It’s raining cement
Two city Department of Environmental Protection employees will be thinking twice about getting into their cars.
The two were nearly killed Monday afternoon when a bucket of cement crashed down on the roof of their city-issued vehicle — just as they were about to get inside it.
The heavy bucket, which fell from the 23rd floor of a building being repaired near the corner of Court and Livingston streets, made a deep crater in the roof of the car, a Toyota Prius, and blew out the windshield, startled witnesses said.
Environmental Protection employee Omar Ishak, 39, told reporters that he had his hand on the car’s door handle when the bucket came plummeting down.
“I consider myself the luckiest man in the world,” he told The Daily News. “A couple of seconds later I would have been dead.”
The two men parked on Court Street so they could go into Borough Hall and get some street maps.
Officials said that both he and his partner were splattered with concrete. But, just the same, they were grateful that it wasn’t their blood.
Inspectors from the city’s Buildings Department issued a stop-work order for the rehab on the building until the accident can be investigated further.
Strawberry smack
A security guard at the Strawberry’s store in the Fulton Mall was smacked in the face as he tried to stop a team of shoplifters from fleecing store shelves last week, officials said.
Police have arrested at least one of the thieves wanted in the July 14 theft — the one who assaulted the security guard as she tried to make her escape, officials said.
The guard said that she was monitoring the store, located at 490 Fulton Street just before 4:30 p.m. on July 14 when he saw a woman bolt outside with five handbags.
The young woman handed the bags over to 56-year-old Theodore Hutchins, who was waiting outside.
Hutchins tried to run off with the bags, but the guard grabbed him. He tried to bat the guard away, but couldn’t loosen her grip, officials allege.
Cops charged him with attempted assault, menacing, harassment and criminal possession of stolen property.
Flim flammer search
Cops are looking for an identity thief who used an area bank to commit his crime.
Police said that the suspect entered an HSBC bank at 200 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights back on June 16 and used a Coney Island resident’s identity and bank information to fill out a withdrawal slip.
He then looted the victim’s bank account and walked out of the bank without being stopped, since everyone believed that he was the victim.
Armed with a surveillance photo, cops are asking anyone with information about this man to come forward.
Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
Mugged on Bond
Police arrested a 21-year-old in connection with a mugging near the corner of Bond and Baltic streets.
The victim said that she was on Bond Street approaching Baltic at 2 p.m. on July 13 when Dwayne Hanson grabbed her and punched her in the face.
Hanson ran off, only to be spotted a short time later with the woman’s purse, as well as the $321 that was in it.
Cops charged Hanson with robbery, harassment, petit larceny, menacing and assault, officials said.
Checkered club
A 48-year-old man has been arrested for an area road rage incident in which a taxi cab driver was hit with a steering wheel immobilizer.
Police said that Frankie Guzman attacked the cab driver at 6:30 a.m. on July 10 after the two pulled over at the corner of Hicks and Amity streets.
The cabbie told police that they were both driving through downtown Brooklyn when Guzman wouldn’t allow him to switch lanes.
When the cabbie did the same, the two reportedly began swerving toward each other.
That ended when both pulled over and Guzman charged him with his steering wheel “club.”
Guzman struck the cabbie in the head with the club and drove away, only to be captured by responding officers.
He was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon, prosecutors said.
Trading up
A thief caught breaking into a Nissan at the corner of Hicks and Middagh streets traded up recently when he robbed the car’s owner — an off duty correction officer — of his gun, officials said.
Police said that the correction officer was approaching his car at 5 p.m. on July 3 when he saw the 31-year-old thief seated inside, trying to pry open the steering column.
The guard reportedly jumped into the car, identified himself as a police officer and ordered the thief out of the car.
Instead of doing what he was told, the thief punched him in the arm, grabbed the guard’s pistol and ran off with it.
Cops caught up with the thief a short time later, charging him with assault and robbery.
The guard wasn’t injured, officials said.
Wipe out graffiti
As the ongoing war against graffiti continues, a $500 reward is being offered to anyone with information about graffiti vandals in their neighborhoods.
The hefty reward is part of the city’s ongoing push to rid New York of graffiti vandals.
Graffiti is one of the leading quality of life complaints brought to police.
Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism is urged to contact either 311 or 911.
No peace
Congregants at Our Lady of Peace Church, 522 Carroll Street, contacted police last week to report that some devil had bilked them out of nearly $29,000 in receipts.
Church officials said that someone made three counterfeit checks in the house of worship’s name and then cashed them at local banks.
The checks were presented between June 23 and July 25, officials were told. All of them were made out to IMA Electronics Inc., according to officials.
Cops learned about the theft on July 11.
Anyone with information which can help the police in their crusade to find the thief can contact the 78th Precinct at (718) 636-6411. All calls will be kept confidential.
Cleaned out
Some dirty crooks busted into the New York Car Wash, 169 Third Avenue, last week, taking over $2,000 in receipts.
Police said that someone hoisted open the security gate to the business sometime after closing at 8 p.m. on July 12.
When workers showed up at 7 a.m. the next morning, they found a raised gate and a raided register and cash box.
Cops were looking for the thieves as this paper went to press.
Laptop taken
A sticky-fingered thief worked his way into a Sixth Avenue home last week, where he removed a $1,000 laptop and a Verizon modem, officials said.
The victim, who lives near Carroll Street, said that he left his apartment at 5:30 p.m. on July 12.
When he returned at 10:45 p.m. that night, he discovered that someone had forced open a side window.
The thief snagged a laptop and the modem and fled through the front door, the victim soon learned.
Home wrecker
Someone busted into a Sixth Avenue building under development and took great pains to break a lock and crack a $3,000 granite countertop, officials said.
Officials for Mera Development said that over $4,500 in damage was left at the Sixth Avenue development near Carroll Street sometime between 11 a.m. on July 9 and the next morning.
Thieves ripped off the doorknob in order to get inside.
They then cracked the granite kitchen countertop, which will cost about $3,000 to replace, they said.
Bike bilk
A free-wheeling thief broke into a Prospect Park West apartment building last week and rolled off with a $600 bike, police said.
The owner of the bike said that someone entered the basement of the building, located between Second and Third streets, sometime between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on July 9.
The only thing taken was the bike, officials said.
Cops were looking for the thief as this paper went to press.
Subaru raid
Someone broke into a 1993 Subaru parked on Third Avenue near Union Street last week, taking an assortment of electronics, as well as a baby’s present.
Police said that the victim, a 38-year-old woman, parked her car on Third Avenue at about 9 a.m. on July 9.
She returned to her car about an hour later and learned that someone had pried open the passenger side window and removed an iPod, Nikon camera, glasses, tools, stereo, CDs and baby present.
Noisemakers
Thieves attempted to break into a Denton Place business last week, but didn’t do anything but make a lot of noise, cops from the 78th Precinct were told.
Cops were called to the street, located near Carroll Street and Fourth Avenue, at about 11 a.m. on July 11 where a tenant living above Rolling Press claimed that someone tried to break into the premises the night before.
The tenant said that someone was banging on the door, damaging the doorknob in the process.
But the door was more of a match than originally expected and the thief went home empty-handed, officials said.
Throttled for purse
A 25-year-old Carroll Street woman was grabbed by the throat and robbed of her purse as she made her way home last week, officials said.
The victim said that she was zeroing in on her apartment on Carroll Street near Seventh Avenue at 4:45 a.m. on July 6 when a black male in his 20s stopped her.
The man grabbed her and ordered her to hand over her purse, which contained her cell phone, iPod, digital camera and several credit cards.
The thief and an unidentified accomplice then stormed off, leaving the woman unharmed.
Cops were still looking for the thieves as this paper went to press.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to call them at (718) 636-6411. All calls will be kept confidential.
Masked mugger
Workers at the Slope Natural Foods Deli, 61 Fifth Avenue, were held up by a gun-toting masked marauder last week, police said.
Employees for the late-night grocery said that they were behind the counter at 3:45 a.m. on July 5 when the 5’10”, 180-pound suspect came in and pulled a gun on him, demanding the money from the register.
The thief took $500 in receipts and ran out of the store toward St. Mark’s Avenue, officials said.
Late-night withdrawal
Thieves broke into Barbes, 376 9th Street, and removed over $1,400 in receipts from the neighborhood night spot, officials said.
Police were told that workers had closed the business at 2 a.m. on July 1.
Sometime before 7 a.m. the next morning, someone cut through the security gate. The front door had been left unlocked.
Workers told police that both the cash register and a cash box had been removed.
Wipe out graffiti
As the ongoing war against graffiti continues, a $500 reward is being offered to anyone with information about graffiti vandals in his or her neighborhood.
The hefty reward is part of the city’s new push to rid New York of graffiti vandals.
Graffiti is one of the leading quality of life complaints brought to police.
Anyone with information about graffiti vandalism is urged to contact either 311 or 911.
