NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The holiday season is one of giving, but an unknown bad actor went for the taking at a Brooklyn assemblyman’s office this week, stealing gifts donated to his toy drive.
“We had the box set up in the anteroom where it’s convenient for constituents to drop them off, and there were a number of toys in it, and when the staff went back a little bit later, they found out that the box was empty, somebody had taken all the toys,” Assemblyman William Colton told 1010 WINS.
The theft at his 155 Kings Highway office likely happened on Thursday, just days before the box was scheduled to be picked up for distribution for children in need through the nonprofit Toys for Tots.
“We have children who need toys, we have children who might not get any toys, particularly this year, because right now, with the crisis of many things going up, parents are going to have to choose to pay the bills for food, to pay the bills for utilities, and toys might end up getting dropped to the bottom,” Colton said.
The assemblyman—who represents Assembly District 47, made up of Brooklyn’s Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Dyker Heights and Midwood neighborhoods—said that the thief could learn from the students at St. Peter Catholic Academy, a local school.
“They had organized a program whereby they had all their children bring in a toy for a needy child,” he said. “They wanted to teach their children that when you do something good for somebody else, when you help somebody else in need, it also brings you great happiness and helps you.”
Those toys were luckily brought from the school straight to his office’s basement, where they were kept safe.
Neighbors who spoke with 1010 WINS were frustrated to hear the news, and vowed to keep the holiday spirit alive, for the kids.
“That’s a real Grinch,” Ralph, who works nearby, said. “That don’t make no sense man, this is the time to give, not to take.”
An investigation into the crime is ongoing.
“Whether we’re celebrating Hanukkah, or whether we’re celebrating Christmas, or whether we’re celebrating Kwanza, no matter what, all of these special holidays are key to the idea of doing good things to help someone in need,” Colton said.
Anyone interested in helping to replenish the box can drop off toys at Colton’s office Monday through Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from noon to 8 p.m.; and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. The last day to drop off toys is Dec. 19.