The New York Police Department continues to investigate a Sunday night break-in at the Chanel store on Madison Avenue.
Shortly before 7 p.m., two suspects used a sledgehammer to break the glass-front display at the boutique, which is located at 737 Madison Avenue. The two individuals removed three handbags that were valued at approximately $10,000 each, and then fled in a vehicle, according to a NYPD spokesperson.
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
A media request to Chanel was unreturned Monday morning.
Paolo Alavian, owner of the Altessi restaurant at 26 East 64th Street, said that police officers arrived at the scene within a few minutes. He said, “We heard the noise and then one of our customers outside called us to say something is happening across the street.”
As a result, he has taken safeguards. “We 100 percent will have extra people on the floor to watch what is going on. And we are keeping the door [at the entrance] closed most of the time.”
Although there have been a few incidents of thieves targeting diners for their luxury watches or designer handbags in West Village and Brooklyn restaurants in recent months, that has not been an issue at Altessi. “No, we don’t have the problem yet. Thank God,” he said.
With nearly 400 businesses stretching from 57th Street to 86th Street that are members of the Madison Avenue BID, Matthew Bauer said Monday, “We’re all concerned about the window break-in that took place after store hours last night. Clearly, we must remain vigilant against retail theft, which has affected stores and communities nationwide.”
The Chanel store is open for business, and Bauer mentioned that he had seen customers go in and out of the store Monday morning
He praised the work of the NYPD 19th precinct, which has reduced grand larcenies on the Upper East Side by 7.3 percent compared to last year, according to CompStat data. Noting how there are NYPD security cameras and other surveillance cameras on privately owned buildings and businesses throughout the Madison Avenue BID’s district, Bauer said, “We’re pretty confident that the police department will make an arrest.”
Sunday night’s incident is being investigated as a burglary.
A Madison Avenue store manager, who requested anonymity, said, “We’re not going to do anything different with our structure or our presence at the moment,” adding that there was nothing out of the ordinary about Monday’s foot traffic and street traffic.
Dennis Basso, who had more than $1 million worth of sable coats stolen from his former Madison Avenue store during a brazen Christmas Eve robbery in 2016, said Monday, “It’s a violation. You feel violated and vulnerable. It’s unsettling but you have to move forward with a positive attitude. It just puts you on your guard more,” he said.
Shoplifting and organized retail theft continue to be concerns for retailers. For the first half of 2024, shoplifting increased by 24 percent compared to the same time frame last year, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.
Last year 81 percent of respondents to the National Retail Federation reported that organized retail crime offenders had become more violent, and 67 percent said they were seeing more violence and aggression from ORC perpetrators compared to a year ago.
In July, two men were arrested for stealing more than $2.3 million worth of merchandise from Target, Walmart, and other chain stores in the Tucson area for three years and then selling the stolen merchandise to a company in Connecticut. Separately that same month, nine individuals were sentenced for stealing $1.7 million in merchandise from Nordstrom, Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci, and the specialty store Magnolia Park in three counties in California. At that time California attorney general Rob Bonta said, “I am committed to bringing the full force of the California Department of Justice to fight organized retail crime both in the field and in the courtroom.”
