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. 

Noted

And from the Notes in the Lobby: After Hours Edition... this note in an East Village lobby is a little NSFW, so...

To the thieves in this building.

I will find out who you are.

Where I come from BITCH

we cut your fucking hands off

and mail it to your family.

You like stealing from hardworking people, huh?

The one who took less than 20 mins to take

my package, I hope you enjoy wearing my underwear.

[Etc. Etc. Etc.]

I WILL FIND YOU Degenerate.

I curse your hands and your blood line.

Thanks to Mark White for the photo! I think!

A report of a package thief on 3rd Street

An EVG reader shares this from a building on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Somebody in my building buzzed in this package thief, who took my stuff. In addition to his backpack, he's got a giant suitcase, so I'm betting my building isn't the only one he hit.

Also:

I can't decide if I'm glad his mask is below the chin, so we can see his face, or if I'm annoyed that he's breathing all over the narrow hallway.

'Tis the package theft season

An EVG reader reports that a package thief struck her building on Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D on Monday.

It was the site of a previous theft. These flyers are now in circulation at the building...



We've also received reports of missing/stolen packages from buildings on Fifth Street and Seventh Street.

According to a recent (Dec. 3!) article in The New York Times:

In New York City, where more orders are delivered than anywhere else in the country, over 90,000 packages a day are stolen or disappear without explanation, up roughly 20 percent from four years ago, according to an analysis conducted for The New York Times.

About 15 percent of all deliveries in urban areas fail to reach customers on the first attempt because of package theft and other issues, like deliveries to the wrong house, according to transportation experts.

Some of the common sense tips to help prevent package theft includes:

• Don't buzz strangers into your building
• Make sure you close the building's front door tightly behind you
• Have your package delivered to your work
• Have your package delivered to the apartment of a relative or friend who you know will be home
• Have your package held at your local post office for pickup (If you don't mind waiting in a line and encountering surly customer-service reps)
• Request that your package has signature confirmation upon delivery
• (Someone will say don't order anything online)

The 9th Precinct offered this up last week...

If you are going to take part in #CyberMonday we ask you to consider using a drop off locker or have the packages delivered to you at work to ensure you get them. @amazon and @UPS have lockers throughout the neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/vBg9lJgLZd

— NYPD 9th Precinct (@NYPD9Pct) December 2, 2019

'Give me back my package you bastard'

[Click on image for more detail]

Package thefts remain an ongoing issue in neighborhood buildings... the resident of this Second Street building has had enough, as evidenced by the sign he-she left in the entryway...

Stop stealing packages you thieves, I am getting the cops involved in this enough is enough. This is not the first time a package is stolen from the lobby of this building. Keep your hands to yourself and stop taking what's not yours. If you didn't pay for it don't touch it. I hope the cops find you because I am pressing charges.

Give me back my package you bastard.

Thanks to @chang0blanco for the photo!

Another case of stolen packages from an East Village lobby

An EVG reader reports another package theft (see previous posts here) ... this time from a lobby on Eighth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D.

The building's surveillance video (below) shows the suspect entering the building. He put a scarf over his head and left with a bagful of boxes — a number believed to be seven or eight.

According to the reader, he slipped in when someone making a food delivery left the building.





Per the reader: "I hope he enjoys my infant swim diapers."

Reports of more package thefts: 'Thief is shopping now in our mailbox area'

On the heels of Friday's reader report about a package theft on Third Street (between First Avenue and Second Avenue) ... an EVG reader shares this from a building on Second Street between Avenue B and Avenue C...



Per the sign on the front door:

"Thief is back. Do not just buzz people in:

Have just found over $100 of gifts I ordered open and gone. Another resident also has a ripped and empty box.

Thief is shopping now in our mailbox area. Reporting to Mr. Lasker for any video — but none of us are now safe.

Go down in person if you must let people in. It could be you next."

Per the EVG reader: "We had problems before and our landlord installed cameras. I guess it’s not a deterrent."

Reader report: Package theft PSA

An EVG reader on Third Street shared this from earlier today.

"This woman tried to go 'shopping' for packages in our hallway this morning. Our building has a security camera (obv) ... [she was] caught stuffing packages into her Whole Foods bag."

A building resident chased her out and called the NYPD.

"Another reminder not to buzz people into your building unless you know them."

Noted

Spotted on 11th Street and Avenue A... and unrelated to this note, we've heard from several residents about someone stealing packages this holiday season from their lobbies/entryways...because residents either don't close the door behind them or buzz any rando in...

Photo via Shawn Chittle

Package theft from an East 11th Street lobby

An EVG reader shared this:

My building on East 11th Street between Avenue A and B had some packages stolen yesterday. After reviewing the security footage we saw the guy in the purple shirt hanging out on the sidewalk pretending to be on the phone and then he followed the USPS guy in after he was buzzed in.

He then proceeded to fill his large bag with the packages that were just delivered and left.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Watch this man help himself to packages from an East 7th Street lobby

Another report of stolen packages from an East Village lobby

Watch this guy take all the packages from an East 3rd Street building lobby

[Updated] Watch this guy take all the packages from an East 3rd Street building lobby

A resident who lives on East Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B shared this surveillance video with us ... it's from around 6 p.m. on Saturday. The video picks up the man entering the building, taking a look around, then helping himself to all the packages by the mailboxes in the lobby.



There have been multiple package thefts from this one building. (Someone has routinely hit the buzzers seeking access in the evening.)

We understand that the NYPD is on the case.

Updated 11:28 a.m.

From an EVG reader... management from a building on East 11th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B sent residents a photo of the man who surveillance cameras show taking two packages from the lobby. He allegedly did this after delivering another package to the address.



Previously on EV Grieve:
Watch this man help himself to packages from an East 7th Street lobby

Another report of stolen packages from an East Village lobby

Another report of stolen packages from an East Village lobby

[Screengrab from earlier this month]

Two weeks ago, a resident who lives on East Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B told us that the man in the above photo has entered his or her building several times in the past month… video surveillance cameras show him taking packages from the lobby. (Another resident said that he has struck No. 140, 144 and 150 on East Seventh Street.)

In the comments on that post, several other residents noted that someone had also stolen packages from their doorman-less lobbies in the neighborhood.

Now comes word of another lobby package grab on Monday in a building on East Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. The suspect — a different man than from East Seventh Street — was caught on the building's security cameras.



Per the resident:

The man entered our building at 4:27 p.m. — about 10 minutes after UPS had dropped off their deliveries — and took all the packages in the mailroom. He appears to have buzzed random doors to gain entry.

Here is the surveillance video...



And last Wednesday night around 8:30, a resident spotted a man pushing a cart with packages from East Seventh Street and Avenue B... then west on Sixth Street to Avenue A. The resident did not see the man take — or deliver — any packages.



"It was just really strange that he didn't have a uniform," said the reader, who alerted the NYPD. "He didn't have a truck anywhere either." [Updated: Multiple readers said that the man works for Amazon]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Watch this man help himself to packages from an East 7th Street lobby

Watch this man help himself to packages from an East 7th Street lobby

A resident who lives on East Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B tells us that this man has entered his or her building several times in the past month… and helped himself to packages in the lobby. (Another resident said that he has struck No. 140, 144 and 150.)

In each case, the man lingers outside the front door… and waits for a resident to enter or exit the building, then walks right in before the door closes… The building management did file a police report.

The resident shared surveillance video from two of the incidents … thinking perhaps the man is hitting other nearby lobbies as well…





There's also surveillance footage showing the man walking right in after building residents, who do not seem to notice that someone is entering directly behind them…



Said the resident: "I never, ever let anyone in behind me. This is NYC — you never know who is walking in behind you."

Building management has posted a screen grab from the video and a warning note to residents…