Riverdale Ave. Verizon Store robbed

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Local residents woke up to the site of a safe in the middle of Riverdale Avenue near the intersection with West 259th Street today, following a 4:30 a.m. robbery at the Verizon Wireless Store there.

Police said that surveillance footage showed an unknown number of suspects breaking into the store, at 5909 Riverdale Ave., and taking a large black safe full of electronics out the front door. The burglars reportedly broke the safe open and took over 80 items, including iPhones, iPads, Samsung Galaxy phones, tablets and other cell phones.

Police did not know the total value of the stolen goods. Press journalists observed about 10 boxes for electronic items as well as two unpackaged cell phones on Riverdale Avenue as of about 10:30 a.m.

Riverdale resident Timo Hughes said he saw the safe on the street early in the morning, before police arrived.

“I was walking by about 7 in the morning or earlier… and I saw the safe outside,” he said. “To get that safe outside, you know, without anyone seeing it? Cars are passing by all the time,” Mr. Hughes marveled.

The incident marked the latest in a string of crimes in the 50th Precinct, where robberies so far this year have increased 12.5 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2015 and shootings are up by three.

Burglaries for this year are on par with levels in 2015, with 55 incidents since January, two fewer compared to the same period last year.

Despite the uptick in crime, Mr. Hughes said this latest incident doesn’t scare him.

“I don’t worry about my own safety. A store robbery is nothing. I never get bothered. [There] are people that overreact. It has nothing to do with safety,” he said. “That kind of stuff doesn’t bother me.”

Another resident, Sean Kiernan, had no complaints about the police presence in the area, but the sight of a safe on a southbound lane of Riverdale Avenue left him incredulous.

“There are cops here all the time. I take late night walks and there is always a police presence around here,” he said. “Pretty daring, though, to break into a place and drag a safe out in the middle of the street.”

Verizon Store, robbery, Anthony Capote, Lisa Herndon