Fake Deliverymen Hit Doorman Building

An Upper West Side apartment was robbed at gunpoint when two men posing as deliverymen forced their way in. A 74-year-old grandmother, a baby and a baby-sitter were in the apartment at the time, and all of their mouths were duct-taped.

The men managed to get past the doorman at 125 West 79th Street between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues by claiming they had a package for an apartment on the 11th floor (according to a 911 caller, the men were carrying a package or envelope). The Post reports the robbers were able to push their way into the apartment because it was unlocked.

Once inside the apartment, the robbers
brandished a semiautomatic pistol and took cash and cellphones. The Times reports that it's unclear whether the victims were chosen at random. The grandmother, Chaime Ernsberger, has polio and lives in the apartment, where she also has offices; the baby-sitter, Glenda Hayes, has a pacemaker and defibrillator. Hayes told the Daily News how the robbers broke in, pushing Ernsberger out of the way, and that she's visiting her cardiologist tomorrow.

Some doorman-apartment buildings require tenants to pick up packages and deliveries from the lobby.