At around 3:00pm today, a woman was pushing a stroller down Montgomery St. between Brooklyn and Kingston Aves. while talking on her cell phone, when two young teenagers on bicycles rode past her and snatched the phone out of her hand.
Phone Thieves Target Mother Pushing Stroller
At around 3:00pm today, a woman was pushing a stroller down Montgomery St. between Brooklyn and Kingston Aves. while talking on her cell phone, when two young teenagers on bicycles rode past her and snatched the phone out of her hand.
The thieves then rode off toward Kingston Ave.
The victim was able to get hold of a phone about five minutes later, and alerted Shomrim to the crime. Several volunteers rushed to the scene, but the perpetrators were long gone.
The thieves were described as African-American males in their early teens, one of whom was wearing a red jacket.
A police report of the incident was filed.
Yossel
I don’t want to sound mean, but when you’re walking with children, GET OFF THE PHONE! Not only are you unaware of potential young people waiting to grab your phone, pocketbook, etc. but you risk getting hit by a car when you cross the street! GET OFF THE PHONE!!! Walk alert and stay safe!!
You said it!
Be smart. Can’t you stop talking on the phone for 10 minutes? Are we so glued to our phones we can’t wait to yap?
excuse me
why judging?? who said she was yapping? how do u know it wasn’t an important call? how do u know it wasnt a 1-min. imp. call? gyess what? we moms have some important calls to make- and since were always with our kids- we need to grab quick moments here and there- to call doctors, schools, etc. so stop judging cuz u never know!!
Yossel
What did people do before we all had cell phones? Important calls can and should only be taken when not traveling. Like they say, “bad news won’t go away, and good news will wait.”
Ash
The world has evolved AROUND cell phones so we are all more dependent on our phones now than in years past. What you are saying is the same as if I would say “why do we need internet?” I wonder what people did before computers or internet…. Maybe they are not necessary…. Dont be so quick to judge.People should simply be more aware of their surroundings when talking on cell phones in the street but to criticize her without being in her shoes is just wrong.
Urgent call?
Up to not very long ago, we somehow managed to walk down the streets actually paying attention to our surroundings and our children. And when we got home, we then used the phone if we needed to.
Cell phones are a great invention. Yet, we are treating every single call with the urgency due to a true emergency.
Nevertheless, I feel very badly for the victim here. She did not bring this on herself; the perp brought it on her. So let’s keep that fact straight.
At the same time, this is a wake-up call for all of us, given the reality of these perps in our midst here in CH.
dan likaf zechus
dont be so quick to judge. your right on the general level, but there are a hundred important reasons she could have been on the phone….
to number 3
palease! give me a break! do you mean to tell me that 99% of the women I see walking the streets and supermarkets, totally ignoring their children as if they didn’t exist, yacking on their phones NON stop are all making emergency calls that seem to last the entire duration of their trip????? and then we wonder why the children act out. they have a mother only in body, beyond that her phone is far more important than her children. For the record, I am not a man, nor a single girl, but a mother of more than half a dozen beautiful children whom I cherish waaaaay more than my phone. The phone has become a sick obsession creating RUDE, UNFRIENDLY and self centered people, whose children suffer the consequences.
Yossel
I agree with you. These young moms are focusing on their calls, shlepping their crying and tired children along like heavy shopping bags while yakking away on their cell phones. That is my observation, not just a made up vision.
Sara
Wow this site is full of male chauvinist, non of these hurtful comments if it was a man !!!
You said it!
Actually, not only am I female, I am a mother & Bubby :)
Yossel
It is being a male chauvinist to report a big safety problem in our community? I am just as upset with men who are mumbling on the cell phones while davening in shul. It’s especially annoying when that man is the Chazan! In that case, it’s not street safety that’s at risk, but the person’s spiritual safety that they are endangering. I’m been in the IT world for over 30 years, and I think today’s “technology” has gotten out of control in many ways.
I don’t typcially see men blabbing on their cell phones while walking with small children, that seems to be a problem with the females in our community.
busy with kids
When you are at home with your kids, they need be entertained and sometimes will not let you make a call I’m peace. In the other hand, when you are walking down the street, they just sit happily in the stroller while you can talk for a min.
cher
it,s not just in the streets you have to watch out for thieves in other places too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAgI76R3N_4
Citizen Berel
There is nothing wrong with talking on the phone while pushing a stroller if you can talk on the phone while pushing a stroller.
But holding an iphone out in the open is roughly equivalent to holding a $300 bill out in the open, except that a phone is easier to grab, so that’s a risk what you have to take into account.
I am bigger than big gedalia goomber an am still mindful about where I will pull my phone out and talk in the neighborhood because I don’t want to buy another phone.
Yossel
Yes, I have a Spacebook account, and I don’t access it while driving or walking. But lots of the posts from Frum people of both genders say “Sent by mobile” which means that people are posting stuff from their cell phones. I just hope they aren’t the ones driving or walking with children.
declasse intellectual'
Some relavent facts: (1) phones are and will be stolen whither one is aware of the surroundings and whither they are talking or not. (2) The streets here are unsafe at any time and at any place. To hold your cell phone in the open–even if paying attention–is to invite and to initiate a criminal act. (3) The police are unable to monitor and to control this situation and with the politically correct attitude from the new administration to be, expect more crimes than not. (4) The whole city is a magnet for crime and until that is changed, crime will continue to march forward!!
When walking in the Street
we should KEEP OUR EYES on our CHILDREN instead of being distracted with our cell phones.
This isn’t as hard as it seems, Everyone managed to walk in the street without cell phones 20 years ago.
boy from the hood
u want every thing ?
you want to multi task ?
well u pay the price
male or female
but dont drive and text
or look at the next spam mail on yr phone
when i am on the road
Phone Locator
It is probably a smart phone and just about every one has a program to locate the phone. Use it and catch these thugs, and make sure the Police do their job!
anonymous
i could see making an important phone call, but talking on your cell phone with your kids by your side trying to get your attention and you are not paying them any mind because you are so involved in your conversation, and when you are crossing the street you dont even see when there is a car coming because you are talking, so please ladies be more aware of your surroundings and pay attention to more important things than talking on your cell phone,
anon
This is neither a CH nor a NY problem. Phones are being snatched all over the world as are purses, computers, wallets, cameras, backpacks… I am constantly amazed at how careless people are when out in public.