out of the stairwell as the woman exited the elevator on the 13th floor, pushing her to the floor and removing her Coach purse from her hands.
Police said the robber — who was about 30 years old and 6 feet tall, weighing 170 pounds — fled down the stairs.
Police said the woman was not hurt and refused medical attention at the scene.