Noted

A resident of a building on Fifth Street shares this email from the landlord of roughly three years, The Sabet Group, which offers their rationale for persistent broken front-door locks and, subsequently, stolen packages ...

Dear Residents,

You are correct, the city is no longer safe due to the bail reform and protest to defund the police. There are no consequences for stealing packages/breaking the law. The doors will be fixed again due to criminals attempting to pick and break locks. Please submit your request to the police and the city regarding safety of the city and our state. 

Thank you, 

The Management 

The resident was irked that the landlord blamed issues such as bail reform instead of shoddy maintenance practices. Per a resident: "Sabet might consider using some of the exorbitantly higher rents they collect to maintain security and protect their tenants." 

Season's greetings!

A reader shares that note from an undisclosed East Village apartment building...

To whoever stole every package delivered yesterday — I hope you enjoy Hell. :)

Noted

A reader shared this warning sign posted on a building along St. Mark's Place... 

You fucking thief! I am watching, and when I catch you, I will kill you!

Noted

A message for the package thief here on Avenue B. 

Good morning! 

And thanks to the EVG reader for sharing this...

How package thefts helped unify this East Village building

The above photo is from the EVG archives and isn't related to this story in the Times. 

Over at The New York Times today, Julie Besonen writes about the East Village building that she has lived in since the 1990s... touching on some relatable themes — changing demographics and package thefts. 

Some excerpts:

Package theft wasn’t an issue when I first moved in during the Grunge years, although crack vials routinely littered our stoop. Sleepy addicts sometimes blocked the door. But these entryway inconveniences were minor compared with the constant robberies, which rapidly escalated last year.

And...

But back to 30 years ago: Aside from the stoop problem, our building was a neighborly haven, owned by the same family for generations and monitored by live-in supers, a couple from Malta named Agnes and Tony. Our ensemble of residents (Bill, Bob, John, Pat, Tom) worked unflashy jobs — mailroom clerk, museum guide and so on — and stayed for decades, giving me the chance to grow fond of them, including nuisances like Edith and Victor (secretary, janitor), who banged on my ceiling when my music blared. It only took them 14 years to trust me enough to water their plants when they traveled. 

The poignant exodus of these characters, through death, eviction, buyouts and, most recently, the pandemic, made way for my current neighbors, variously named Summer, Kennedy, Madison, Kayleigh, Mackenzie, Hannah and Charity. They pay rents that seem exorbitant, upward of $4,000 in some cases, reflecting the East Village’s own hypergentrification.

However, as Besonen writes, the spate of pandemic-era package thefts helped her forge a bond with her new, younger neighbors.

Ralitsa Kalfas, 23 ... found an empty cardboard box instead of winter coats and sweaters sent to her from her family. A vintage jacket that once belonged to her grandmother was stolen too. My empathy for these young women grew, realizing they weren’t that different from me when I first moved to New York, my shyness sometimes interpreted as unfriendliness.

You can read the full piece here.

Reader reports: Package theft season is upon us

We're hearing from several readers about a rash of package thefts of late — even with more people working from home and being there for a delivery.

For instance, someone placed the above flyers along Avenue B showing a video-surveillance pic of an alleged thief residents say is "looting delivery packages" at several EV buildings.

One reader shares the text of a flyer from a building along Seventh Street: 

I had 2 Amazon boxes opened and contents stolen yesterday. (In fact, all boxes in the lobby were opened, some with unwanted contents left on top of the boxes.)

My Amazon delivery notice stated, "Your package was delivered. It was handed directly to a resident." (Never seen that on a delivery notice.) That "resident" was not me. I never even spoke to Amazon.

So either we have a thief in the building or, more likely, some fool buzzed in someone they did not know, who stole our stuff.

Whoever stole the contents of these packages opened them in the lobby. Did no one hear?
Please watch out for your neighbors. If you are feeling particularly kind, consider dropping the package at their door on the way up to your apt.

Otherwise, only buzz in people you know.