just got robbed

How did they get in??!?

You should get one of those twist-on metal things that screw on above your opened window so that thieves cannot open the window any higher.

Having said that, sorry about what happened.

That BLOWS! I am so sorry that happened to you. Damn, all you wanted was some fresh air while you were at work. Sorry man. Thanks for letting us know.

I own a building in park slope. I got a call a few days ago that the roof hatch was left open. I went to the building and closed the roof hatch. Then I went to the back yard to see if any of the windows were open. They were all closed. However, The fire escape ladder was down!

Someone gained enterence to the building, went to the top floor and got on the roof. Then went down the fire escape (in the back of the building) and tried to gain access to the apartments. Luckly all windows were locked and some tenants were in their apartments.

My best advice is for all renters to get renters insurance! its about $100 per year and will save a lot of pain if your place gets broken into. Over the past 15 years I had 3 break in's into my building where they stole really expensive electronics.

Subject: Re: just got robbed

jgregorie wrote: The fuckers broke into my place while I was at work. came in the window through the fire escape. cocksuckers stole my laptop and my nintendo DS.

MUTHER FUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway it happened on prospect place and underhill.

and the cops just left.

Sorry to hear that - I feel your pain. I am two blocks away from you and they hit me in May.

Subject: Re: just got robbed

your apartment was burglarized
robbery is person-to-person and implies force or violence
sorry to hear it...that blows

jgregorie wrote: The fuckers broke into my place while I was at work. came in the window through the fire escape. cocksuckers stole my laptop and my nintendo DS.

MUTHER FUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway it happened on prospect place and underhill.

and the cops just left.

This type of burglary seemed to die down for a little while but the perp(s) is back at it.

jgregorie, your place was not the only one broken into yesterday. There was an apt. on Park Plc near Classon that the perp broke into via the fire escape. The neighboring apt (same building) was burglarized 3 weeks ago in the same fashion. There was another one on Washington, same M.O. The 77 is taking one or two of these reports every day. In most cases they are taking laptops and game consoles.

Every window that provides access to a fire escape (especially in the rear) should have a security gate. Not just the child fall bars but full size security gates. There are several types available that have a locking mechanism that can only be opened from inside and still allow a speedy egress in the event of a fire. Speak to your super/handyman/locksmith to explore the options.

Make sure that the front door of your building is closed behind you on the way in and out. Check to see if your roof door has a functioning alarm and if not speak to the super about that also. If the alarm goes off in an otherwise quiet building it will hopefully alert other tenants to the fact that somebody just went out onto the roof.

Be a nosy neighbor. Know your neighbors. Make sure you swap phone numbers with other people in the building. Every now and then peek out the window across the road or alley and make sure nobody is up to trouble on a roof or fire escape. If you see sombebody climbing around on the roofs or escapes call 911 (not the precinct).

My place on St James btw Underhill and Washington was robbed... err... burgled last year. Friggin' bastards. Broad daylight. They came in through the cracked window NEXT to the fire escape - gate on the fire escape window. They had to hang off the fire escape to get in. They must have come off the roof.

The cops also warned us about the repeated break-in. To get your nice shiny new stuff that you buy.

Anyway - we also had a horrible horrible day. But after a couple of weeks we calmed down and the fear of being killed in my sleep went away.

Oh - I moved... my lease was up and this clinched the deal. I was never that excited about that block. AND I got insurance.

Subject: Re: Also Burgled

hanacious wrote: Oddly, left on a table in the living room was a tissue wadded up with what seems to be snot.

Case closed! The cops just need to run that through their snot DNA database! Or does it only work that way on CSI?

hanacious wrote: 1. Should I get my locks changed? We had keys in visible places in the apartment, but none of them were taken.

If all the keys are there, it doesn't sound like you need to change the locks. Certainly not too likely these guys ran out, had copies made, and put them back where they found them.

But, if it makes you comfortable and you don't want to drop $200+ on a locksmith (you've already been robbed once!), changing locks is really a pretty cheap DIY job. I bought new lock cylinders at Home Depot at some point....somewhere in the $12-15 range. All you do is open the door, loosen a set screw, spin out the old cylinder, and spin in the new one. Might be worth it for piece on mind.

I've never done it for the deadbolt, but I'm sure it can't be much harder.

OMG! I used to live there. That is so crazy. Never had a problem.

That royally sucks. I just moved to the neighborhood, also by Underhill - our management company is a total pain in the ass to work with (for instance, it's been almost a month we've been here and the heating doesn't work in part of our place) and I'm afraid that asking for security bars on our windows won't result in anything happening. We're on the first floor, and facing the street. I was afraid of a burglary before seeing this post, now it seems almost likely. What should I do?

homeowner wrote: I'd tell the management company I was going to install bars, pay for them and install them and then deduct the cost from my rent and send them the balance along with copies of the receipts for the work.

I don't know about that. They're not actually required to provide bars. I'd try negotiating with them, since they do constitute an improvement that could let them charge more rent to the next tenant. Maybe if they pay half, you won't take the bars with you when you leave...

That really sucks, sorry to hear. My landlord is about to get his ass kicked in if he doesn't fix our downstairs entrance doorway. For the longest time the door was never locked cause you had to lock it manually from the inside and only the elderly woman on the first floor would lock it. After a while we started having homeless people sleeping in the downstairs hallways and foyer. He finally replaced the lock but now the door is falling off it's hinges (literally the screws have fallen out and are on the ground) and the door rarely closes all the way to lock. It's so easy to get up to our roof and down to the fire escape and that of every other house on the block.

When I lived in a neighborhood that had robberies (burglaries), I went to Radio Shack and picked up a couple cheap alarms that you can attach to your window. At least, that made me feel protected at night.

As for insurance, we use Amica and it's surprisingly cheap.