Vestibule villains
Not everything was pure as the driven snow during last week’s storm: A 22-year-old man was beaten and robbed after two brazen thieves followed him into the vestibule of his 85th Street building.
The victim told police that he noticed the two men trailing him as he made his way to his home near Fifth Avenue at 12:55 a.m. on February 9.
As sheets of snow began falling on the neighborhood, the two men closed the gap and followed the victim inside the building, asking him if he lived on the third floor.
The thugs attacked him before he could answer, leaving him with bruises to his face and torso, police said.
They then went through his pockets, ultimately making off with his cash, cell phone, passport, wallet and jacket.
Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 68th Precinct at (718) 439-4211. All calls will be kept confidential.
Dyker attack
Two men jumped a 32-year-old as he slogged his way through a snow-covered Dyker Heights last week, officials said.
Cops were told that the victim was on 71st Street nearing 11th Avenue at 9 p.m. on February 9 during the opening salvo of last week’s storm when he noticed two men sitting in a four door sedan by a fire hydrant.
The car was running, but the lights were off, the man remembered.
As he drew closer, the two men got out and lunged at the victim, putting him in a headlock.
They tried to wrestle the victim’s jacket and back pack away from him, but the victim fought back, prompting their hasty escape.
The thieves were last seen jumping into their car and charging down 71st Street towards 12th Avenue, officials said.
Up in smoke
Over $500 in Nicoderm anti-smoking medications were swiped from a car parked near the corner of 11th Avenue and 77th Street last week.
A 28-year-old woman told police last week that she had left the samples in her 2010 Mercury Mariner at 8:30 p.m. on February 8.
When she returned to her car the next morning she noticed that her front passenger window was smashed.
Her cabin was looted of the Nicoderm, an iPod Nano, a GPS device and two pairs of sunglasses, police said.
Bedroom ransacked
Over $1200 in video and audio equipment was removed from a 72nd Street home last week.
The 51-year-old homeowner told police that he left his Bay Ridge abode between Third Avenue and Ridge Boulevard at 1 p.m. on February 7.
He returned shortly after midnight the next morning, to find that someone had forced open a rear window.
The items were missing from his bedroom, which was ransacked, officials said.
Annual anger
A 34-year-old woman told police that her Ovington Avenue home was burglarized last week. This is the second time in two years that this happened, she said.
Police were told that someone entered the home between Ridge Boulevard and Third Avenue on the afternoon of February 11.
When she came home at 3:20 p.m., she found her front door unlocked. Some cash, a camera and a gold chain were missing, she said.
Dog day afternoon
Arrests are expected to be handed down in the now infamous Salty Dog brawl where a group of active and retired firefighters allegedly brutalized a group of revelers over a spilled drink.
Sources said that the city’s Department of Investigation was expected to release their findings within the next few days about the fight, which was reportedly caught on video.
Four men were at the bar, located at 7509 Third Avenue, back on January 29 when one of them knocked into a firefighter, spilling his drink.
That’s when, according to published reports, a dozen firefighters jumped the quartet, dragging one of the men into a bathroom where he was viciously beaten.
Some of the firefighters involved were members of Engine Company 310 in East Flatbush. All of the active firefighters were off duty at the time of the incident.
Officials said that the victims initially did not want to press charges, but soon changed their mind after hiring lawyer Joe Tacopina.
Tacopina told reporters that he and his clients are waiting for the outcome of the investigation before deciding if they should sue the FDNY.
