c/o Blue Marble Ice Cream
It was 3pm when I called Jennie Dundas. She had written on Nextdoor and her post caught my attention. Jennie is the owner of Blue Marble, an organic ice cream shop with a newish location on 97th and Broadway, and Nextdoor is a social app used to connect neighbors. We spoke on the phone while she was walking towards her store to close for the day. She stopped talking mid-sentence because a customer hoped to purchase an afternoon coffee. “Hold on one sec,” she told me. “I’m so sorry, we had to close early,” she informed the woman. “I apologize. We lost some staff because they’re too scared to work here. We’re working on finding new people. We had a bunch of crime recently so … I’m so sorry. Please come back tomorrow!”
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On Monday, November 8 around 3:45pm, a man entered Blue Marble, walked to the counter and said, “I have a gun, give me cash.” There was only $20 in the register but he took it and left. Wednesday afternoon, at nearly the same time, he returned, this time stealing $12. Later that evening he was arrested. On Thursday night, a man riding a Citi Bike threw a Pepsi bottle at Blue Marble’s front door, nearly hitting a customer. On Friday, police informed Jennie that the man who had robbed and threatened the lives of her staff twice, had been released.
He was seen wandering the neighborhood, again riding a Citi Bike. On Saturday, there was an unrelated shoplifter, but on Monday, the man who had robbed the store was back. He entered the intimate, brightly lit ice cream shop while children were inside. Jennie ordered her staff to go to the back while she called 911. While they waited for the authorities, he stood lingering, appearing to contemplate something. Finally he left. On Tuesday there was more shoplifting and by Wednesday, two staff members had quit for fear of their lives. While I spoke with Jennie she was closing her store seven hours early.
We reached out to the NYPD and got a couple of reports.
- One report describes the $20 theft which took place on Wednesday, November 10. This suspect, 31-year-old Joshua Tirado, was arrested.
- Another report involved a petit larceny committed on Saturday, November 13, during which about $135 worth of product merchandise (a sweater and a hat) was stolen. This suspect fled on foot and is described as a Black male in his 40s. He was last seen wearing a white jacket and gray jeans.
“These are complex issues,” Jennie says. “I’m not a naive person. And I’m not a myopic person. I do appreciate there are a lot of points of view here… I can’t imagine what a person’s state of mind would have to be that they would risk going to prison in order to just grab 40 dollars. To me, this is not an us vs. them thing.”
Jennie Dundas is from Boston, a city renowned for its ice cream adoration. She was a child film actress who became an adult Broadway star and never outgrew her love for ice cream. Today, she occasionally appears on screen. but her focus is steadily aimed at sustainable, organic, good-for-people-and-the-planet ice cream.
In 2010 she was at Sundance Institute and met Kiki Katese, a Rwandan playwright, actor, director and founder of The Woman Cultural Centre. Jennie had already launched Blue Marble and Ms. Katese proposed creating an ice cream shop in Rwanda. At the time, it had been 17 years since the Rwandan genocide. PTSD and depression rates were high. There were mosquito nets to prevent malaria, drugs to prevent AIDS, well-digging systems for water. But Ms. Katese told Jennie “We need something to make us happy.” Their vision became a reality and their journey was captured in the critically acclaimed documentary, Sweet Dreams.
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Jennie told me that story after I asked her why ice cream is so important to her. She went on, “I think that ice cream has a great place in any society or world of just ‘I am going to indulge because I’m entitled, no matter who I am, no matter where I am, I am entitled to feel and experience joy.’ And as Kiki would say, ‘We all need to dream.’ When you sit in that ice cream shop you indulge and you give yourself just a tiny little space to dream.” It’s that spirit of compassion that drew me to her post on Nextdoor.
I’ve been on Nextdoor for about a week and I am inspired by how welcoming Upper West Siders are and how willing they are to help and support each other. As I’m writing this, Jennie’s post has received 167 comments and 331 reactions which are overwhelmingly supportive. Her post is not about condemnation and it’s not a war cry to reform the criminal justice system. She writes, “I wanted to give a face to our shop, to share the back story, and to say thank you. I can’t say how much I appreciate your support, and I can’t stress strongly enough what a difference every sale makes.”
It’s no secret that our Upper West Side rent is astronomical and harsh and unreasonable. But if we want to be proud of our streets and if we want them comprised of more than Duane Reades and Targets, we need to make an effort to take care of the businesses that form and represent our neighborhood’s identity. But effort sounds difficult. So, in the meantime, why don’t you give yourself a break. Head on over to Blue Marble, grab a cone, sit back and take a moment to dream. You deserve it.
Anyone else find it hard to sympathize with Jennie? It’s fine to say you don’t want the police to jail petty criminals. But when you then call them several times over two days for protection from the same serial thief still running around loose, your “complex” issues get a lot simpler.
She comes off a bit naive and idealistic, but I admire her restraint. I’d want to hit the guy with a baseball bat.
Wow you really got a full handle on her beliefs from those 2 quotes in the article. Well done.
Apparently they seem to you to be so resolved. I guess the “petty criminals” should be allowed their daily tapping the till. Should the store provide them with ice cream as well?
I am with Becca. The point of this story is that local policing is supposed to keep local businesses and their customers safe. I’d like to see your restraint, nemo, when someone steals from you.
Best pistachio I’ve ever had and that’s coming from an Italian. I wish them the best.
Try pistachio in Chinatown. Nuts AND cherries.
Two released police reports for multiple shoplifting incidents and calls to 911? Confusing…
Nemo–really? You consider threatening someone by telling them that you have a gun and then robbing them a “petty crime”?!?!? That is actual armed robbery and not a petty crime and yes, I have an enormous amount of sympathy for this small business owner trying to do her best on the UWS and being subjected to frequent threats, robberies, and intimidation by this repeat offender. You don’t think she should have called the police?
Weird that crimes always happens around 100th street and Broadway. Wonder what’s close to that area.
The issue may be “complex” but the solution is not. We may all be “entitled to feel and experience joy” but staff and customers also are entitled to feel and be safe. The store needs effective crime deterrents. Either hire FT security guards or install bulletproof counter-to-ceiling windows (like at a bank). Also, the merchandise should not be grabbable — put it in a locked case! The cost of these measures may be offset by reduced shrinkage and lower insurance premiums. For the balance, increase the cost of ice cream and merchandise accordingly. Unfortunately we all bear the cost of NYS/NYC justice pseudo-reform and other failed public policy.
No.
Don’t increase the cost of ice cream,
“I think that ice cream has a great place in any society or world of just ‘I am going to indulge because I’m entitled, no matter who I am, no matter where I am, I am entitled to feel and experience joy.’ And as Kiki would say, ‘We all need to dream.’ When you sit in that ice cream shop you indulge and you give yourself just a tiny little space to dream.”
Don’t you think FT security guards and bulletproof glass, products under lock-and-key, might put a major damper on the joyful experience Blue Marble is providing? And it IS joyful, I can attest. There’s something very happy about that place, regardless of how regularly it’s being targeted for criminal activity.
Here’s an alternate solution:
Post a sign in the window saying ‘for security purposes, store does not accumulate cash, and all crime is reported’
Then get a lock box installed (something that thieves cannot access and that isn’t portable) and put all cash over 20 bucks in it.
Next time Mr Thief comes in, let him know that you have no access to cash, and offer him an ice cream. No, I’m not joking. Oh yeah – and hire tougher help.
the article should address what the police, pct 24, are doing to combat crime at her location – in that area.
THAT is the story…ice cream store – nice – but…
I didn’t read that she had something to do w/ the perp being released. That sounds dangerous for many reasons and people could be injured, flying bottles, guns…this neighborhood is getting worse.
DiBlasio is the reason why crime has skyrocketed in NYC. I lived in NYC all my life, and on the Upper West Side from 1969-2009. We never had a Mayor who was as incompetent and out of touch as DiBlasio and his loud mouthed supporters have been allowed to give NYC such a sullied reputation. He should be in jail himself, as an accessory to every murder committed under his watch. That’s for starters! Petty crime running free has always resulted in more severe crimes being committed. I look forward to visiting Blue Marble, and enjoying Butter Pecan ice cream.
Jennie, I know you will stay strong for yourself, your team and the community, which adores your exceptional ice cream. If you set up a GoFundMe for protective plexiglass, cameras, whatever it takes, I will surely contribute.
GOO CASHLESS
NYC made it illegal for stores to go cashless. City Hall is part of the security problem in so many ways.