78thand2nd

Quick Bits: Vasectomies, Burglaries and Spike Lee

- Uptick in vasectomies on UES: "On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where the financial industry’s collapse has compressed many a household budget, Dr. Marc Goldstein says he has been performing more vasectomies than usual over the last five months." [NY Times]

- Apartments at Lex and 70th, and 81st and Second are hit by burglars. Items lost: a "treasure trove of jewelry," diamond earrings, a laptop and an iPod. [NY Post]

- Spike Lee is getting a six-figure check for letting Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant film their upcoming comedy, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, in his Upper East Side townhouse, formerly owned by artist Jasper Johns. [NY Mag]

 

UES Links: St. Pattys Day Bar Suggestions, Guy Mugged At 77th Subway and More

· UES St. Patrick's Day bar suggestions [Murph Guide]
· Info on today's St. Patrick Day's parade [Gothamist]
· Thugs mug guy in 77th Street subway station [Post]
· A retired NYPD lieutenant is in hot water [Daily News]
· New Argentine steakhouse Libertador opens on 89th [Daily Candy]
· 175 vacant, on-the-avenue stores on UES [Our Town]
· 2nd Avenue Deli plans UES location [NY Mag]

Guy Assaults Cabby On 93rd

What do you do when a cabby tells you he's not on duty? If you're this guy, you attack. According to the NY Post:

"Frank Sestak, 34, asked the cabby if he was on duty at First Avenue and East 93rd Street at 10:15 p.m. Saturday, according to the sources.

The driver, 25, said, "No, I'm parking."

Sestak became irate, breaking the driver's-side window with his hands and assaulting the cabby, authorities said. He was charged with assault and criminal mischief and given a desk-appearance ticket.
The victim suffered minor injuries."

Burglaries Spike On Upper East Side

After years of steady decline, statistics reveal burglary complaints on the Upper East Side are now on the rise, according to the NY Sun. Police suspect the rise can be attributed to work of a career thief, who was arrested last month after hitting the neighborhood multiple times this year.

Via The Sun:

"A narcotics detective arrested the suspect, Keith Brown, on March 30. At the time, Brown, who is homeless, was carrying a bag that held five screwdrivers, a hammer, and several pairs of gloves, according to court documents. In an ensuing investigation, detectives tied Brown, 43, to a number of burglaries and robberies on the Upper East Side. Brown was caught on surveillance tape allegedly breaking a window at a sandwich shop on Lexington Avenue near 75th Street, Starwich, and stealing about $200 from a cash register at about 5:30 a.m...

Two days later, Brown allegedly attempted to rob a newsstand on the corner of East 68th Street and Third Avenue but was confronted and dropped the cash box, according to court documents.

In the last incident for which Brown faces charges, which took place March 26, he allegedly broke a window in order to gain entrance to a restaurant on 73rd Street and Lexington Avenue at about 4:50 a.m. Once inside, he allegedly threatened a porter with a handgun and asked him to hand over cash from the register, according to officials and court documents.

The article goes on to say that overall crime in the precinct is down by 10% compared to last year.

Upper East Side Doctor Tied To Insurance Scam

An Upper East Side doctor is linked to a ring of doctors -- which included a licensed neurologist, a chiropractor, two general practitioners, and two acupuncturists -- who allegedly collaborated to help exaggerate patient injuries and scam insurance companies for more than $6.2 million, according to the Sun.

Via the Sun:

The ring allegedly recruited people who had only minor injuries from car accidents and put them through a litany of medical tests in order to charge insurance companies for more money. Patients were paid to exaggerate injuries, police said, and occasionally members of the group known as "runners" purposefully set up car accidents in order to persuade the victims to come into the office, according to police...

Police used undercover officers who posed as accident victims in order to infiltrate the operation. The Manhattan district attorney's office said 11 people had been indicted yesterday and charged with enterprise corruption and other offenses.

The alleged leader of the operation, a layman, was identified as Gregory Vinarsky. Doctors included Aron Goldman, of the Upper East Side, Chantal Hilaire, of Rockville Center, and Roman Tabakman, of Fort Lee, N.J.

Doctors Arrested for Exaggerating Patient Injuries [NY Sun]

UES Doorman Pleads Guilty To DWI Manslaughter

A man accused of driving drunk and killing an off-duty police officer on his motorcycle pleaded guilty today to manslaughter charges.

Kevin Casado, an Upper East Side apartment building doorman, admitted he "recklessly'' killed Alexander Felix, 31, around 1 a.m. on July 2, 2007, while driving a minivan drunk in Upper Manhattan.

According to AP:

Felix, riding a motorcycle on Broadway, was slammed into another car by the impact, police said after the crash. He was declared dead at the scene.

Felix was assigned to Harlem's 30th Precinct and was on the force three years.

Casado, an Upper East Side apartment building doorman, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and second-degree vehicular manslaughter in exchange for a sentence of two to six years in prison.

NYC Man Pleads Guilty to DWI Manslaughter in Police Crash Death [1010Wins]

Manhunt Underway For Patient Accused Of Killing UES Psychologist

Holy crap  - a female psychologist was stabbed to death, allegedly by a patient, at her Upper East Side office near 79th and York last night. (Thanks to Marie for the multiple tips). According to NBC, A second doctor who police say came to her aid was also stabbed and badly wounded, sources told WNBC.

NBC:

Police have indentified the victim as 56-year-old Kathryn Faughey, who was killed at her office on East 79th Street. She lived across the street at another apartment building.

The male therapist was seriously injured with cuts to his face and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. He has not been identified.

Preliminary information from the scene indicates the attack happened before 9 p.m. and the weapon used might have been a meat-cleaver type of weapon, police officials said.

Police said they recovered two weapons from the scene: a meat cleaver-type weapon and a large knife.

According to the report a suspect has been identified by no arrest was made as of early this morning.

There Goes The Art

The artwork at the Salander-O'Reilly Galleries and its warehouses are going back to their owners, according to Bloomberg:

Lawyers involved in the bankruptcy of Salander-O'Reilly Galleries LLC have proposed a process to enable owners of the 4,000 artworks held at the New York gallery and its warehouses to retrieve their property.

Under the so-called protocol, a gallery employee will advertise an inventory of the artworks and interested parties can submit an application to recover any pieces to a review committee.

A hearing on the plan is scheduled for Feb. 14, in Poughkeepsie, New York. If the proposal is approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Cecelia Morris, the deadline to make a claim would be May 9. The gallery, on Manhattan's Upper East Side, has been closed since mid-October. It filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 9.

More:
Lawyers Suggest Process to Retrieve Art From Salander-O'Reilly [Bloomberg]

Thief Steals Fruit, Tries To Hit Grocery Worker With Bottle

A thief grabbed a pineapple and grapes from an Upper East Side grocery store at Lexington and 96th, then stole a knitted hat off a woman's head to disguise himself as he tried to flee, according to the Post.

Ronald York, 46, of Harlem walked into the fruit store on Lexington Avenue at East 96th Street at 4:50 p.m. on Jan. 7 and was seen grabbing the fruit by a worker, the sources said. The employee stopped York as he allegedly tried to leave without paying. York then produced a champagne bottle and swung it at the worker but missed, cops said. As York ran away, he allegedly discarded the stolen fruit and snatched the hat from a woman who was passing by. But responding cops quickly nabbed him on Park Avenue at 95th Street.

Daily Blotter [NY Post]

Barney's Manager Grabs Thief

Niser Cekic, 30, tried to steal a $2,325 Armani jacket from Barney's on Madison and 61st last Thursday but was caught by the store manager, according to the Post. Cekic was charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said.

More:
NYPD Daily Blotter [NY Post]