CHELSEA — A man stole his date’s phone and left him to foot the bill after taking him to dinner at a celebrity chef-owned restaurant, the NYPD said.
The 26-year-old victim met the man at REBAR, a gay bar at 223 W. 19th St., between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, on June 28, police said.
Around 8 p.m., the man offered to take the 26-year-old to dinner at Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich’s upscale Italian eatery La Sirena, at 88 Ninth Ave., between West 16th and 17th streets, the NYPD said.
After the pair arrived at the restaurant, the man ordered food and asked to borrow the 26-year-old’s Samsung cell phone, police said.
Soon after, the man fled the restaurant with the phone and without paying the $165.69 bill the two had racked up, the NYPD said.
Police hadn’t arrested anyone in connection with the incident as of Wednesday. A representative for La Sirena didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
Other recent notable incidents in the 10th Precinct include:
► A 16-year-old boy locked his $700 iPhone 6s in a locker at the Chelsea Recreation Center, at 430 W. 25th St., between Ninth and 10th avenues, around 5:20 p.m. on June 29, police said. When he finished playing basketball, he unlocked the locker and discovered his phone was gone. No one had been arrested in connection with the incident as of Wednesday, and a manager working at the center declined to comment on the theft.
► A 26-year-old thief was arrested after trying to steal $176 worth of pants, flip flops and shirts from a GAP at 277 W. 23rd St., at the corner of Eighth Avenue, around 4:20 p.m. on June 30, police said. A manager working at the store on Wednesday said thefts happen frequently at the store, but couldn’t say how the man tried to hide the items.
► A thief stole an Amazon package worth $250 from a cart after an employee left it in front of 233 W. 14th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, around 2 p.m. while he was delivering mail, police said. The thief, who fled west on 14th Street, hadn’t been arrested as of Wednesday.
► A 59-year-old cab driver told police he drove a man from West 38th Street and Broadway to 408 12th Ave., near West 34th Street, around 5:12 p.m. on June 30. The driver “repeatedly” asked the man to pay his $22.80 fare, but the man ignored him and left the vehicle. The passenger hadn’t been arrested as of Wednesday.
► A 25-year-old woman had just bought a 24-hour pass card at a Citi Bike machine at West 26th Street and 10th Avenue around 1:05 p.m. on July 1 when a teenager standing behind her saw the code, used it to release a bike and rode off on it, police said. The teen hadn’t been arrested as of Wednesday.
► A 23-year-old man and a 21-year-old man who were released from Central Booking after getting arrested returned to the 10th Precinct to retrieve their belongings around 2:25 a.m. on June 30 and discovered they were missing, the NYPD said. The 23-year-old told police he was missing a total of $1,309 worth of belongings — including a MetroCard, dozens of personal hygiene products and two train tickets. The 21-year-old, meanwhile, said he was missing $101 worth of items, including a Starbucks card worth $45, a yellow notebook worth $12 and a cosmetics bag worth $30. A representative for the 10th Precinct didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
► A 34-year-old man was arrested after a police officer spotted him walking through the emergency door inside the subway station at West 14th Street and Eighth Avenue to avoid paying the fare around 9:56 a.m. on June 2, police said. When the officer searched the man, found two small bags of crystal meth inside the wallet in his back pocket.
