Burglary Alert Issued By 70th Precinct

The 70th Precinct issued an “NYPD Burglary Alert” yesterday.

According to the 70th Precinct Community Affairs Unit, there have been several burglaries in our area where “perpetrators are entering through the apartment’s fire escape windows that are left unlocked.”

In some cases, the burglar used an apartment building roof to gain access to the fire escape, and entered apartments via open and unlocked fire escape windows, the 70th Precinct said.

In other incidents, perpetrators loitered in a building hallway, walking and checking all apartment entry door locks to see if any of them were left open.

The 70th Precinct is telling residents to watch out for:

• Persons hanging out in apartment building hallways and lobbies for no “legitimate” reason.
• Persons that you don’t know ringing your apartment doorbell to gain entry into your building.
• Persons hanging out on roofs, in front of buildings, or behind them.

Call 911 if you have been the victim of a crime, or suspect someone is watching your home.

Alert for Area Health Club Users

The 70th Precinct is urging users of area health clubs to “be responsible; avoid losing your property, and possibly providing your personal information to identity thieves.”

A Blink Gym, near the corner of Flatbush Avenue and Linden Boulevard, was burglarized in April. Two burglars robbed the gym’s safe, where patrons stored cash and other valuables. A watch, bracelet, iphone case, and almost $1,000 in cash were stolen.

Gym users are urged to follow these tips:

• Never leave gym bags, wallets, pocketbooks, briefcases and other valuables unattended, even for a moment.
• Avoid bringing high value items, such as expensive watches and jewelry, large amounts of cash, laptop computers, cameras, etc., to a health club.
• Remember, gym lockers are not intended to secure high value items.
• Ask if the club has special lockers for valuables, located in an area under constant surveillance by staff and/or video cameras.
• Bring a good quality keyed lock, or combination lock (with a serial number or remove the serial number), to secure the locker.
• Alternate the locker you utilize.
• Always double check that your locker is properly secured, before walking away.
• Never leave your locker open and unattended, even for a brief period such as showering, or using the restroom inside the locker room.
• Be aware of who is around you at all times.
• Report suspicious persons/incidents to club personnel. Note physical characteristics, clothing descriptions and mannerisms of suspicious persons.

For more information, contact:

Detective Kim Walker & Police Officer Michael Smith
70th Precinct Community Affairs Unit
Phone: (718) 851-5557; Fax: (718) 851-5586