Leica Store in SoHo Looted During Last Night’s Protests in NYC

If you see some suspiciously affordable Leica gear popping up on the used market in the coming days, take note: it may be the result of looting that took place in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood during last night’s protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.

According to a report by the local CBS outlet, multiple luxury stores in SoHo were looted during last night’s protests over the death of George Floyd. On Twitter, CBS New York anchor Kevin Rincon described the scene this morning as “just block after block of graffiti, broken glass and boarded up shops.”

Among the high-end establishments that were looted in SoHo last night is the prominent Leica Store in that neighborhood. In an interview, the store’s owner Elliot Kurland says that he considered coming to the store around 2 or 3am to prevent further theft, but was dissuaded by his brother.

“My brother said, ‘don’t go,'” recalls Kurland. “He said, ‘you’ll get killed.'”

However, there is one bright spot in this report. Neighbors who live around Kurland’s store actually did their best to help salvage what they could during the looting, stashing boxes of expensive Leica gear in their own homes, and locking up some of the gear in a back closet to prevent it being stolen.

As has been happening in cities across the country, some are taking advantage of the widespread protests to wreak havoc, destroy property, and steal. Christiane Lemieux, a fellow business owner who lives across the street from the Leica Store, describes what happened as organized looting that was not representative of the peaceful marches going on in much of the city.

“Five cars came up. Everybody got out. They had no license plates on the front of their cars,” says Lemieux. “They hit every store in our neighborhood. They got in their cars and drove off.”

Kurland was touched by how his neighbors stepped up last night, but his troubles may not be over yet. He and fellow business owners are boarding up their stores and preparing for what they fear will be another round of destruction and looting tonight.