Canarsie family warns neighbors after car theft caught on camera
The vehicle's owner says the theft has left her shaken and concerned about crime in the neighborhood.
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A Canarsie woman is speaking out after her family's vehicle was stolen just steps from their home, saying the crime has left them shaken and concerned about public safety in the neighborhood.
Surveillance video captured the theft in the early morning hours of October 19. Around 1:30 a.m., a man was seen exiting a red car and walking toward a parked vehicle near Avenue J and East 106th Street. The video appears to show the suspect breaking into the vehicle through a rear window before driving away.
Broken glass from the theft remained at the scene days later, serving as a reminder of what the family lost.
"I felt angry. Frustrated," said the vehicle owner, a lifelong Canarsie resident. "There's so much that goes into getting a car. Some people put their life savings toward even getting the down payment."
The stolen vehicle is a gray 2025 Honda CR-V that the family purchased just a year ago.
In the wake of the theft, the owner is urging neighbors to take extra precautions to protect their vehicles, including installing tracking devices, using steering wheel locks, and placing AirTags or other location trackers inside their cars.
"What I want to see most happen right now is a crackdown on all of these auto theft rings," she said. "No one should have to go through so many lengths to protect their cars."
The theft is one of several incidents that residents say have raised concerns about crime in the area. A violent home invasion was reported nearby days later, along with the discovery of a man's body roughly a mile away -- leaving some community members feeling uneasy.
"It's been very scary," the resident said. "Sometimes it's hard for me to go to sleep properly at night. It's definitely been really hard to see a neighborhood that is known for having such low crime suddenly have things happen back to back."
The family says they tracked the vehicle's movement shortly after it was stolen. According to information they obtained, the Honda was seen heading toward the Bronx on the RFK Bridge about 40 minutes after the theft.
Since then, they say they have not received any updates on the vehicle's location.
Anyone who sees a gray Honda CR-V with New York license plate LUK-5469 is asked to contact police.
