Park Slope store owners terrorized by surge in ‘brazen’ crimes

Sunday’s $2 million burglary of the Park Slope jewelry store is just the latest daring attack in the once-quiet, upmarket enclave of Brooklyn, The Post has learned.

Two other stores have been targeted by scammers in recent months, including Glitz Jewelers on 7th Ave in August and an AT&T outlet near the Facets jewelry store that was looted over the New Year’s weekend.

“Criminals are brazen,” said Eddie Khanimov, owner of Glitz Jewelers, where on August 17 thieves armed with sledgehammers stole a third of the merchandise from his store — $200,000 in gold and diamonds — in less than 10 minutes. I don’t care. It’s like the wild, wild west. They come in and out in five minutes.

At an AT&T store, thieves, also armed with sledgehammers, attempted to break into the safe but failed – the second time the store was broken into in less than a month.

The surge in crime in Park Slope is the worst Khanimov has seen “since the ’80s,” he said, and he blames the state’s controversial bail laws for it.

“People who commit these crimes are repeat offenders that the courts keep releasing. … Laws must be changed,” he said. “Recidivists should go to jail and stay in jail. They need to be stopped.”

Under the state’s controversial 2019 criminal justice reform, judges are prohibited from setting bail for most crimes, including nearly all non-violent thefts.

Critics have long complained that the law creates a revolving door for repeat offenders, releasing them onto the streets to commit new crimes, including serial thieves.

Tilt down

NYPD statistics reviewed by The Post show shoplifting and retail shoplifting in Park Slope jumped more than 55% in the 78th Precinct, which Park Slope patrols, by September compared to the same nine-month period. period in 2021.

Between January 2022 and September 2022, police reported 736 reports of petty and grand theft from local retailers, up from 473 during the same period in 2021.

By contrast, between January and September 2020, Brooklyn cops reported 312 Park Slope store burglaries in nine months.

And the trend looks set to continue into the new year.

The 78th Precinct handled 21 grand theft complaints on Sunday.

While the count includes all thefts over $1,000, not just at retailers, it is four times higher than in the first week of last year, when five thefts were reported.

“The first time they broke through the glass door with a sledgehammer and ran to the back office,” AT&T salesman Mursalyn Rasool said of the two overnight incidents.

“I don’t know if they knew the safe was in there,” he said. “They tried to see what they could get their hands on, but as soon as they saw the safe was locked and there was nothing they could do, they fled… They were only here for 30 seconds.”

Nearly 83% of Park Slope incidents involved the theft of less than $1,000 worth of property, which was also a headache for smaller local businesses.

And it’s not just high-priced items coming out of the doors of local retailers.

While reports of grand larceny — the theft of $1,000 or more of value — account for about 15% of retail theft, the bulk of the 2022 crimes that plagued Park Slope through September were petty thefts classified as petty theft.

“Kids steal from me every day,” says Majid Arbahri, owner of Green Olives Deli. “The police say there is nothing they can do and they told me to just hang their pictures on the window. So I turned one of the menu TVs into Thieves of the Week.

“I told them that if they didn’t have money, I would make them a sandwich for free,” Arbahri said. “But they don’t accept and continue to steal.”

The latest high-profile theft took place Sunday at Facets Jewelers when brazen thieves broke in around 5:00 pm while shoppers were still in the store and smashed several windows with hammers, escaping with up to $2 million worth of diamond rings in just 38 seconds.

“It was a very safe area and I’m not sure I feel the same way,” Irina Sulay, owner of jewelry company Facets, told The Post. “I’m so scared. I don’t even open the door for my regular customers. I even find out who they are and won’t let them in.

“It seems like we are alone,” she said.

Additional report by Tina Moore