iPhone Stolen in Midtown Church; Chelsea Landlords Indicted for Tenant Harassment

The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the two individuals wanted in connection with a robbery that occurred within the confines of the Midtown South Precinct. Details are as follows:

It was reported to the police that on Wednesday, Oct. 1, at approximately 1:58 p.m., inside the Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, 329 W. 42nd St., two unidentified men approached a 67-year-old male victim and snatched the victim’s iPhone from his hand.

When the victim attempted to retrieve his property, the individuals punched him, causing a laceration to his face. The individuals then fled the scene on foot, traveling southbound on Ninth Avenue to parts unknown. EMS transported the victim to NYC Health and Hospitals/Mount Sinai West in stable condition.

The first sought individual is described as a male with a dark complexion.. He was last seen wearing a black/brown shirt and blue jeans.

The second sought individual is described as a female with a dark complexion. She was last seen wearing a black sweater and blue jeans.

As befits its location just steps from the “Strip of Despair” on Eighth Avenue and around the corner from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Holy Cross offers numerous charity programs, including a soup kitchen, to area indigents, a few of whom sometimes take advantage of that generosity.

Anyone with information regarding this incident 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 X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.

Landlords Indicted for Tenant Harassment in Chelsea

Financial crimes get complicated fast, and big real estate crimes are no easier to report. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that on Sept. 30, Manhattan D.A. Alvin L. Bragg Jr. and Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber announced the indictment of Meyer Chetrit, 61, and an indicted unarraigned co-defendant, and their companies, The West Paramount LLC, and The Chetrit Group LLC, for harassing two older, rent-regulated tenants in Chelsea between September 2020 and September 2025.

The above parties are charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with two counts of Harassment of a Rent Regulated Tenant in the First Degree.

“As alleged, Meyer Chetrit waged a campaign of harassment against two rent-regulated tenants in their 70s in hopes they would move out, and the building could be sold,” said Bragg. “From winters without heat and unrepaired roofs causing leaks and ceiling collapses, these New Yorkers were forced to live in uninhabitable conditions. All New Yorkers deserve to live in safe homes: Please contact our Housing and Tenant Protection Unit at 212-335-3300 or Danyhousing@dany.nyc.gov for help.”

The alleged harassment was directed at the tenants who have been living at 117-119 W. 26th St. in Chelsea for nearly 50 years.

Chetrit and his indicted unarraigned co-defendant, who purchased the building in 2005, have kept the building nearly vacant for over a decade, with the goal of emptying it entirely to clear the way for demolition, redevelopment, or sale.

According the Commerical Observer, The Chetrit Group, a privately held firm co-founded by Jewish Moroccan brothers Joseph, Meyer, Jacob, and Juda Chetrit, is no stranger to controversy and also owns properties in Hudson Yards and FiDi.