Hell’s Kitchen Businesses Targeted: Glass Door Smash-Ins Rattle Stores

A series of break-ins has rattled businesses in Hell’s Kitchen, with three side street stores near 10th Avenue having their glass doors shattered within 48 hours.

In the early hours of  Wednesday morning, police were called to Seguidilla Bistro on W51st Street near 10th Avenue after an unknown individual entered the eatery by breaking the front glass door. After removing approximately $100 from the register, the individual fled north on 10th Avenue on foot just before 5am, according to cops.

W42ST spoke to Adam Piron, owner of Seguidilla, about the robbery. “We got a call on Wednesday from one of our workers who arrived to find the front door broken.” Police cordoned off the area while they investigated.

“As I walked in, I saw that the only thing they stole was the money that was in the cash register from the night before. Other than that everything was pretty much in place. We still had our tablets and all the other goods in the restaurant from what I could tell.”  The Dominican bistro remained closed on Wednesday as they waited for the door to be repaired.

This is the second break-in at the restaurant, said Adam. While renovating the space before they initially opened, someone broke the glass and stole most of the equipment from the construction workers and one of their blenders.

Across the road, on the same night, the front door at Totto Ramen on W51st Street was smashed at around 10:30pm, but nobody entered the restaurant. Police classified that incident as “criminal mischief” — the same classification given to the shattered windows at the Midtown South Precinct on W35th Street in April.

On Monday morning, a worker at New Cleaners on W49th Street arrived to find the front door of their business smashed. Officers reviewed security camera footage and saw an unknown individual enter the store at just before 4am. Police said approximately $1,500 was taken from the register and the suspect fled in an unknown direction.

Adam is now considering paying to have roll-down shutters installed at his store.  “We didn’t really want to put in a gate because we thought it would take away from the aesthetics of the restaurant, but now we are reconsidering installing one because it’s become necessary,” he said.

Anyone with information in regard to these incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips .

GET INVOLVED WITH LOCAL PRECINCT COMMUNITY COUNCILS

Midtown North Precinct Council meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 7pm via Zoom. Email mtncommunitycouncil@gmail.com for more information. You can follow the MTN Precinct on Twitter/X at twitter.com/nypdmtn

Midtown South Precinct Council meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm via Zoom. You can follow the MTS Precinct on Twitter/X at twitter.com/nypdmts

10th Precinct Council meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 7pm in person at the precinct — 230 W20th Street (bw 7/8th Ave). You can follow the 10th Precinct on Twitter/X at twitter.com/nypd10pct

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