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."
