New York City ambulance workers are being told to keep their guard up after two crews were robbed this week while responding to what turned out to be phony emergency calls.
In the latest incident, police say a man pulled a gun on two fire department emergency medical technicians around 2:30 a.m. Saturday and demanded they hand over their radios and medical bag.
The confrontation happened in an elevator at the Cooper Park Houses, a public housing complex in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as the EMTs were responding to a 911 call that purported a person was having a seizure.
On Monday, two Brooklyn hospital EMTs were robbed in an elevator at the Seth Low Houses, a public housing complex in Brownsville. A man hit the emergency stop button and demanded the EMTs hand over their medical bags, tablets and radios, police said.
The EMTs in Monday’s incident were responding to a call for a person with breathing troubles, which turned out to be false.
“EMS workers play a pivotal role in keeping New Yorkers safe during emergency situations,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said in a department tweet. “Our detectives are committed to bringing the individuals responsible for the two robberies in one week against them to justice.”
In yet another unprecedented event in New York City, the storied 21 Club in midtown Manhattan, a favorite of celebrities and the power elite for nine decades, is closing indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the owners are optimistic about reopening at some point.
The restaurant’s owners filed notice about the closing with the city on Wednesday, saying all 148 employees will be terminated on March 9.
The news comes as indoor dining at New York City restaurants will be banned again starting Monday in an effort to halt a resurgence of the virus, but takeout and outdoor dining will still be allowed.
“At this early stage, we are not ready to announce any final concept or timeframe,” a statement by the restaurant said. “But the vision is that 21 Club will always remain an important social and cultural hub and icon of New York, one that is well positioned to fulfill its role in the City’s exciting future when the time comes.”
The restaurant has been closed since last March during the first wave of the pandemic, as indoor dining was prohibited.
The 21 Club was a favorite dining place of presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s day. Shortly after the 2016 election, then-President-elect Donald Trump broke protocol by leaving his Trump Tower residence without taking along his press contingent to eat at the restaurant.
John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway and Frank Sinatra had favorite tables at 21, and Humphrey Bogart proposed to Lauren Bacall there. It appeared in films ranging from the 1950 Bette Davis classic “All About Eve” to 1987′s “Wall Street.” (AP)
