Man Arrested After Stealing Yorkville Neighbor's Citi Bike: Police

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side man with 18 prior arrests was arrested for the 19th time after police say he stole a neighbor's Citi bike from a building's vestibule.

Alec Friedman, 51, was arrested last week and charged with grand larceny in connection to the bike theft, police said.

On May 4, a 34-year-old man left his Citi bike in the vestibule of a building on East 91st Street and Third Avenue at around 8:15 a.m., officials said.

Minutes later, the man discovered his bike was gone, police said, potentially leaving the bike-less biker on the hook for the $1,200 replacement fee for the lost bike.

With the victim's Citi bike app, police were able to use the bike's GPS to find the stolen bike — and Friedman, who police said lives in nearby Ruppert Towers, just steps from where the bike was stolen.

Officials said that Friedman was previously arrested 18 times, including for petit larceny, criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal trespass, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal trespass, robbery and theft of service.