Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Finicky iPhone Mugger Won't Settle For Anything But Apple
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 9, 2011
Modified Dec 11, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 9, 2011
Modified Dec 11, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Few muggers posses the sophisticated refinement to appreciate the finer things in life: a nice bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a Whole Body Robotic Massage Chair from Sharper Image, and the latest version of whatever iPhone has been bestowned upon the unworthy masses (preferably the white one). So it's nice to know there's at least one discerning thief out there showing a little class. Police tell DNAinfo there's a cell phone robber targeting people in the neighborhood around Columbia University, and if he tries to rob you, don't even think about handing over your vulgar BlackBerry.
Last month, an armed man stopped a Columbia student in the lobby of a brownstone on West 114th Street, flashed a piece, and demanded the student's iPhone. But when the student presented his pathetic little BlackBerry, the rogue reportedly "snarled" back, "I want iPhones." Another student then appeared in the hallway, and got the same rough treatment. But he too was the sad owner of an undesirable BlackBerry. Sounds like the thief had foolishly tried to rob a building full of publicists, and he fled empty-handed.
About a week later, another mugger (possibly the same guy) tried to rob a female student near the site of the earlier incident. DNAinfo reports that he "slammed her against a fence and threatened to beat her up if she didn't hand over her iPhone." And once again, the smartphone connoisseur was disappointed by the lack of technological discernment on display in the neighborhood—informed that his victim possessed no iPhone, he left with nothing.
This year, 70 percent of all cell phone robberies in the subway were iPhones, and thieves' iPhone fetishization has been intensifying for while now: In 2009, a similarly picky mugger brandishing a large knife approached two women on East 59th Street and demanded to see their phones, and when he saw they weren't Apple products, he said, "I don't want them," and split. Clearly, this is either a genius iPhone viral marketing campaign, or it really is time to start carrying around a rotary telephone as a decoy.
Tagged
apple
cell phone
columbia university
iphone thief
morningside heights
muggers
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .