From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part II: A Bank Robbery On Bedford?

March 30, 2011 by
Filed under: 11211, Criminal Activity, Williamsburg, Williamsburg Brooklyn 

This item comes courtesy of an anonymous tipster we’ll call “E”. He writes:

Hi Miss Heather,

Just wanted to give you a heads up, in case you haven’t heard, that there was a bank robbery at the new HSBC on Bedford Ave yesterday afternoon.  I was walking by with my wife and son maybe around 1pm and people were running out yelling “call 911” (some ducking in to Duane Reade).  An unmarked police car came up and did a crazy u turn in the middle of Bedford, coming dangerously close to pedestrians and lightly hitting a parked car before tearing down N 3rd the wrong way.  I guess large amounts of stolen money trump citizen’s safety.  No surprise there and no big deal I guess.  Anyway, not sure what exactly happened in the end but there were police swarming in from every direction and I heard there was a gun involved.  Never a dull moment.

WOW. If anyone has the 411 regarding what happened please share via comments or email at missheather (at) thatgreenpointblog (dot) com. Your identity will remain anonymous if you so desire. Thanks!

UPDATE, 10:30 p.m.: someone who was present when this dastardly deed came to pass has stepped forward to give his/her account of what happened!

I was in the bank when it was robbed. The guy came in and told everyone to get on the floor. He told the tellers to give him the money or he’d start killing people. The tellers didn’t do anything, just hid below their desks. He took one guy’s wallet and another guy’s iPhone and took off. The cops didn’t get there in time. Missed him by like 15 seconds. He only got $40 and a phone. What a loser, pretty scary stuff though.

A robbery. During lunchtime. On a weekday. On Bedford Avenue.  Yes, I would say that is very scary stuff indeed!

UPDATE, March 31, 2011 10:45 a.m.: I just received the following email from a person we’ll call “L”. It is rather compelling so I am adding it here.

Hi Miss Heather – Unfortunately bank robberies don’t seem to be something new here (altho this one seems to be the most potentially violent so far – & also the first on Bedford) – but wanted to pass these on, fyi  — (curious about the underreporting of local crime; began compiling my own area “crime reports” list) Found these 2 in Jan 2011: 

from probably The Brooklyn Paper police blotter –

Bank stick-up

A robber held up the Apple Bank on Manhattan Avenue on Jan. 20, scampering away with $1,096.

The robber entered the bank at 4:10 pm, approached a teller window and passed a note that read, “Give all the money or everybody dead.” The perp then took the money in a black bag and fled towards Meserole Avenue.

from Gothamist crime reports map –


Bank Robbery | 185 Broadway & Driggs Ave Brooklyn, NY | 1/26/2011 5:21 p.m.  (the Wmsbg / Dime bank bldg??)

As always, thanks again for your great community coverage!

Thanks for the kind words and rather disturbing data, L!

Miss Heather

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Comments

3 Comments on From The New York Shitty Inbox, Part II: A Bank Robbery On Bedford?

  1. daisylover212 on Wed, 30th Mar 2011 10:26 pm

    2. As a former bank teller who had a note passed to her by a bank robber at Citibank, I can assure you the tellers were not simply hiding behind their desks. Most likely they were pressing their panic buttons. They are not first responders and are definitely not trained to protect customers in a bank robbery. They must wait for the police to arrive and give a description of the suspect to assist in his apprehension. If anyone got a good look at the person, please post a description because he will most likely strike at another area bank soon. The fact that he struck at a busy time and didn’t just pass a note shows he is really desperate. We should all be vigilant as it may not have such a minor outcome next time.

  2. jh on Thu, 31st Mar 2011 2:15 pm

    3. I don’t doubt they were pressing some kind of panic button, but if there’s a real chance their customers (on the vulnerable side of the plexiglass) are in some sort of danger pending receipt of some cash, why not just empty your drawers? Is a thousand or so bucks really worth the life of an innocent bystander?

  3. T&A WEEK IN CHICAGO « LIFE OF LARODA on Fri, 8th Apr 2011 2:16 am

    4. […] and kept walking until a man with a gun said, “YOU DOWN!!” Yes, I walked right into a robbery. Although, I was fortunate enough to notice that this moron was an amateur and had no idea what he […]

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