A series of break-ins in Hell's Kitchen has caused chaos at businesses, with the glass doors of three businesses on a side street near 10th Avenue shattered within 48 hours.
Early Wednesday morning, police were called to Seguidilla Bistro on W51st Street near 10th Avenue after an unknown person broke the front glass door and entered the business. Police said the person fled on foot north on 10th Avenue just before 5 a.m. after taking about $100 from the cash register.
W42ST spoke to Seguidilla owner Adam Pilon about the robbery. “One of our employees called us on Wednesday and when we arrived we found the front door broken.” Police have cordoned off the area while they investigate.
“When we got inside, we found out that the only thing they had stolen was the money that was in the register from the night before. Other than that, everything was pretty much in place. As far as I know, the restaurant doesn't have tablets or All other items were still available.'' The Dominican bistro remained closed Wednesday as it waited for the door to be repaired.
Adam said this is the second time the restaurant has been broken into. While the space was being renovated before opening, someone broke the glass and stole most of the equipment from construction workers and one of the mixers.
That same night, the front door of Totto Ramen across the street on W 51st Street was vandalized around 10:30 p.m., but no one entered the store. Police classified the incident as “criminal mischief.” This is the same classification given to a broken window at the Midtown South Precinct on W. 35th Street in April.
When employees arrived at New Cleaners on W. 49th Street Monday morning, they found the store's front entrance had been vandalized. Officers reviewed security camera footage and saw an unknown person enter the store just before 4 a.m. Police said approximately $1,500 was taken from the register and the suspect fled in an unknown direction.
Adam is currently considering paying to have roll-down shutters installed in his shop. “We didn't really want to install a gate because we thought it would detract from the aesthetics of the restaurant, but now that it's necessary, we're reconsidering installing one,” he said.
Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crimestoppers website (https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/) or Twitter. @NYPDTips.
Let's join with local community councils
Midtown North District Council meets on Zoom the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. For more information, please email mtncommunitycouncil@gmail.com. You can follow MTN Branch on Twitter/X. twitter.com/nypdmtn
Midtown South District Council meets on Zoom on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. You can follow MTS Station on Twitter/X. twitter.com/nypdmts
The 10th Precinct Council meets in person at the Precinct, 230 W20th Street (bw 7/8th Ave), on the last Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. You can follow 10th Precinct on Twitter/X. twitter.com/nypd10pct
