The plague of plaque thefts

The stories about the memorial plaque thefts around the neighborhood are generating national attention. 

The New York Times had more details on the noon-time theft of the marker outside the historic New York Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue. 

"The heist took 13 minutes 58 seconds, from the moment the man in the gray T-shirt appeared to the moment when he walked away, having slipped the loot into a backpack he slung over his shoulder." 

We posted a photo of the alleged suspect captured on surveillance video here. 

(Thanks to the Times for linking to our coverage of previous plaque thefts. It's nice to see, as too many local news sites pretend they were the first to report on a story. Also, H/T Bayou.) 

The Associated Press also has a piece specifically on Village Preservation-placed markers, the one outside the one-time home of the Fillmore East that we first reported on ... and one on 13th Street for Anaïs Nin.

Another honoring Elizabeth Blackwell at the former home of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children at 58 Bleecker St. was removed but left on the sidewalk for whatever reason. 

As you likely guessed, there is a market for scrap metal, "part of a disturbing trend that includes the theft of a statue of Jackie Robinson from a park in Kansas," according to the AP. 

Meanwhile, in the comments on Tuesday, an EVG reader noted the double plaque theft from outside the accounting-legal office at 55 Avenue A (see photo above). 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• The summer of stolen plaques continues with thefts at New York Marble Cemetery, the former Club 57

The summer of stolen plaques continues with thefts at New York Marble Cemetery, the former Club 57

The brass plaque on the front gate at the landmarked New York Marble Cemetery is the latest to have been ripped off around the neighborhood. 

A rep at the oldest non-denominational cemetery in New York City, 41 1/2 Second Ave. between Second Street and Third Street, told us this happened at noon this past Thursday.

Here's a look at the gate and plaque as they were...

The cemetery rep said the plaque had a value of $650 in 1999. 

They also released a photo from a surveillance video showing the alleged plaque thief... (they filed a police report and shared this image)...

Readers have also noted other missing plaques this past month, such as outside P.S. 15 on Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D...

... and at 57 St. Mark's Place between First Avenue and Second Avenue, someone swiped the plaque commemorating Club 57 ...

Earlier this summer, we mentioned the theft of the bronze Christodora House plaque outside the building at 143 Avenue B on Ninth Street. In June, someone stole the brass plaque dedicated to former Tompkins Square Park supervisor Harry Greenberg from along the Ninth Street pedestrian walkway. The plaque commemorating the Fillmore East at 105 Second Ave. near Sixth Street is also gone. 

Per the New York Marble Cemetery rep: "We caution other historic sites to be aware of this vandalism."

These thefts are certainly not unique to the East Village. The rash of thefts in Los Angeles, for instance, "is fed by the high price of scrap metal. The plaques are comprised of bronze – which is made up largely of copper, a hot commodity in the stolen metal market." 

On July 9, The New York Times published an article titled "Metal Thieves Are Stripping America's Cities." 

Other plaques that are currently missing in the East Village

A tipster tells us that someone swiped the bronze Christodora House plaque outside the building at 143 Avenue B at Ninth Street... it has been missing, we're told, since at least June 25...

We're not sure how old the plaque is/was outside the 16-floor building, which was built in 1928 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. 

This is the latest plaque to go missing in the East Village in recent weeks (see here ... and here... and here). 

H/T Cecil Scheib for the older plaque photo