BROOKLYN, July 16, Follow up – They say
crime spikes in the summer.
Well, a grand larceny in Bushwick, Brooklyn
a week ago today has caught the eye of Inner City Press.
In a video, a woman stopped to check out folded-up rugs
hanging on a gray metal railing.
She put down her water bottle,
climbed the external stairway, and checked out the rugs.
She took photos with her iPhone and appeared to send them
somewhere else - a thieving base, perhaps.
She prepared to drop the
largest of the rugs down on the sidewalk, but her rolling
suitcase was there. She went down to move it.
The video, for some reason entitled White
1, we are republishing here
NYC crime, psychology & gentrification beats collide: woman spots folded up rug on banister. She puts down her water bottle, spreads it out on the Williamsburg sidewalk and takes and perhaps sends a photo of it with her iPhone. Then she takes it. Grand larceny?
The video, for some reason entitled White 1, Inner City Press has republished here pic.twitter.com/bj6ej2vHV3
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) July 15, 2026
Inner City Press wrote: the rest is
history - she is now a wanted suspect. The rugs were worth
$4300, and belonged to a vintage furniture store / cafe,
Chyelle, whose founder has gushed to real estate press
about road trips to Connecticut and Massachusetts for just
such finds. "I would suck toes for them," she said.
Will she press charges? Will she
post a victim impact statement on her @FBMarketSlut
Instagram account?
Rather, a friend - whose name we are
not giving, upon request, wrote in:
"it pains to see my friend getting attacked
online for a situation that has admittedly been handled
poorly by everyone involved. I think it’s worth setting
the record straight and I appreciate your sense of
humor. After a pipe broke Chyelle spent an entire
day cleaning up flooding in her store that caused
thousands of dollars of damage. B
y midnight she was exhausted and didn’t see any option but
to leave the soaking wet rugs outside on the stairs
because she was afraid they would cause mold and mildew
inside. It was a last resort, and she didn’t put up a sign
or anything asking people not to take them.
When she woke up to the missing rugs, she asked the
landlord for the security footage, and they told her she
had to file a police report to get it. She has never
wanted to press charges against the person, and is well
aware that it was just a misunderstanding and they didn’t
mean any harm.
The police shared the security
footage with local news, and that’s when things started to
spiral out of control. Their initial story didn’t include
any context about the flood or the rugs being hundreds of
pounds and soaking wet, and people lacking information are
now attacking my friend with mean comments and Google
reviews that hurt her business.
I personally share the view that it
was just a misunderstanding, but I also don’t see this as
a clear cut case of stooping. The rugs were on the
staircase, not out on the curb. It’s a bit of a gray area
in my opinion.
The good news is the rugs have been
returned and no one is being arrested or charged. What’s
frustrating is seeing online hatred directed towards my
incredibly hard working friend, with her life’s work and
savings on the line.
At the end of the day, Chyelle should have
put the rugs in her van and driven them to a cleaner the
next day, and the person who took them should have known
better than to climb up the stairs to take something that
was not being thrown out or offered for free. And the
landlord should have given Chyelle the security footage so
she could track down the rugs without the police being
involved.
Lots of commenters are suggesting
there is some insurance fraud happening here, and I can
say that’s absolutely not the case. The gym that occupies
the space below Chyelle’s store is making a claim against
her liability insurance since they were impacted by the
broken pipe too, but from what she told me she isn’t
planning to file a claim for her water damaged
merchandise, and certainly not the rugs now that she has
them back. Thanks for your attention to this
matter." No, thank you.
Inner City Press is on the case -
with any further tips, or for the accused to tell their
side of the story, editorial [at]
innercitypress.com. All email confidential upon
request.
