Shameless ‘pumpkin spice’ thieves strike at East Village barber shop

The shear audacity.

Two young women shamelessly stole a bench belonging to a beloved East Village barber shop in broad daylight — and the barbers have issued an Instagram APB with the security footage of the dirty deed.

“These girls look like they went and got a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks afterward,” Josh Livingston, co-owner of Friend of a Barber on E. 4th St., told The Post of the unassuming but entitled bench burglars, who were clad in cozy fall basics.

“It looked so brazen,” he said.

The theft transpired on Thursday, shortly before 12:45 p.m., while Livingston and partners Mark Miguez and Greg Desaro were occupied with clients. An employee at Nón Lá, the restaurant next door, noticed the women eyeing the bench, which had been occupied by a customer minutes earlier.

The two women take the bench from outside of Friend of a Barber.
The two women take the bench from outside of Friend of a Barber.
Friend of a Barber/Instagram

Another witness reported seeing the two girls struggling to carry the bench down the street, giggling all the while. Once the barbers realized their outdoor seating had gone missing, the block banded together in an effort to recover the favorite fixture.

“It was like a movie scene. We had people running up and down, trying to find them. It was all hands on deck,” said Livingston, who was able to pull security footage of the sticky-fingered scofflaws in the act.

Friend of a Barber co-owners Josh Livingston, Mark Miguez and Greg Dasaro at the scene of the crime.
Friend of a Barber co-owners Josh Livingston, Mark Miguez and Greg Dasaro at the scene of the crime.
Stefano Giovannini for NY Post
Bench in front of barber shop.
The barbers have made a plea for the bench to be returned to its home.
Josh Livingston/Friend Of A Barber

The images, posted to Instagram, sparked a flurry of supportive responses from the community.

“We got a note from a lady who said she was nine months pregnant, and lives down the block. She said the bench has saved her so many times when she needed a rest while walking to the subway,” said Livingston, who is also a professor at Bard College.

The trio opened their shop in 2020, during the initial pandemic lockdown. Livingston built the bench with daughter Jude, 7, to ensure clients had a comfortable place to wait in the COVID-free fresh air.

The two bench burglers stroll down East 4th Street.
The two bench burglers stroll down East 4th Street.
Friend of a Barber/Instagram

“The bench has sentimental value for us. It was a labor of love. It’s sturdy and long enough for people to social distance. Can I get another bench? Yes, but you can’t just take things,” he said.

Still, he’s willing to give the girls the benefit of the doubt and said perhaps they mistook it for discarded furniture that was up for grabs.

“We just want it back. We don’t want them to leave it in the middle of the night and someone steals it again. If you have it upstairs in an apartment, I will come get it,” he said, adding that he’ll even throw in a free haircut for their boyfriends. “We don’t have ill will.”

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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