Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Watch This Bicyclist Brazenly Steal A Pedestrian's Cell Phone
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 10, 2015
Modified Jul 10, 2015
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 Jul 10, 2015
Modified Jul 10, 2015
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
It can happen in the blink of an eye. You're placidly drifting across Avenue A in a gentle rain, enjoying an article about stoop shrimps on Gothamist.com, when a greedy bike-riding no-goodnik swoops by and rips your smartphone right out of your hands like some Tawny owl snapping up a sad rat. Your life turns on a dime. All your contacts, all your photos, all your podcasts, everyone you've ever known or loved on Earth is suddenly gone, baby, gone. Just like that. Do you even know who you are anymore?
And in that pivotal moment, you face a life-altering decision. Do you accept the cards you've been dealt and turn lemons into lemonade, renouncing smartphones and all their attendant distractions that keep you from being fully present in this holy moment? Embrace the romantic analog era of payphones and beeping answering machines and scribbled messages left with the bartender to pass along to your tardy friends? Purchase a camera that uses real film off eBay and appropriate your mother's dusty old Discman with Mega Bass and Groove?
Or do you lay chase, sprinting into traffic and down the middle of Avenue A, determined to run as far and fast as it takes to recover what's rightfully yours, thereby sending an indisputable message to all those fucking parasites who think they're entitled to anything and everything they can steal? If you're this woman, it ain't no choice at all:
This video, sent to us by writer Brian Cohen, was captured by a dashcam on July 8th at approximately 5:30 p.m. The nefarious action begins at the intersection of 7th Street and Avenue A, and continues south, to points unknown.
Cohen says an unidentified friend took the video, adding that "we don't know the outcome. Hopefully she got her phone back." But it appears that a Citi Bike user who rode by moments after the robbery did help pursue the perp, and Cohen's friends tried to help as well. The driver is heard telling the female passenger that he intends to follow the thief. She says, roughly translated from Cantonese, "It's really too bad about that woman's phone."
It is too bad about that woman's phone, but also another reminder that we all need to watch out for brazen bike-riding thieves when we're wandering around in our collective smartphone phantasmagoria. And at $14.99, Frog's Tung Retractable Smart Phone Leash might not be a bad investment.
[Disclosure: I am not a paid representative of Frog's Tung Retractable Smart Phone Leashes, just a fan.]
Tagged
cell phone thief
east village
original
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
Early Addition: Get to know Wanda, the donkey in the Met's 'La Bohème'
Because she's 18 years old now, here are your early links: The RHONY castmember mentioned in the Epstein Files, killing rats with carbon monoxide, Selena Gomez says don't vape and more.
By
James Ramsay
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 8:26 a.m. ET
Eric Adams' NYC buildings boss Eric Ulrich heads to trial, 3 years after arrest
Ulrich, a former city councilmember, is accused of trading access and favors for cash and bribes. He was the first aide to Mayor Adams charged with public corruption.
By
David Brand
and
Samantha Max
News
Eric Adams' NYC buildings boss Eric Ulrich heads to trial, 3 years after arrest
Ulrich, a former city councilmember, is accused of trading access and favors for cash and bribes. He was the first aide to Mayor Adams charged with public corruption.
By
David Brand
and
Samantha Max
Need help with mental health or addiction services? NYC has a new tool.
By
Caroline Lewis
NYC sues personal injury law firm accused of bogus trip-and-fall claims
By
Walter Wuthmann
NYC Council to consider earlier Legionella reporting after deadly outbreaks
By
Catalina Gonella
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 .