Workers Attacked During Armed Robbery At Upper West Side Hotel
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- At least two men burst into a hotel and attacked employees during an armed robbery on the Upper West Side, police said.
It happened at the Rodeway Inn, formerly the Comfort Inn, on West 71st Street and Central Park West around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday.
CBS2's Magdalena Doris reported hotel employees believe the armed robbers gained access through an unlocked door.
The suspects came in, pistol-whipped a manager, and went straight for the safe, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported. Police sources said they got away with as much as $15,000.
Two other employees were also hurt.
A hotel worker told CBS2 that suspects came in wearing ski masks and went through a door leading to the basement where they turned off the electrical panel, cutting the power to lights and security cameras inside.
Three hotel employees then walked down to the breaker room to check out what caused the outage and that's when they were confronted by two armed suspects who were pointing a gun at them and demanding money and the safe combination.
CBS2 reported that after striking the hotel employees with the gun, the robbers grabbed their cellphones, wallets and watches. It is not known if the robbers were able to break into the safe.
The NYPD told CBS2 the suspects ran down West 71st Street towards Central Park.
"There's such quickness to the subway, people run through the park," Helene Baldizzone of the Upper West Side told CBS2.
The entrance to the hotel was taped off and guests were forced to stand outside as investigators searched for evidence left behind by the suspects, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
Most guests were not aware of what happened.
"Just a bunch of police officers standing outside and inside," hotel guest Anthony You said, adding the cops "didn't say a word."
"I go down to breakfast and they say, 'You need to go outside there's no breakfast today,'" guest Dolores Damiano said.
Longtime resident Jackie Hashimoto said the hotel is known to be a hot spot for questionable activity.
"There's always police here, there's always something going on with this building," Hashimoto, who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, said. "There's always something happening, it's cheap, it's a cheap hotel."
The hotel employees who were robbed and injured are expected to make full recoveries. Police are still searching for the armed suspects.
The investigation is ongoing.
