True Gotham

Yesterday, Sunday, 11/12, one of my Upper West Side properties was robbed during an open house. My agent caught one of the 2 women in the act and when confronted the 2 women panicked, dropped most but not all of what they had stolen and dashed out of the building. One of the women ran into the bathroom when caught, relieved herself, cleaned herself with a bath towel, threw it in the bath tub and ran out of the apartment pushing past my agent and suggesting she would sue him if he touched her.

Upon inspection of the apartment by both the police and the sellers, merchandise (jewelry, etc) and prescription narcotics (with other people’s names) from other Upper West Side robberies was found stashed around the apartment. It appears that when they were caught, they panicked and began leaving this merchandise so that it wouldn’t be discovered on them should the police catch them. So it is likely that someone else was victimized yesterday and may not even know it yet.  They haven’t yet been caught but we have very clear video of these two women on building security cameras. To that end, I will be providing all of you with these images upon receipt so that sellers and their agents can be aware at your future open houses.  I will also be providing a contact number for the precinct that responded to the scene.

In addition to this just being a disgusting experience, the thieves did get away with the seller's diamond eternity engagement ring and another heirloom ring that her grandmother had left her.  It's a violation that no one should have to experience but fortunately no one was hurt.

UPDATE: If you recognize these women call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS. All calls are anonymous.

UPDATE:  On Saturday evening, 11/24, the duo was apprehended and charged.

good for you Doug taking these measures to do justice!

Thanks Noah. What is REALLY disturbing is that since I posted this and sent out the email to our industry, I have received reports of at least 8 (EIGHT) other robberies in the past 2-3 weeks and one of the agents who called me even described one of these women. Another sent me an email reply describing both of the women at an Open House she had on East 57th Street. So my question is this: Since none of my colleagues nor I have EVER heard of this happening (me in my 16 years and others in my office with 20-30 years in biz) why has NO ONE shared this info with the real estate community or the public? It's frustrating to say the least.

Good news is that pics are coming soon. management just approved the release to me for distribution to the public. I will have them up as soon as I receive them in an effort to make sure no one else has to experience this type of unsettling act.

Its just good that something is being done about it. Props Doug! Very sad to hear this happens way more than I thought, and I happen to have this conversation with many sellers I pitch, and I assure them I keep my eye on people.

proves you can only watch so much. All valuabales should be locked away.

Thanks Noah and I really appreciate your willingness to post pics when I finally get them. Waiting is frustrating because I plan on sending their photo to all the news outlets too since this seems to be something these 2 women have done multiple times in the past few weeks.

Regarding valuables...they indeed should be LOCKED away!!! These were actaully fairly well hidden but the women knew EXACTLY where to look...they have done this before. It's just sickening.

Hey Doug. I've heard about one incident recently and it has been talked about internally in our office. All of these incidents may well turn out to be the work of the same perpetrators. It's almost surprising that we don't hear more about this sort of crime— considering how many open houses take place every year these add up to infrequent and isolated acts. But that doesn't provide much comfort if it does happen to you. Couldn't agree with you more, advise sellers to lock it away!

Totally agree Peter that these are a miniscule percentage of victimized sellers. Also, I have now heard from 4 agents at 3 different companies who have shared similar stories in the past 2 weeks and all 4 agents described the at least one of the two of these women. I sure hope that I receive these pictures today.

I'd be pleased to cross post them if you like.

I would like pic's of the robberies as we can be on the look out for them as we do open hoouses in harlem...

I think it's about timee we get stricter on security measures. Part of the responsibility must be place on RE Brokers. They should know who is coming to these open houses, have tel #'s, as well as some form of identification. The other responsibility should be on the buildings management. We need stricter policies when it comes to open houses. I for one would like to see them banned.

I caught a guy trying to steal some shit a few years back and I busted him up real nice... I would have attacked without hesitation.....

Damien,

I completely agree that security should be tighter. I think that asking for ID may be a nuasance to some and would take some getting used to but could serve to prevent this type of thing from happening in the future.

Unlike the suburbs, Open house in NYC are the most powerful marketing and sales tool in the process. The power of multiple parties in an apartment from a selling perspective is invaluable.

Tighter security yes. Banning is a bad idea.

David,

These people were bizarre. You can certainly guess but you can't say definitively what you would have done after someone crapped all over the place and wreaked of feces. This was not your "typical" larceny or your "typical set of perps.

Douglas:
I beleive that's the least a good reputable RE broker should be doing. If I had an open house and someone stole something guess what the first person I would be holding responsible is the RE broker. Look certainly the broker is not responsible for the unpredictable behavior of people but with the right precautions in place(ie identification, cell # confirmations, one viewer at a time etc) these occurence can prevented.

I hear you Damien but it MUST also be driven home that sellers lock up valuables. I think an incident like this is a perfect opportunity to revisit and improve the way in which Open Houses are handled by the real estate community and the public.

I must reiterate though that this is an isolated event and that Open Houses remain the most effective marketing tool for NYC real estate. My friends in the burbs hate open houses, but in NYC they are very POWERFUL. There is definitely ways to prevent this from happening and I sincerely believe that bringing this to light will effect positive change.

What charges will be brought up against these two? Since they had money will they get off?

According to The Daily News and The New York Post they are being charged with petty larceny, grand larceny, and possession of stolen property. We will see how the judicial system handles this one.

Its really very simple, people should obtain or use their safe, then there is no question this wont happen--unless someone wants to walk off with a piece of furniture. So, prescription drugs, jewelry, laptops, can all be put in a safe (and it doesnt have to be that large of a safe, can be a small one bolted to a closet floor). Such safekeeping applies not just to open houses, but to parties as well. Sellers, and party hosts must take responsibility for their valuables and not leave them out in plain view--or hidden view. Should be in the safe. Very simple solution. Onus is not on the broker, the agency, the management of the building, its on the owner, apartment occupant and party host. Use your safe!

What gutter dogs. They should be removed from this world.

we have been robbed - six months ago at an open house - 4 men's necklaces and one cross on a chain, one diamond tie tac - all were in a dresser drawer uder the socks and underwear - they were removed from a cloth case that had a snap - the case was put right back where it came from and re-snapped. alomst like soneone had seen them and then returned to get them. We had the house on the market for 8 months at that time and to be honest none of them had been worn for a long time so we have no idea when they were taken. Reported to police that put out a notice to local jewelars and pawn shops - we have heard nothing and to be hones still have the house on the market. My wife feels that when all is said and we finally sell that we should take it up with a claim to the realtors. They have been very good working with us and I am not sure who is at fault - maybe us for not being cautious enough (we had a safe and a lot of other things were in there - these just had been overlooked by me - The house is on MLS so there have been other agents who may not have been as observant of their clients - Anyone? any ideas if we have a claim anywhere? Thanks