A thief made two separate trips to a family’s home to steal packages off of their front porch in Throgs Neck.

Resident Billy Blanko says that one of the stolen packages was a pricy snowblower, among other nice gifts. 

The theft happened in broad daylight last Tuesday right under neighbors’ noses. Blanko and his family were not home at the time. 

“It almost sucked out the Christmas spirit for us,” said Blanko. “But we’re still going to go forward and do what we have to do for the family.”

The Better Business Bureau says to guard against porch pirates during the holidays, people should schedule deliveries for when they’re home, ship items to the store if possible, and consider using a package-retrieving service. 

The 45th Precinct – which covers Blanko’s home – has reported that grand larceny is up 55% in the precinct. Petit larceny is up 111%.