N.Y.P.D. The suspected slashers.

The police are on the hunt for two men who they say sliced two other guys outside of IHOP on March 3.

According to the police, the dispute between the men began at around 6:20 a.m. at the house of pancakes on 14th Street. That’s when things escalated and the 25-year-old and 27-year-old victims were cut with an unknown object.

Both suspects, who are thought to be 20 to 25 years old, then fled the scene.

A new play at Theater for the New City about a bicycle shop encourages the audience to arrive by bike and then park their rides on the stage. “Bike Shop” is a one-woman musical about Bobby, a bike mechanic who tries to get back on her ride after a nasty cycling accident. According to the theater, Bobby “builds and fixes real bicycles onstage while backed up by a four-piece ‘Bicycle Band.'” If you do end up riding to the show, which premieres on Thursday, just be careful when you make turns out of the bike lane. You don’t want to end up getting a ticket like cyclist Evan Neumann, who was so outraged by the citation he received while riding in the Lower East Side that he is suing the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

Joel Raskin

Fox News reports that Hector Xavier Monsegur, the alleged mastermind of high profile hacks under the alias “Sabu,” was a resident of the Jacob Riis Houses. According to Fox, Mr. Monsegur, an unemployed 28-year-old father of two, was arrested by the FBI in June and became an informant who was instrumental in the capture of other fellow “hacktivists.” Sabu was front and center in numerous recent hacks, including the leaking of information belonging to the security company Stratfor, as well as attacks on PayPal and MasterCard.

Here’s The Local’s latest installment of “Police And Thieves,” your weekly roundup of crime. What follows are the latest reports from Feb. 20 to Feb. 27, sorted by the type of incident. Our map of all of crime since Jan. 15 is at bottom.

Robberies

• As previously reported, a pair of thieves robbed a woman at gunpoint on Feb. 22.
• Two witnesses collared a purse-snatcher after a chase into the subway on Feb. 24. The 25-year-old victim told the police she was at First Avenue and East 10th Street at around 12:15 a.m. when the suspect ran up from behind and tried to grab her purse. When the victim resisted the thief pushed her, ripped the purse from her hand and took off towards the First Avenue L train. As two witnesses gave chase the suspect tossed the purse. The pair then detained the suspect in the subway station until the police arrived. The police said that the suspect had seven prior arrests, including two robberies.
• This guy isn’t much of a pal. A 19-year-old told the police she was chatting with her “friend” in the 10th floor stairwell of the Jacob Riis Houses at around 1 a.m. when he grabbed her bag that she had set down on the floor. The victim gave chase, and on the seventh floor the suspect dropped what appeared to be the receiver of a 9-millimeter Smith and Wesson.
• A man’s wallet was stolen from Phoenix on Feb. 18. The 22-year-old victim told the police he set his coat down on the floor of the bar on East 13th Street at around 1 a.m. By 9:30 a.m. the next day the thief had made a whopping $8,000 in charges on his account.
• A team of burglars ripped off the INA consignment shop on Feb. 20. An employee told the police four women and one guy walked into the store on Bleecker Street at around 3:10 p.m. and then fanned out. The employee noticed some purses missing and said, “Where are the Louis Vuitton bags?” That’s when the quintet took off running. Read more…

Today the district attorney dismissed the disorderly conduct charge against Jared Malsin, a reporter for The Local and a student at N.Y.U.’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute who was arrested while filming the clearing of Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park in November. “The D.A. said that they learned he was working press,” said Gideon Orion Oliver, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild who represented Mr. Malsin. “In light of that they couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had a criminal intent.”

Warning: If you didn’t enjoy the “Bodies” exhibit and get queasy at Freemans, you probably won’t dig this slideshow either. Photos: Vivienne Gucwa.

It’s been a real challenge finding shrunken heads, human skulls and mounted piranhas in the neighborhood since Obscura Antiques and Oddities closed in January. But search no more: the store selling all things weird opened in its new location at 207 Avenue A, near East 13th Street, on Saturday.

The new digs are nearly double the size of the previous store, meaning that owners Mike Zohn and Evan Michelson have more room to show off their wacky nicknacks, and fans of their reality show “Oddities” have more room to walk around. Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown Spotted in Otafuku.

Stephen Rex Brown The sign in context.

During his recent visits to the East Village area, President Obama apparently found time to endorse the Black Boss Coffee at Otafuku. The sign advertising the $2.50 canned drink also declares, “No Mercey For Michelle Backmann.”

An employee at the octopus-balls destination on Ninth Street between Second and Third Avenues said that the sign had been up for a couple of months, and that a customer made it as a joke. “It’s not our biggest seller — it’s pretty strong though,” he said.

But is it stronger than the Obama Coffee from Ray’s Candy Store?

Daniel Maurer Workers did demo work at 74-84 Third
Avenue earlier this week.

Karl Fischer is coming to Third Avenue.

The controversial architect, whose work is becoming an increasingly familiar sight in the neighborhood, is seeking to build a nine-story building at the corner of Third Avenue and 12th Street, documents filed with the Department of Buildings reveal.

A disapproved filing for the new building from January shows that the architect hopes to build an 82,000 square-foot building at 74-84 Third Avenue, which will be Mr. Fischer’s largest by far in the East Village. The building will have a 327-square-foot community facility, as well as 42 parking spaces that will be both indoors and outdoors. Read more…

Daniel Maurer Construction work on the building today.

As recently as yesterday, Kathy Kirkpatrick was holding out hope that Life Cafe would be resurrected in spite of the “For Rent” sign in the window of her iconic restaurant and a simmering dispute between her two landlords (yes, she has two).

“I’m still waiting to see how it plays out,” Ms. Kirkpatrick said. “Things are getting resolved, things are developing — though meanwhile, I wait.”

But today the dispute boiled over and Bob Perl, one of her landlords, said Life Cafe was dead — he could no longer bear trying to negotiate with Abraham Noy, the other landlord.

“I can’t get it done,” Mr. Perl said. “I’m done with Noy – these guys are just impossible.” Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown Angelica Kitchen

It’s been a while since we last heard from the would-be proprietors of the Superdive space at 200 Avenue A. Now, the just-released Community Board 3 agenda reveals that they will once again seek a full liquor license. Previously, one of the curators of the space told The Local that she hoped to turn it into an art gallery with a full bar that would host special events and workshops. When that idea was pitched last summer it was met with formal letters of opposition from Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and Community Board 3.

A few other items of note from the agenda: Angelica Kitchen will seek a recommendation for a proper beer and wine license after being told to stop its B.Y.O.B. service in December. A couple of meat lover’s spots, Wechsler’s and Prime & Beyond, are aiming to extend into their backyards. A couple of newcomers are vying for new licenses on Avenue C: Bikinis at number 56 and a mystery restaurant at 116 (once Lava Gina and more recently Vibrations Lounge). And Keybar, which met opposition when it went for booze at 14 Avenue B and was last seen planning a Hungarian joint in the Angels and Kings space, now has designs on 134 Orchard Street.

Lastly, after celebrating its seven-year anniversary this month, Luzzo’s is undergoing an (at least partial) change in ownership.

For the full agenda, check out Community Board 3’s website.

Here’s The Local’s latest installment of “Police And Thieves,” your weekly roundup of crime. What follows are the latest reports from Feb. 12 to Feb. 19, sorted by the type of incident. Our map of all of crime since Jan. 15 is at bottom.

Assault

• A early-morning brawl on East Fourth Street resulted in a man being clobbered with an aluminum baseball bat on Feb. 18. The 22-year-old victim told the police he got in an argument with the suspect on East Fourth Street between First and Second Avenues at around 5 a.m., after which the suspect punched him in the face and clocked him with the bat, causing swelling to his face and a cut.

Robberies

• A 21-year-old told the police he was on Third Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets at around 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 17 when he was blindsided and knocked out. When he came to, his wallet and watch were missing.
• A man was clobbered with a rock in the hallway of the Jacob Riis Houses on Feb. 19. The 39-year-old victim said he was in a building on Avenue D near East Seventh Street at around 1:15 a.m. when two men struck him and stole his cellphone and wallet. The victim would not cooperate further with the police.
• A thief confronted a man in a playground of the Jacob Riis Houses on Feb. 18 and stole a whopping $2,300 from him. The 30-year-old told the police he was crossing through the playground on FDR Drive near East 14th Street at around 4:45 a.m. when the suspect punched him in the face and demanded money. The victim said he handed over $40, but the suspect demanded more. The victim then fled into the lobby of a nearby building, where the two wrestled. The suspect — who is said to have brandished a glass bottle — eventually gained the upper hand and stole the wad of cash from the victim’s pocket. Read more…

Natalie Rinn Protestors held a rally before the Community Board’s vote on the N.Y.U. plan.

The ambitious expansion of New York University faced its first formal rejection last night, as Community Board 2 voted unanimously against the plan, saying it would turn Greenwich Village into a construction site for at least 19 years and fundamentally change the neighborhood for the worse.

Not a single person spoke in favor of the plan during over two hours of testimony in the packed basement of St. Anthony of Padua Church on 154 Sullivan Street. After 115 locals, academics and students skewered the plan that would add four new university buildings and 2.5 million square feet of space just south of Washington Square Park, the board cast its vote in opposition to the expansion dubbed “N.Y.U. 2031.”

“We’re here tonight to firmly reject this plan,” said board chair Brad Hoylman. “It’s clear that there is no support for this insidious plan that would destroy the culture of Greenwich Village.”

Cheers went up from the standing-room only audience after the vote, though its impact is limited, given that it is only an advisory opinion. The project will next be considered by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, the City Planning Commission and the City Council, which will ultimately determine the project’s fate. Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown Captain John Cappelmann at the Ninth Precinct.

Captain John Cappelmann has taken over his new post as the top police officer in the East Village with a bang, arresting three men suspected of a string of nine middle-of-the-night robberies of local businesses as well as a series of apartment break-ins.

In a conversation with The Local that covered his previous experience policing public housing in Northern Manhattan, gang activity in the East Village and the challenges of quality of life enforcement, the new commanding officer of the Ninth Precinct shared a few more details about the bust.

“Burglaries are the biggest crime that we have here, grand larcenies notwithstanding,” Captain Cappelmann said in his office overlooking East Fifth Street. “We normally average about 16 for a 28-day period. So, that would be four a week on average from last year. Now to go almost three days since the arrest without any burglaries, I think we got the right people.”
Read more…

Natalie Rinn The intersection of Bowery and Houston.

Ten East Village intersections have been targeted for improvement by the Department of Transportation, including one – the intersection of Houston and Bowery – that has seen a bevy of biking accidents.

Last night at a joint meeting of Community Boards 2 and 3, the department unveiled the findings of a two-year survey covering a southern portion of the East Village as well as portions of Greenwich Village, NoLIta, and the Lower East Side. The study, which can be seen below, identified 15 intersections (10 of them in the East Village) that the city will target for future makeovers, including five intersections (one in the East Village) that were said to be “high accident locations.” From 2008 to 2010, the intersection of Avenue A and First Street saw 25 accidents, 18 of which resulted in injuries and one of which resulted in the death of a pedestrian.

Though the intersection of Houston Street and Bowery wasn’t among those identified by the D.O.T. as the most dangerous, it was that crossing – the city’s most accident-prone intersection for bicyclists from 1995 to 2009 – that initiated the study to begin with, and it was the one most East Village residents spoke up about. The study found noticeable congestion at the intersection, where 10 to 15 percent of daytime vehicles were trucks, and noted that it was in need of changes to better accommodate turns. Read more…

Stephen Rex Brown The Local now shares a light pole on Second Avenue with other neighborhood blogs.

A phone call from “Mosaic Man” Jim Power brought our favorite news of the week: The Local has been immortalized in tile form on a light pole on Second Avenue at St. Marks Place.

The Local shares the pole with other neighborhood media outlets like Bowery Boogie, EV Grieve, Neighborhoodr, East Villager, Neither More Nor Less, and The Village Voice (our Cooper Square neighbor is next to us on the pole as well).

“If you want information about the neighborhood, that light pole will tell you,” Mr. Power said. Read more…

With this post, The Local concludes its recap of the past month of crime within the Ninth Precinct. We started with beat-downs, brawls, and blades, then continued on to burgled businesses and stolen rides. After that: Robberies and cell-phone snatches. And now: Purse pinches and bag snags. Plus: Click on our crime map, which will be constantly updated and can always be found on the right-hand column of The Local’s homepage.

View Crime Report in a larger map

• A club-goer left Nublu with the blues on Jan. 21. A thief swiped a bag containing a laptop and jewelry that the victim had left unattended in the club between East Fourth and Fifth Streets at around 2 a.m.
• A quick-handed thief snatched a woman’s bag on Jan. 14. The 49-year-old victim said she was inside her building on East Fourth Street between Avenues C and Dat around 4 p.m. when she placed her bag (containing $2,281-worth of items) on the ground. That’s when the thief made his move and fled towards East River Park.
• A thief snatched a man’s bag on Jan. 16. The 25-year-old victim said that he had placed his bag down at around 10 p.m. at Avenue B and East Seventh Street when the thief grabbed his bag and ran into Tompkins Square Park. The bag contained a laptop, camera and sunglasses worth $2,281.
• A not-so-sweet thief snatched a woman’s bag from Jane’s Sweet Buns on Jan. 16. The victim told police that she set her bag down by the front door of the store on St. Marks Place between First Avenue and Avenue A at around 3 p.m. and went downstairs to work. When she returned the bag, containing an assortment of credit cards, was gone.

Read more…

Today, we’re looking back on the past month of crime within the Ninth Precinct. Earlier it was beat-downs, brawls, and blades. Then: Burgled businesses and stolen rides. And now: Robberies and cell-phone snatches. 

Daniel Maurer Metro PCS on Jan. 6

• At last, the incriminating words uttered by the man who twice robbed a Metro PCS store on 14th Street have been revealed. An employee at the store between First and Second Avenues told police that when the suspect showed up on Jan. 20, he said, “Give me the money, I was here before,” and simulated a gun. The man then told the victim to go downstairs into the basement, and he made a run for it.
• Three perps pushed a woman down and snatched her shopping bag on Jan. 22. The victim told police she was at Second Avenue and East Ninth Street at around 8:30 p.m. when she was shoved and robbed.
• An attempt to hold an iPhone ransom went sour on Feb. 11. The 22-year-old victim told the police that when she realized her phone was missing she called it at around 2:30 a.m. and was told she could have it back for $150. The suspect instructed her to meet him at East First Street and Avenue A. When they made their rendezvous an officer pounced from behind, leading to a struggle on the street. The officer eventually arrested a 46-year-old man and recovered the woman’s bag and iPhone.
• A teenager snatched a woman’s phone on Jan. 24. The 26-year-old victim told the police she was on East Seventh Street between Second and Third Avenues at around 10 p.m. when the suspect put her arm around her neck, covered her eyes and grabbed the phone. Police are on the hunt for a 17-year-old woman.

Read more…

Today, we’re looking back on the past month of crime within the Ninth Precinct. Earlier it was beat-downs, brawls, and blades. Now: Burgled businesses and stolen rides.

Daniel Maurer A burglar struck Angels and Kings on
Jan. 16.
• A burglar struck Angels and Kings on East 11th Street on Jan. 16. An employee told the police that as he left his apartment in the morning he noticed the gate of the bar near Avenue A was lifted up and the cash registers were empty.
• A burglar snatched a 46-inch television from the Haven Plaza community center on Jan. 22. An employee told police that she arrived for work at the center near Avenue C and East 12th Street and noticed the padlock to an entrance on the floor. Another door was locked from the inside, and the television was missing from its mount on a wall.
• Someone stole $300 from Baohaus on Jan. 23. An employee of the restaurant on East 14th Street between Second and Third Avenues told the police that the bandit must have entered through a rear bathroom window, which had a broken lock from apparently being forced open.

Read more…

Last month, The Local unveiled its inaugural weekly police blotter. Subsequent changes at the Ninth Precinct caused delays, so today we’re playing catch-up and presenting the past month in crime, in four handy installments. First up: Brawls, beat-downs and blades.

• Four teenagers are accused of beating up a 50-year-old man as he was parking his car on Sept. 14. The victim told the police — on Feb. 7 — that he was parking near Avenue D and East Seventh Street at around 1:30 a.m. when the four perps picked a fight. He said that one slapped the hood of his car with a t-shirt, and when he got out of the vehicle they pounced, punching him and causing multiple fractures in his face.
• A man is accused of stabbing another reveler at a rowdy party on Feb. 1. The police said that they entered the building on East Seventh Street between Second and Third Avenues at around 1:05 a.m. after receiving three noise complaints about the bash. When they arrived they came upon a 24-year-old in the hallway of the fourth floor shirtless and bleeding from a finger. Cops arrested both the victim and the alleged slicer.
• A brawl on Broadway resulted in an 18-year-old man and two 19-year-olds being arrested on Feb. 7. The 48-year-old victim told police that three teenagers tried to rob him near East Fourth Street at around 5:48 p.m. and that he resisted, resulting in the youngsters hitting him with two metal ladders and a chair.

Read more…