AUGUST 27, 2019

A Jewelry Store Heist in Broad Daylight

By Azi Paybarah

It's Tuesday. On this day in 1908, President Lyndon Johnson was born. The historian Robert Caro, a New York native, is working on his fifth book detailing Mr. Johnson's life.

Weather: Dry, with some sun and a high in the mid- to upper 70s.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Labor Day (Sept. 2).

Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times

On Sunday afternoon, three men in apparent disguise robbed a jewelry store in Manhattan known for its high-profile clientele.

In an era of rampant cybercrime, Sunday's jewelry heist was a decidedly old-school caper.

[A jeweler to the stars was robbed by armed men in disguises.]

In broad daylight

The three robbers entered the store in Midtown, Avianne & Co., shortly after noon on Sunday and posed as customers, according to the police.

Once inside, the men pulled out guns and stole high-end watches and other jewelry, according to one law enforcement official.

Surveillance video released by the police shows a dramatic scene in which the store's employees, whose arms and legs had been bound with duct tape and zip ties, were lying on the ground while the men stuffed items into a duffel bag.

The four employees were not seriously injured.

Avianne's clientele includes musicians with a penchant for the flamboyant, including 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber.

The police were still investigating the scene on Monday.

New York jewelry heists

Jewelry store robberies are rare and becoming even rarer. In the first six months of 2019, there were 59 total jewelry store robberies nationwide, down from 105 in the same period last year, according to the Jewelers' Security Alliance, a trade association that tracks jewelry crimes for retailers and the police.

Here are a few notable New York City jewelry store capers from prior years:

2016: On New Year's Eve, three people stole about $6 million in goods from a wholesaler in Midtown specializing in rare pink and yellow diamonds.

2014: A person posing as a deliveryman entered a store in the diamond district with a gun and made off with more than $500,000 in cash and jewels.

2013: A man smashed a display case in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan and grabbed more than $166,000 worth of jewelry.

2006: Masked gunmen with a crowbar broke into a store in Bay Terrace, Queens, and stole at least $500,000 worth of diamond engagement rings.

1964: The Star of India sapphire, the DeLong Star ruby and fistfuls of diamonds and emeralds were stolen from the American Museum of Natural History by "high-spirited beach boys," who also happened to be jewel thieves, Vanity Fair noted on the 50th anniversary. Most of the jewels were eventually recovered.

1853: About $500 worth of jewelry was recovered after a robbery at Forsyth's Jewelry Store in "Brooklyn City." The burglars "must have been alarmed, as they left behind them a portion of their booty," The Times reported.

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The Mini Crossword: Here is today's puzzle.

What we're reading

The first black man to play professional tennis, Robert Ryland, 99, is also the oldest of New York City's 13,775 tennis permit holders. [Wall Street Journal]

There is a feral cat problem in Fresh Meadows, Queens. [Queens Chronicle]

Should city public schools be open on Monday, Dec. 23? Thousands of people say no. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

One man commutes from New Jersey to Brooklyn on a Jet Ski-style craft. [ABC]

Coming up today

The movie "Babe: Pig in the City," will be shown shortly after sundown at Long Meadow North, near Grand Army Plaza in Prospect Park, as part of the Summer Movie Under the Stars program. 8 p.m. [Free]

Musical improv takes center stage at the Magnet Theater during the "Musical Megawatt" show. 7 p.m. [$7]

Dance by the water at sunset. Talia Castro-Pozo leads salsa lessons for beginners at Pier 45 in Greenwich Village, starting at 6:30 p.m. Then the dance floor opens to salsa dancers of all levels from 7:30 to 9 p.m. [Free]

— Azi Paybarah

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times's culture pages.

And finally: U.S. Open honors a pioneer, Althea Gibson

A new sculpture of Althea Gibson is on the southeast side of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

Before Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams and Arthur Ashe, there was Althea Gibson.

Ms. Gibson, a history-making tennis star from Harlem who won 11 Grand Slam titles, in 1950 broke tennis's color barrier by becoming the first African-American to compete in the United States Lawn Tennis Association's tournament, a forerunner of the United States Open.

On Monday, the United States Tennis Association unveiled a granite sculpture of Ms. Gibson on the grounds of the tournament in which she made history.

[A tennis star ahead of her time gets her due at last.]

During that historic tournament in 1950, Ms. Gibson made it to the final and was matched up against Louise Brough, the reigning Wimbledon champion.

The third and final set of the match was postponed when lightning shattered a stone eagle on top of the stadium.

The scene on the court may have felt just as ominous. Fans repeatedly shouted racist remarks during the match, Sally H. Jacobs, a reporter who is writing a biography of Ms. Gibson, wrote in The Times.

When the match resumed the next day, Ms. Gibson, 23, was "visibly unnerved" and lost in just 11 minutes, Ms. Jacobs wrote. But her career rebounded.

In 1951, she became the first black player to compete at Wimbledon, and in 1957 she became the tournament's first black champion. Also in 1957, she appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time, the first black woman to do so, Ms. Jacobs wrote.

But a year later, she retired. She died in 2003 at age 76. Currently, there is a push to rename part of West 143rd Street, where she grew up, after her.

"Althea reoriented the world and changed our perceptions of what is possible," said Eric Goulder, who created the sculpture that now sits on the southeast side of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

It's Tuesday — change your perception of what is possible.

Metropolitan Diary: The lighter side of …

Dear Diary:

The announcement that Mad magazine would cease publishing new material came as a blow. When I heard it, I remembered a visit to Manhattan in summer 1969 when I was 17.

I was traveling with my friends Larry and Alan. We were on our way home to Houston from summer camp in Warwick, N.Y. The chance to spend a few days in New York City was a treat. We took in Broadway shows, went to museums and, in a moment of genius by Larry, decided to pay a visit to the usual gang of idiots at the Mad offices on Madison Avenue.

When we showed up on that hot July day, the receptionist told us the office was usually empty in the summer but that Dave Berg happened to be there. Would we like to see him?

We were delighted. And Dave could not have been more kind: Where were we from? What did we intend to do with our lives? Where did we intend to go to college?

We left with quickly sketched cartoons signed by Dave. I still have mine.

"Paul baby!" he wrote in his distinct hand lettering. "Be good — but not too good!"

I have tried, Dave, I have tried.

— Paul Keeper

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