MANHATTAN – Upper East Side businesses owners are being warned by the NYPD to take extra precautions because of a rash of overnight burglaries targeting shops and restaurants across the neighborhood— the latest crimes targeting two closed restaurants– Miss Madeline’s French Bakery and Tiramisu– happening Monday night into Tuesday morning.
It was back to business as usual at Miss Madeline on Wednesday, with hot coffee being poured and delicious pastries being served to happy customers.
Twenty four hours earlier, it was a much different story.
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“It saddens us to say we were robbed in the late hours of the night last night,” Miss Madeline’s wrote in a statement.
“We are working to rebuild our platform and are also working with the police to ensure safety of our business for the future.
Investigators tell Upper East Site a burglar smashed their way into Miss Madeline’s French Bakery on East 82nd Street near First Avenue around 7:00 pm Monday, emptied the cash register and took off with the money inside.
“We love all of our customers and neighborhood family dearly,” Miss Madeline’s said, adding “thank you for your patience.”
Upper East Site has also learned that Tiramisu restaurant— not far from Miss Madeline’s on Third Avenue at East 80th Street— was burglarized just hours later.
Police say in that instance, it was two burglars that smashed their way in through a side glass door to the Italian cafe at 12:26 am Tuesday morning, getting away with the restaurant’s cash.
At this point, it’s not clear if these two break-ins are related, and no arrests have been made.
The NYPD’s 19th Precinct does say six other Upper East Side businesses have been targeted in less than two weeks— prompting them to offer up some tips to help shop owners keep their hard earned cash out of the hands of thieves.
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First off, police say businesses should leave the lights on inside and out, because burglars like to work in the cover of darkness. Next, don’t forget to arm your alarms and close your gates— complacency is a thief’s best friend.
Finally, the NYPD says empty all the cash from your register at the end of the night and leave the draw open— that way if a crook sees it open and empty, they know there’s no loot inside.
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