The early-morning fire that ate through a Loehmann’s Seaport Plaza restaurant may have been arson, FDNY officials said this week.
An FDNY spokesman said that fire marshals are treating the fire at XO Creperie, 2027 Emmons Avenue, as “suspicious” as they try to determine how the blaze was sparked.
Firefighters were called to the restaurant at 5:30 a.m. on November 21 after the flames triggered a fire alarm inside the restaurant, officials said. The blaze was put out within 50 minutes.
No one was inside the eatery when the fire broke out, although a firefighter suffered a strained shoulder as he doused the blaze.
According to the Sheepsheadbites blog, the fire damage to the restaurant was minimal.
A call put in to Loehmann’s was answered by a recording stating, “Due to an emergency, Loehmann’s is temporarily closed.”
A 19-year-old was struck in the head with a bottle and robbed of his wallet as he exited a Kings Highway bodega.
The victim said that he had just left the store, located near West 8th Street, at 2 a.m. on November 22 when the unidentified suspect attacked him.
The victim suffered “visible injuries” as a result, said officials, who were still looking for the thief as this paper went to press.
A 23-year-old woman was reportedly robbed by the cabbie who took her to Bath Beach Friday %u2013 even after he was paid in advance for the ride %u2013 cops were told this week.
The woman said that her boyfriend put her in the cab after a date at 2 a.m. on November 20 and paid the driver in advance.
But when they got to the corner of Bath Avenue and Bay 37th Street, the cabbie demanded his fare and refused to let the woman out.
The woman was released only after the cabbie took her purse, passport, MP3 player and coat, cops were told.
A 46-year-old man went ballistic inside Coney Island’s Sea Park Apartments last week, taking a baseball bat to hallway windows, walls and light fixtures on several floors, police alleged.
His name, according to police: Dwayne Batts.
Batts was taken into custody on November 19 for allegedly being the one-man demolition crew responsible for damaging the eighth, 10th, 12th and 14th floors inside of 2929 West 31st Street on the morning of November 12.
He was ultimately charged with criminal mischief, officials said.
Cops from the 60th Precinct were called to Brighton 8th Street last week after two men attacked a third male with a piece of wood.
Prosecutors did not disclose what sparked the 12:05 a.m. attack near Oceanview Avenue on November 20.
When cops arrived, an area man alleged that 24-year-old Alexander Olivencia and 26-year-old Edwin Tarrats had jumped him. The duo allegedly punched him in the face before striking him with the piece of wood, cops were told.
The victim was rushed to the hospital, although he reportedly didn’t suffer much more than a cut lip.
Cops took Olivencia and Tarrats into custody without incident, charging them with assault in the second degree, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.
Cops have arrested a 17-year-old in connection with an attempted robbery on Exeter Street in Manhattan Beach.
Police alleged that Joelle Rivera grabbed another teenager between Shore Boulevard and Hampton Avenue just before midnight on November 16 and kept him in a chokehold as he demanded money from him.
Yet when a motorist rolled by, Rivera let go and ran off, police alleged.
Cops caught up with him the next day, charging him with attempted robbery, assault and attempted petit larceny, officials from the 61st Precinct said.
We guess this is the cost of doing business when you do business with thieves.
The owner of Wasabi Sushi, 7222 18th Avenue, called police last week alleging that a former business partner had allegedly stormed inside and was in the process of removing all of the restaurant’s New York State permits from the wall.
When a worker tried to stop him, the business partner shoved him aside, leaving the man with a small injury, police alleged.
Responding officers had better luck, arresting the 28-year-old, identified as Shi Ming, without incident.
A 36-year-old man is being hung out to dry after cops arrested him for allegedly breaking into laundry rooms in buildings throughout Sheepshead Bay and Manhattan Beach.
Officials alleged that Dmitry Latergaus and an unapprehended accomplice busted into the laundry room of a building on Shore Boulevard at West End Avenue back on October 5.
Latergaus was reportedly caught on tape as he and his friend broke a basement window, entered the building’s laundry room and pried open the coin box to one of the machines, police alleged.
The two thieves allegedly got away with the money, but resurfaced on November 1, this time breaking into an apartment building on West End Avenue near Cass Place, police said.
Police said that the thieves got into the laundry room, but were unable to get into the machines.
That didn’t stop them from returning to the same building on November 20 and try again, police alleged.
Cops nabbed Latergaus shortly after the last attempt, charging him with three counts of burglary and criminal trespass, as well as possession of burglar’s tools.
His accomplice was still at large as this paper went to press.
A crew of daring thieves took the path of most resistance as they tunneled into an electronics store on 20th Avenue last week.
Workers at Fera Express Wireless, 8520 20th Avenue, told police that they opened for business on the morning of November 20 and found a new skylight that wasn’t there before.
Several hundred dollars in electronics equipment was taken, yet a full inventory of missing items hadn’t been released.
Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential.
A set of lost keys may have helped a burglar get into a 16th Avenue home last week, officials said.
A 38-year-old woman told police that she had lost her keys to her home near 87th Street on November 9.
On the night of November 13, she returned home to find that someone had ransacked the place.
Several pricey electronic items, as well as some clothes, were taken, said police, who have yet to determine just how the thief entered the home.
The victim believes that whoever found her keys used them to get inside.
Detectives were investigating the possibility as this paper went to press.
The thief that broke into a Gravesend home is now a costumed villain thanks to an assortment of capes that he found in the West 2nd Street address.
Cops from the 62nd Precinct were told that someone broke into the home near Avenue P sometime before 7:45 p.m. on November 11.
The thief came in through the bedroom window after removing the air conditioner.
The clothes and capes %u2013 about $8,000 worth %u2013 were the only things missing, the resident said.
