Tag Archives: 13th precinct

(UPDATED: Suspect arrested) Man chokes, sexually assaults woman in Stuy Town

Update: Police have arrested a man who was staying at the Armory Men’s Shelter on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. Melvin Collins, 36, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with burglary, sexual abuse, criminal obstruction of breathing, forcible touching and assault.

By Sabina Mollot

Police are looking for a man who followed a woman into a building in Stuyvesant Town on Monday morning.

The victim, a 42-year-old woman, had entered 315 Avenue C when a man followed her inside at about 8:10 a.m.

Once inside an elevator, the man started groping and kissing her, police said. The woman then ran out of the elevator and the man chased her, and tried to pull her into a stairwell. The attacker then got on top of the woman and choked her. He took off however, fleeing down the stairs when the victim started screaming.

The victim suffered scratches to her neck and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.

The suspect is described as being black, 30-35 years old and about 5’7″ to 5’9″, with a slim build. He was last seen wearing a dark long sleeve shirt, dark sneakers with white soles, and a baseball hat.

Neither he nor the victim are residents of Stuyvesant Town, according to management, and security has been beefed up in response to the incident.

“StuyTown Property Services has provided NYPD with video and is fully cooperating in the apprehension of the suspect,” said Rick Hayduk, general manager of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. “Public Safety presence has been heightened around the two communities. Our thoughts are with the victim and her family.”

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Woman last seen at Beth Israel after making suicidal statements: Cops

Oct11 Victoria Chavez

Victoria Chavez

By Sabina Mollot

Police are looking for a woman who they say had made suicidal statements and then disappeared from Mount Sinai Beth Israel, where she was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.

Victoria Chavez, 26, a resident of Brooklyn, was last seen on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. leaving the hospital located at 281 First Avenue across from Stuyvesant Town. Police said she left on her own accord.

She is described as being approximately 5’4″ tall, weighing 125 lbs., with a thin build, brown eyes and black hair. She was last seen wearing a white dress and gray socks.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at http://www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

Robbers force Kips Bay spa worker into back room

Oct3 Kips Bay robbery suspects

Two of the robbery suspects

By Sabina Mollot

Cops are looking for three men who forced a spa worker into a back room during a robbery.

On Thursday at 4 a.m. the robbers strolled into Wood Spa at 133 Lexington Avenue at East 29th Street where a 30-year-old woman was working. Despite the early hour, they were able to enter the business by posing as customers, police said. However, the men then started asking for money and opening drawers. After snatching the employee’s cell phone, they forced her into a back room. It isn’t known if they took anything else before fleeing the scene. Police said the victim had bruising but no serious injuries.

Oct3 Kips Bay robbery suspects2

Robbery suspects

A phone number for the business had no option to leave a message when Town & Village called.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).  The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at

Nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

Woman mugged in Gramercy Park

Sept13 robbery suspect2
Robbery suspect
Robbery suspect
Sept13 Robbery suspect1

By Sabina Mollot

Cops are looking for a man who violently mugged a woman in Gramercy Park on Friday, August 31 at about 3 a.m.

Police said that the victim, a 39-year-old woman, was walking in front of 7 Gramercy Park East when a man snuck up on her from behind and pulled her to the ground. The victim, who was intoxicated at the time, sustained some minor injuries but refused medical attention. The mugger then ran off on East 20th Street towards Third Avenue with the victim’s purse, which contained her credit cards.

The suspect is described as Hispanic with a light complexion, 20-30 years old and about 5’8″, 170 lbs., brown eyes and long brown curly or wavy hair worn in a manbun. He was last seen wearing a white button-down shirt, tan shorts, black/white shoes and dark colored glasses.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at Nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

Creep grabs six-year-old boy’s crotch at Union Square Barnes & Noble

Sept6 forcibletouching1

Forcible touching suspect

By Sabina Mollot

Cops are on the lookout for a man who groped a six-year-old boy in front of his mother at the Union Square Barnes & Noble.

Police said that on Wednesday, August 29 at 4 p.m., the man approached the victim on the second floor of the bookstore at 33 East 17th Street and grabbed his buttocks as well as his groin area. The mother caught him as he leaned in to touch the boy’s leg and his hip and when she confronted him, the man said, “I was trying to help him. I’m sorry.” He then fled the location.

The victim wasn’t injured.

Sept6 forcibletouching2

Forcible touching suspect

The suspect is described as black, 18-20 years old, about 5’8″ tall, and 170 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes. He was last observed wearing a multi-colored short-sleeved shirt, dark jeans and white sneakers.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

National Night Out Against Crime

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT AGAINST CRIME was held by the 13th Precinct Community Council at Peter’s Field playground last Thursday evening, providing the neighborhood with an annual barbecue and block party, though this year’s ended early due to a storm. (Pictured) Some of the event’s organizers: Carol Schachter, Pat Sallin, Frank Scala, president of the 13th Precinct Community Council, Deputy Inspector Steven Hellman, commanding officer of the 13th Precinct, NYC Department for the Aging Assistant Commissioner Eileen Mullarkey, who presented a proclamation, and the precinct’s Executive Officer Ernesto Castro

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

National Night Out Against Crime, an annual block party aimed at bringing members of law enforcement agencies and community members together, was cut short this year due to a thunderstorm. However, before the blackening sky shut things down last Tuesday evening, the event held by the 13th Precinct Community Council in the Peter’s Field playground on Second Avenue in Gramercy managed to draw a steady stream of neighbors.

As always, participants got to speak with NYPD officials and representatives from other agencies and local businesses and nonprofits at informational tables over plates of free food. There were also free activities for children.

The storm was no joke, though, as Gothamist reported last Wednesday that three people had been struck by lightning.

But prior to the event shutting down after two hours instead of the usual three, in keeping with tradition, a representative from the mayor’s office brought a proclamation.

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ACS teen assaults woman in Kips Bay

May31 ACS facility

Administration for Children’s Services facility in Kips Bay (Photo via Google Maps)

By Sabina Mollot

A 13-year-old girl who’s been staying at the Administration for Children’s Services building at First Avenue and 29th Street has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman on that street corner, breaking the victim’s nose.

The victim, a 25-year-old woman, told Town & Village that on Sunday, July 1 at 2:30 p.m., she was walking on First Avenue and East 29th Street when she saw a group of teenagers. Not thinking they looked especially intimidating, she kept walking. However, one of the female members of the group then approached her. She said, “Do you want to fight?” the woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, recalled. But before she could answer, the girl punched her in the face, breaking her nose and knocking out her contact lens. The force of the blow knocked the woman down and the teen then began punching her and pulling her hair, while the woman, in a fetal position, tried to block. This went on until a couple pulled up to the scene in a car, which scared the group off.

Later, the victim said she was able to find the suspect with police and learned the girl’s age, which surprised her since the suspect, who was about 5 ft. 4 inches tall, looked about 18.

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Missing elderly woman last seen in Kips Bay

July12 Herrera

Eliam Herrera

Police are looking for an elderly Harlem resident who was last seen at a friend’s home in Kips Bay on Tuesday at 11 p.m.

Police said Eliam Herrera, who lives on East 115th Street and 2nd Avenue, has Alzheimer’s and may be in need of medical attention.

She is described as being 93 years old, Hispanic, 5’2″ tall and 100 lbs., with gray hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a blue nightgown at her friend’s building at East 28th Street and 1st Avenue.

Anyone who sees Herrera is asked to call 9-1-1.

Cops recognized for giving man Heimlich

June28 cops of the month villota and arthur

Deputy Inspector Steven Hellman gave police officers Angela Villota and Mayela Arthur the Cop of the Month award last Tuesday. The officers are pictured alongside Frank Scala, president of the 13th Precinct Community Council. (Photo by P.O. Vincent Arlotta)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Two 13th precinct cops were recognized last week for their quick actions in saving a man who was choking in Midtown earlier this month. Deputy Inspector Steven Hellman gave police officers Angela Villota and Mayela Arthur the Cop of the Month award at the most recent 13th Precinct Community Council meeting last week for their work in the incident that took place on Wednesday, June 13 around 5:15 p.m.

Hellman said that Officers Villota and Arthur were assigned to the Trump detail in Midtown and were traveling north on Third Avenue near East 39th Street in the 17th precinct when a man walked up to their vehicle holding his neck and saying that he couldn’t breathe because he was choking on a piece of chicken.

Arthur immediately requested backup from EMS while Villota began to perform the Heimlich maneuver. The victim ultimately coughed up a small object, allowing him to breathe normally again.

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ST/PCV ditches security SUVs

One of three new scooters to be used by public safety officers, along with a fleet of bikes (Photo by Sabina Mollot)

By Sabina Mollot

The Public Safety department of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village invested in a fleet of six new bikes and three new Segway scooters, while also saying goodbye to three of its five SUV trucks.

The shift in transportation methods has a couple of reasons, according to StuyTown Property Services.

The first is to increase visibility of a security presence as a crime deterrent. The other is to make it easier for residents to get to know public safety officers.

The department is also in the midst of instituting a program similar to one being introduced by the 13th Precinct which places officers in very specific areas to act as community liaisons. The idea is to make it easier for neighborhood residents to form relationships with local law enforcement.

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Elderly woman assaulted at bus stop near Stuy Town

Assault suspect

By Sabina Mollot

Cops are on the lookout for a thug who shoved an elderly woman to the ground as she sat on a bench at a bus stop at First Avenue and 14th Street.

Police said on Sunday, April 22 at 7 p.m., a man approached the 82-year-old victim and shoved her off the bench, knocking her to the ground. The woman landed on her arm and later said she had pain in her arm as a result of the assault, although she didn’t go to the hospital.

Police don’t have a description of the man although he’s been captured in some fuzzy surveillance images.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call detectives at the 13th Precinct at (212) 477-7444.

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Man in MAGA cap pushes victim into train tracks at Union Square

Assault suspect

By Sabina Mollot

Police are looking for a man wearing a Make America Great Again cap and matching shirt who pushed a fellow straphanger onto the train tracks after insulting his ethnicity.

The incident took place on Friday at around 8:15 p.m. when the suspect picked a fight with the 24-year-old victim as they rode a northbound 4 train approaching Union Square station. After making “multiple derogatory statements regarding the victim’s ethnicity,” cops said the suspect followed the victim as he left the train at Union Square and punched him on his head multiple times on the platform. He then pushed the victim onto the track bed before fleeing to the Brooklyn bound L train platform.

The victim’s friend and another person helped the victim back up to the platform and he was taken to the hospital for a wound on his head he got from falling onto the tracks.

The suspect is described as being black with a heavy build. Along with his red MAGA shirt and headwear, he had a black jacket on and jewelry around his neck.

The assault is being investigated as a hate crime and according to published reports, the victim was Hispanic.

Last week, a man wearing a MAGA cap was confronted by two men at the same subway station who stole his hat. When the victim tried to get it back, one of the men pulled out a knife and threatened him with it.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).  The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

 

Man charged with lewdness in ST building

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Police arrested a man who allegedly exposed himself to a woman in a Stuy Town elevator after he followed her into the building early on Saturday morning.

The victim told police that she was entering 610 East 20th Street at 2:16 a.m. when 27-year-old Anthony Ashley allegedly came into the building behind her. She said that when she got in the elevator, Ashley entered the elevator behind her. When they were inside, he allegedly unzipped his pants and exposed himself.

Police said that Ashley is not a resident of the building. He was charged with public lewdness and trespassing.

Kips Bay senior reported missing

Apr12 Kalanzi

James Kalanzi

Police are looking for a Kips Bay man who was last seen on Tuesday, March 27 at 1 p.m., leaving his home at 14 East 28th Street.

James Kalanzi, 74, is black, 5’5″ tall, around 130 pounds and has short black hair. He was last seen wearing dark pants, a dark jacket with lettering on the back, and a hat.

Anyone with information in regards to this missing male is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). All calls are strictly confidential.

 

 

Robber pulls away cane from man, helps him back up, then steals his cash

Apr5 Robbery elder suspect

Robbery suspect

By Sabina Mollot

Police are hunting a man who violently robbed a 70-year-old man on Park Avenue South on Tuesday by pulling his cane away from him as he walked along the sidewalk. After the victim fell to the ground, the suspect took his wallet. Then, upon seeing that there were people approaching them, the robber helped the victim get back to his feet. However, before fleeing west on East 24th Street, he snatched $15 in cash from the victim’s wallet.

The suspect is described as unshaven and light-skinned and was last seen wearing a black knit cap, a gray hooded sweater with red lining, a black jacket and camouflage shoes.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.