Attempted Robbery At UWS Store On Block With Previous Issues: Police

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A trio of robbers attempted to rob an Upper West Side store early Thursday morning on a block that previously had issues with safety, the NYPD said.

Three people walked into a store at 2576 Broadway (between 97th and 98th streets) a little after 2 a.m., and demanded money, police said.

The employee working at the time said no, and the trio ran out of the store, police said.

Nobody was hurt and there have been no arrests.

There are four businesses at the address — an architecture firm, a computer repairs business, a Checkmarx, and a smoke shop, but police did not specify which was robbed.

Of the four, the smoke shop appears to be the only one that is open at the time of the Thursday robbery, according to its Google Maps listing.

The smoke shop at the address did not answer a call from Patch.

The storefront is directly next to Blue Marble Ice Cream, which suffered a string of robberies in late 2021 that led to multiple employees quitting out of fear for their safety.

A man walked into ice cream shop multiple times during that time period saying he had a gun and demanded money, police said. Other shoplifting incidents were also reported at the shop.