Armed robbers hold up patrons at fine dining restaurants in New York City, make off with hundreds of thousands in jewelry, watches

( Post Millennial )

Armed robbers have been targeting prominent New York City establishments, holding up wealthy patrons at gunpoint and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry and luxury watches. The thieves have mainly targeted affluent restaurants in Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan that attract celebrities and socialites.

Most of the robberies have occurred between 6:30 and 9:30 pm, and police have not made any arrests, The New York Times reports. Local New Yorkers appear to be on edge as armed robberies like these are rare in the area. All of these heists have occurred within the past month.

The robberies follow a similar pattern, surveillance video footage and witness interviews revealed. Two men arrive at a glittering restaurant, with one carrying a gun. They steal belongings from restaurant patrons and then flee either on a moped or dirt bike, police said.

In each case, the armed thieves have stolen luxury watches from patrons, including one that was worth $100,000, according to authorities.

On May 31, the oyster bar Marlow and Sons was hit by robbers. One of the suspects approached two males - aged 38 and 40 - outside of the restaurant with a gun. The suspect demanded their watches and fled the scene on a "two-wheeled vehicle" with another individual. One of the watches was a Rolex, the other was an Audemars Piguet. The items were worth a combined $40,000, police said.

The famous Italian restaurant Carbone in Greenwich Village was targeted three weeks later. Two men robbed a 39-year-old man, stealing his $100,000 Patek Phillippe watch at gunpoint, authorities said.

Three days later, heisters hit Birds of a Feather, a chic Chinese restaurant in an upscale Brooklyn neighborhood. This time the robbers went inside the dining establishment. Police said a man wearing a mask brandished a gun while another henchman stole two phones and a watch from three men at a dining table near the front door.

On Thursday, two suspects riding a moped and carrying a gun stole a watch and a purse from a 32-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man on the corner of Manhattan and Norman Avenues in Greenpoint, according to the local news website Greenpointers.

The NYPD did not say whether the similar heists were connected and no arrests have been made.