Just before 7 pm on New Year’s eve, as people were beginning to enjoy their holiday celebrations, three men were robbing an elderly couple in New Howard Beach.
On the evening of Dec. 31, a man disguised as a UPS employee rang the doorbell of a home on 161 Avenue and 85th Street. The male victim, 79, initially kept the outer door to his house locked as he went to answer. Seeing a man in a UPS uniform holding a package in his arms, he asked him to leave it on the doorstep and stated that he would retrieve it later. The fake UPS man insisted that a signature was required, and, when the homeowner complied and opened the outer door, he and two other men stormed in. This part of the incident was caught on a neighbor’s video camera, though clear images of the perpetrators were not discernible. The three men entered the home and held the man and his wife, 77, at gunpoint until they had robbed them of approximately $8,300 in jewelry. The episode lasted approximately 30 minutes, and no one was injured. Extra officers were sent immediately following to canvass the area for the robbers, who were described simply as male blacks. Area residents are cautioned not to open the door to UPS deliveries when no delivery van is visible on the street nearby, and to call 911.
As is the case with most robberies of this nature, police in the 106th precinct believe that the home in question was specifically targeted and that the invasion was meticulously planned. By strange coincidence, the male victim had worked for UPS for over 30 years.
By Eugénie Bisulco
