UPPER EAST SIDE — Thieves have been stripping the side mirrors off luxury cars parked in the neighborhood, according to the NYPD.
Four residents returned to their cars on the Upper East Side last week to discover thieves had ripped the side mirrors off, police said.
► A 31-year-old Upper East Side resident parked his 2010 Lexus RX in front of 125 E. 69th St., near Hunter College, at 11 p.m. on Aug. 31. When he returned the next morning at 8 a.m., his mirrors, valued at a total of $200, were missing, police said.
► On the same day, a New Jersey resident found the mirrors, worth $998, had been ripped off his 2015 Lexus sedan that he had parked across from 145 E. 76th St. at 3 p.m. the day before, according to authorities.
► Between 1 and 7 a.m. on Sept. 1, a thief took the mirrors off a Mercedes Benz that had been parked overnight in front of 115 E. 69th St., which is also around the corner from Hunter College. The car belonged to a 39-year-old Bronx man, police said. The mirrors were valued at $1,200.
► And then between noon and 7 p.m. the same day, someone swiped the mirrors off a 2013 BMW 328i that belonged to a 55-year-old Brooklyn resident, police said. The man had parked his car in front of 164. E. 95th St. The mirrors were valued at $1,000, police said.
It is likely the mirrors are being stolen in order to re-sell them, police sources said.
Other noteworthy crimes that occurred last week within the 19th Precinct include:
► A New Jersey couple returned to their 2015 BMW parked in front of 58 E. 68th St. and found their car had been ransacked by thieves, police said.
The victims had parked the car at about 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 28, and returned four hours later to discover the trunk of the car open, and their property missing, according to authorities.
The items missing from the car included Tumi luggage valued at $1,000; $200 black-framed Glassini sunglasses; $600 Louis Vuitton sunglasses; a $300 Lululemon sweatshirt; two pairs of men's Harmont & Blaine pants worth $400; a pair of $800 Hermes shoes; a Harmont & Blaine shirt worth $300; and miscellaneous makeup, toiletries, jeans and shoes, all for a total of $4,400, police said.
The owners said they don't remember locking the car and there was no signs of forced entry, according to police.
► A man snatched $1,170 worth of merchandise from the Lululemon store at 1127 Third Ave., near East 66th Street, police said.
He walked out without without paying for five pairs of pants valued at $590 and 10 T.H.E. shirts worth $580, according to authorities.
Employees saw the man looking at the display and heard the front door alarm activate, but police were unable to find him, they said.
► A 69-year-old woman told police Aug. 29 that someone pretending to be an employee of the IRS called her Aug. 15 and 16 and told her that she owed money and she needed to buy iTunes gift cards to pay her balance. The woman complied and bought $4,200 worth, police said.
► Two 22-year-old roommates returned to their East 91st Street home after work Sept. 1 and found that someone had broken into their apartment and stolen $2,290 worth of electronics, including two Apple Mac Books and a laptop charger.
The victims reported the theft to police at 10:58 p.m. and told officers they came home to find their front door propped open, police said.
► A 58-year-old woman from New Rochelle used the women's restroom at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Sept. 1, at 10:50 a.m., and placed her wallet and iPhone on a table before using the toilet. When she went to leave the restroom, she realized that her $16 wallet, carrying $800 cash, and her American Express, Visa and Macy's credit cards, were missing, police said.
