Another robbery

This did not happen to me but it came to me through one of my local yahoo groups - please be careful out there:

"I just wanted to share a pretty scary thing that went down on
Saturday night in our `hood. At 2 am, I was on the way back from a
show, stopped into Stop & Fifth Deli at the corner of 5th Ave and 5th
street to use the ATM, and 3 tall young guys in hooded sweatshirts
wearing bandanas over their faces came in rather briskly. The first
guy who came in had a pistol in his hand, and I believe the second
one did too. They robbed the store's register and swiped a bunch of
sundries and took the wallets and cell phones from the clerks. At the
same time, the second guy tapped me in the back of my head with what
I think was a gun, grabbed the cash I just taken out, and forced me
again to take out as much money as I could (which wasn't a huge
amount, thankfully, and somehow I slipped my wallet back into my
pocket, so thankfully it wasn't taken either). He then had me lie
down on the floor while they ran outside into a car with a driver
that was waiting for them, and they took off up 5th street. It was a
silver 4 door, maybe a camry or a Mitsubishi, no one saw the plates.
The whole situation lasted less than a minute, and the cops came
about 7-8 minutes later. "

Something to note: You can ask your bank to not let more than a certain amount be pulled from an ATM at a time. For instance, I think I have a $100 limit. I rarely would need more cash then that at any time.
After having some friends ATM cards stolen/robbed I decided to do this.

Mamacita wrote: Something to note: You can ask your bank to not let more than a certain amount be pulled from an ATM at a time. For instance, I think I have a $100 limit. I rarely would need more cash then that at any time.
After having some friends ATM cards stolen/robbed I decided to do this.

wow! i had no idea you can do that. thanks for the excellent suggestion!

Subject: Careful with bank limits

My bank does this automatically, even for transfers between my accounts. It can be a real pain, especially if I need to transfer money for rent or things like that. Make sure you know what you're getting into before telling your bank to do that!

Mamacita wrote: Something to note: You can ask your bank to not let more than a certain amount be pulled from an ATM at a time. For instance, I think I have a $100 limit. I rarely would need more cash then that at any time.
After having some friends ATM cards stolen/robbed I decided to do this.

except if someone has a gun to your head, he might get pissed that you're only giving him xx. he might not know that your bank can do this. he might shoot you in the head. and really, most machines only let you take out $200... i'll leave that limit if it means i might not leave gray matter on the walls

I thought most machines allow $500? At least that is what it is at my bank.

I could never lower my limit-there are actually plenty of times that I need to take $300, $400, even $500 out of the bank. Happened just this weekend when we needed money for car repairs.

My first thought was, who goes into a deli at 2 am? Don't people know that is dangerous? Yes, this is Park Slope, but, it is still NY and still a large city.

My first thought was, who goes into a deli at 2 am? Don't people know that is dangerous? Yes, this is Park Slope, but, it is still NY and still a large city.

Are you kidding?

LongTimeSloper wrote: My first thought was, who goes into a deli at 2 am? Don't people know that is dangerous? Yes, this is Park Slope, but, it is still NY and still a large city.

I do. Lots of people do. Thats why they're open at 2 am.

bars close at 4am.

not everyone hides in their apartment when its dark.

i can think of a stack of reasons to hit my neighborhood deli at 2 am, either on my way home or leaving my home to go there:


--getting milk for morning coffee
--getting smokes, if i still smoked
--diapers, other baby things
--combat, if you've just found roaches at 2 am
--things you might need for a romantic interlude but don't have in the house
--anything to clean up the giant mess you've just made in your kitchen
--a yen for beef jerky

brooklynpotter wrote: i can think of a stack of reasons to hit my neighborhood deli at 2 am, either on my way home or leaving my home to go there:


--getting milk for morning coffee
--getting smokes, if i still smoked
--diapers, other baby things
--combat, if you've just found roaches at 2 am
--things you might need for a romantic interlude but don't have in the house
--anything to clean up the giant mess you've just made in your kitchen
--a yen for beef jerky

orange juice for the 10 a.m. mimosa binge you're planning
tin foil to reheat some old pizza on
diet coke, just cause
cat food - you once again forgot the kitties til you got home from the bar
doritos (these require zero explanation)

i can't believe i forgot the catfood. see? i always forget the catfood, that's why i need to go to the deli at 2 am.

Fjord wrote:

My first thought was, who goes into a deli at 2 am? Don't people know that is dangerous? Yes, this is Park Slope, but, it is still NY and still a large city.

Are you kidding?

Umm, no-I am not kidding. And, no one is saying hide in your apartment when it gets dark. But, as a born and bred NY'er, I thought it was common knowledge that wandering around at 2 in the morning or 4 in the morning, whatever, was not the safest thing in the world to do. And, why would anyone go out at 2 in the morning for milk or cat food? Not exactly emergency items.

so it never occured to you that this person might be on his/her way home, stopping at the deli?

I didn't say that-i did say that I thought it was common knowledge that that isn't the safest thing to do. And, yes, they could have been going home and stopped at the deli-it just doesn't seem like the safest thing to do to me and it is not shocking to hear that they and the store was robbed.

...wandering around at 2 in the morning or 4 in the morning, whatever, was not the safest thing in the world to do. And, why would anyone go out at 2 in the morning for milk or cat food? Not exactly emergency items.

like other posters, i can think of many reasons why i'd leave my home (if i wasn't coming home from somewhere) at 2 am, and nearly all include child-, food-, sex- or pet-related items. 24-hour delis are across the street or one block away from many residents. So for me and many others, it seems like an easy and (generally) safe shopping experience.

Are you guys kidding me?... this post turned from a very helpful and frightening nugget of information into a silly debate about the who's and why's on shopping at 2am...

If you can't think of at least 15 solid reasons to be in a store at 2am then I propose you crawl from underneath your rock.

As for the robbery, that's fucked up. I would wager that the bandits had no intention of shooting - they rarely do. However, loaded guns and criminal elements tend to sabotage the best intentions.

How do you feel about government surveillance now? If 5th Ave. was known, or even rumored, to be under video surveillance (the street I'm talking about) this would not have happened... well, it would have happened somewhere, but not in my backyard.

How do you feel about government surveillance now?

I'd still prefer to take my chances, thanks.

I don't live under a rock. Just don't think it's smart to be in a deli at 2 am unless you absolutely have to. I think people have a false sense of security.

And, what is this about video surveillance on 5th Avenue?

I have to agree with LongTimeSloper. Sure, there are a million reasons to be in an all night deli at 2 AM, but that doesn't make it safe. It has nothing to do with living under a rock, hiding out at night etc. It's just common sense. If you are withdrawing cash from an ATM in the middle of the night in NYC, there is a possibility it will not end as planned.

Oh yeah, I'm settting my alarm for 2am. See ya at the corner bodega!

The Chipster wrote: Oh yeah, I'm settting my alarm for 2am. See ya at the corner bodega!

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If you have a need for a getaway driver I have a special discount for slope felons

Santa wrote: bars close at 4am.

not everyone hides in their apartment when its dark.

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Only on Dec.24th.

camera would catch those sob's. what ever happen to the safety of the general public and the public good. its been the me me me me generation.

Hamilton wrote: [quote=Santa]bars close at 4am.

not everyone hides in their apartment when its dark.

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Only on Dec.24th.

Hermes: "Just be back by sundown, mon."
Fry: "We'll see. I like to haggle."
Amy: "You can't stay out on X-Mas eve, you'll be killed!"
Fry: "Say what?"
Professor: "Good lord! he doesn't know about Santa Claus."