Office buildings aren't usually our beat, but when a reader report arrives alleging a crime spree at one of Dumbo's tonier office spots, we're inclined to give the issue a fair hearing. Reports our aggrieved tipster,
For awhile now office spaces at 45 Main Street building (owned by Walentas and managed by Two Trees) have been continuously getting broken into through the walls for a total of NINE times. A suspect duo team used the claw end of a hammer to break through the cheap and thin walls of the office spaces to steal expensive and portable electronics including laptops. Despite repeated requests and pleas from tenants, Two Trees has maintained that 'all tenants assume all responsibility for the security of their office space.' Unless a tenant becomes a victim in common areas of the building, Two Trees claims no responsibility. This, despite the increased police surveillance, has not stopped the thieves, as the 9th robbery (4 of them on the 10th floor alone) hit a photographer's office for the SECOND time after Two Trees had patched up the wall on a few weeks before. With two months passed and NO action by Walentas or Two Trees and no suspects other than the speculation of an inside job, thieves have and will continue to claw their way through walls and rob tenants despite newly installed alarm systems. The only benefactors of these events are the alarm companies which have gained a lot of new clients lately. Unfortunately, this has not stopped the daring thief from breaking in on a Thursday afternoon at 3:30 pm and getting away with the goods.For the other side of the story, we dropped a line to Two Trees. David Walentas responds to Curbed, "Our buildings have always been safe, with no incidents, but over the past few weeks, there have been some break-ins at 45 Main Street. The cops have been all over it and have made some arrests. We have been concerned and are continuing to work with both the police and our tenants to ensure safety in our buildings." We'll say this: Dumbo: never boring!
· Listing: 45 Main Street Office Space [dumbo-newyork]