Woman's Purse Stolen At McCarren Park Pool

Locker # 29 was broken into yesterday in McCarren Park Pool. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Adovocates)

Brooklyn

By Geoffrey Croft

A Brooklyn family's first visit to McCarren Park Pool was marred when a woman had her purse stolen in McCarren Park Pool yesterday. The incident occurred only a few hours before a police offer was punched in the face.

According law enforcement sources this was one of four locker break-ins at the facility yesterday.

"They stole by purse, they stole my purse," Maria, 40, a loan officer, said while sobbing uncontrollably on the steps of the new $ 50 million dollar facility.

Maria at the the scene of the crime.

"How could they do that with everybody around, and nobody sees nothing," she said.

"My son just graduated, (90 + average). I just wanted him to have a nice time. They are supposed to have security."

In the pool barely 30 minutes when lifeguards blew their whistles to clear the pool for cleaning. When Maria and her 14-year-old son returned to locker # 29 they discovered their Master Lock was missing and her red purse was taken from inside the locker.

The purse, decorated with a rose was taken in the wide open woman's locker area, a few steps from the pool deck and apparently of sight of the facility's cameras.

"They have cameras everywhere, but not on the lockers." said an NYPD officer at the scene.

The purse contained multiple credit cards, an $ 800 phone, house keys, drivers license, insurance card, $ 90 in cash, and a keyless card to the family's brand new Nissan purchased in April.

"Can you believe this, open for only a few days and they are already robbing people," said her Irate husband Alex, 45, who works for the City.

"They hit the jack pot. They have all of our information. You feel violated. It's a damn shame people has to go through this. Didn't the mayor think of this before they opened it. "

He said the family heard about the pool's reopening on the TV and in the newspapers.

"I grew up going to the pool. I told my wife that place used to be crazy, he said. "You would have thought the neighborhood would have changed. But you know the pool attracts people from all over.

You take the kids for a swim in the pool and this happens."