NYPD Looking for Man Who Stole From Coat Pockets in Landau’s Shul

A grand larceny occurred last week in one of the busiest shuls in Brooklyn, and police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the thief from surveillance photos.

On Friday, March 3, between 11:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., a man arrived on a bicycle at Veretzky Shul, located at 814 Ave. L in Flatbush. The shul, popularly known as “Landau’s,” is famous for its nearly round-the-clock minyanim.

Surveillance-camera footage from the shul shows the man going through the pockets of coats hanging on coat racks in the shul’s lobby and coat room.

According to police, the man stole “three cell phones, an iPod, and five religious articles,” before fleeing the shul on his bicycle.

In the video footage, the man is wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, a red wool hat with the letters NY in black and a pom-pom on top, dark pants, black-and-white sneakers and sunglasses.

Police say he is approximately 5’6″ to 5’8″.

The police have released the surveillance-camera video and still photos taken from the video, and are asking anyone with information about this incident to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Spanish speakers can call 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com; or via text message, by texting the tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.