Photo by Daniel Iam (not of the fire escape referenced in the story).
By Jessica Brockington
In a four-hour period on January 19th, three neighboring apartments were burglarized in the vicinity of Columbus and 84th Street, according to Deputy Inspector Michael Falcon, commanding officer of the 20th Precinct.
Police believe the thief (or thieves) accessed the apartments from fire escapes through windows left unlocked by residents.
“One apartment had a steel gate across it that would have prevented the burglary if it had been locked,” Falcon said. “People need to make sure their windows are locked when they leave their homes during the day.”
All three neighbors, in two adjacent buildings that share a back alley, reported leaving their homes in the morning and returning to find their laptops, and in one case, a camera, missing.
“Most residential burglaries happen during the day when people are away from home. Commercial burglaries happen mostly at night,” Falcon added.
A few months ago, a resident reported seeing a Peeping Tom on a fire escape on 69th and Columbus.
Where is there a back alley at 84th and Columbus? I am at 85th and Columbus, and there are no allies between 84th and 85th.
‘in the VICINITY of Columbus and 84th Street’
There are FDNY and DOB egress regulations that limit the use of locked gates on fire escape windows.
This happened all the time in the 1980’s. That’s why we all got those horrible-looking gates.
Well with Big Billy Wilhelm at the helm( no pun) its starting to look like the 80’s again
“…if it had been locked”. Duh! Don’t know how people feel so secure to leave doors, windows and gates unlocked.