CHELSEA — A man grabbed a party-goer's hand and placed it on his genitals as the victim was exiting the bathroom at the Highline Ballroom during a holiday event, police said.
The male victim, whose age wasn’t disclosed, was leaving the restroom at the venue at 431 W. 16th St. around 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 21 when the suspect moved in on him, the NYPD said.
The ballroom was hosting a “Red Carpet Christmas” event with a dance party, performances, body-paint artists and a fashion show that night, according to its website.
Representatives for the venue did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Other notable crimes in Chelsea's 10th Precinct include:
► A 26-year-old man who lives on West 20th Street, near Ninth Avenue, told police he left his Cannondale bicycle, a bag of tools, a pair of Blundstone boots and a bicycle lock in his apartment hallway before going to sleep on Tuesday, police said. When he woke up, he discovered the items — worth a total of $2,435 — were missing. Security footage showed a man entering the building and leaving with the belongings around 3:04 a.m. that morning.
► A 19-year-old student at Liberty High School Academy for Newcomers at 250 W. 18th St., near Eighth Avenue, was sitting in his classroom around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday when a 17-year-old classmate punched him in the nose, the NYPD said. The punch left the victim with a bloody nose and caused him to feel dizzy, and the 17-year-old boy was arrested. The city's Department of Education on Thursday didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident.
► A 40-year-old woman who lives in an apartment on West 22nd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues was returning from a trip around 9:45 p.m on Dec. 26 when she discovered two packages that were supposed to have been delivered were no longer in the entryway of her building, police said. Video surveillance at the building showed a man entering and leaving with packages that likely contained $575 Tory Burch ballet flats and $65 Tory Burch earrings.
► A 46-year-old man from Florida was walking north on 10th Avenue, near West 31st Street, around 7:10 p.m. on Dec. 31 when a vehicle hit his left leg from behind, causing him in pain, the NYPD said. The man was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital, and the driver fled north on 10th Avenue in the vehicle.
► A 28-year-old man was standing in front of a turnstile at the subway station at West 14th Street and Eighth Avenue around 12:10 a.m. on Dec. 29 when a police officer saw him asking for swipes to enter the station, police said. The officer who arrested the man found a pipe with crack-cocaine residue inside his left coat pocket.
► Two 26-year-old men told police they were trying to hail a cab in front of the Dream Downtown Hotel at 355 W. 16th St., near Ninth Avenue, around 2:15 a.m. on Dec. 29 when a man they didn’t know attacked them and fled toward Eighth Avenue. Police searched the area but couldn’t find the attacker.
