They’ve been framed!
A hip vintage market in Brooklyn has been struck by thieves so many times in recent months, owners hung an artsy collage depicting dozens of crooks caught on camera.
The Little Brooklyn Market — which sells jewelry, sunglasses and clothes in Williamsburg — has been slammed by a wave of post-pandemic petty crime at a rate of four to six shoplifters a month, its co-owner Jacqueline Ryu told The Post.
To combat the crooks — many of whom are bold repeat offenders — workers posted surveillance photos of 16 alleged thieves in a gallery worthy display framed by a door painted with bright swirling designs.
“It definitely helps stop the repeat shoplifters. Usually the people who are on the wall do not come back. So it’s helped in that way,” Ryu, 40, said of the artsy wall of shame.
“When COVID hit, that was the time that shoplifting rose pretty high. People wore masks, they felt more comfortable[stealing], I guess,” she said.
The market, which also sells art and boasts a tattoo studio, has six surveillance cameras which have captured everything from a man apparently teaching a teen how to shoplift to a thief swiping goodies for his girlfriend.
Overall, the market’s shoplifting retail losses since the pandemic are in the five figures, she said.
The worst repeat offender is shown in a photo sporting a yellow cap next to the Sharpie-penned phrase, “We got the winner!! If you know this person, you are the winner too!!”
“He stole a couple of necklaces, a couple of earrings. Every time he comes with his girlfriend, she’ll pick out the stuff she likes and he’ll steal it for her,” Ryu said.
“She doesn’t steal. She shops around, and she picks up the stuff she likes and he steals it a few minutes later. He does it when we’re extremely busy and packed with people.”
Citywide, shoplifting in the Big Apple rose a stunning 64% from June 2019 to June 2023, according to recent data.
In 2022, the total estimated loss to shops in the state was $4.4 billion, Gov. Kathy Hochul said earlier this year.
At the Little Brooklyn Market, pilferers often pocket rings because they’re easy to stash— but recently cameras caught a man swiping sunglasses as a teenage friend watched.
“He was teaching him to steal. He was showing him how to take the glasses,” Ryu said. “He took the glasses in his hand and was walking back and forth, and it was busy, and he just walked out with the glasses”
But even if she suspects a robbery in progress, she’s hesitant to confront the person.
“I can’t just go and ask someone if they stole something if I don’t have solid proof. There’s always a chance I might be wrong. And their first reaction will be, ‘What are you talking about? I didn’t steal anything.’”
The flood of shoplifters was hardest for the store as sales slumped during the pandemic, she said.
“We were in a tough time, and still had to pay our rent not just for this store but for the location in Greenpoint,” she said. “We didn’t know if we were going to survive, and that’s when the shoplifters became extremely aggressive.”
On Instagram, the market describes itself as “a shopping experience in the heart of trendy Williamsburg” with vintage clothes, art and a tattoo studio.
Other photos posted on the door show alleged culprits in face masks casually snatching jewelry and clothing.
