Upper East Side businesses continue to be easy prey for crooks, though police say a burglar that targeted a Lenox Hill restaurant in the cover of night this weekend, actually left empty-handed.
It was around 2:50 am Saturday, when Investigators say the suspect shattered the glass to the front door of BLT Prime, a contemporary steakhouse located at 1032 Lexington Avenue, between East 73rd and 74th Streets.
Later Saturday morning, once the sun came up, the brick used by the burglar to smash the glass door could be seen still sitting on the floor of the restaurant — hurled with so much force it came tor rest roughly ten feet from the entrance.
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Strangely enough, police tell Upper East Site the burglar did not actually steal anything from BLT Prime — except, of course, the money it costs to fix the glass door.
Burglaries reported on the Upper East Side are up 16% compared to the same period last year — however, that’s just over half of the nearly 31% surge in burglaries reported citywide, according to NYPD data.
It was just over a week ago when a liquor shop popular with Upper East Siders was targeted by a burglar with a similar M.O. — smashing the glass front door of Vinyl Wine at 1491 Lexington Avenue, between East 96th and 97th Streets, at 2:50 am.
In that burglary, however, the thief made off with $500 cash and two bottles of booze. Police have not said whether the two crimes are connected.
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A description of the suspect in the BLT Prime burglary was not immediately available and police said their investigation was ongoing.
If you saw anything or have any information that could help catch the person responsible, you’re asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477.
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