St. Mark’s stickup
A man armed with a handgun followed two women into the vestibule of a building at 103 St. Mark’s Pl. shortly before 3 a.m. Thurs., Dec. 21, police said. The robber, described as a black man in his 20s, 5 feet 11 inches, 175 pounds, wearing a dark coat, blue knit ski cap over braided hair, blue jeans and sneakers, cocked the gun, ordered the victims, one 19 and the other 21, to get on the floor and hand over their bags. He took $40 and a digital camera from one bag and $20 and a cell phone from the other and fled on foot, police said. A surveillance camera in the vestibule of the building recorded a video of the holdup. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Police Department’s Crimestoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
A resident of the building said this week that the landlord had installed the surveillance system a few days before the incident. Detectives investigating the crime had told residents that the two victims, visitors from Europe, had ducked into the vestibule to avoid the man following them and had buzzed several apartments in a vain attempt to get help.
Christmas main break
A 12-inch water-main broke under Seventh Ave. at W. 15th St. at 1 a.m. Christmas morning and left hundreds of residents without water for most of the day. The break was repaired and water service returned by 5:30 p.m., according to a Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson.
Albert Amateau
