NYC influencer issues warning to followers after terrifying break-in: Heart sunk to my feet

A New York City influencer has issued a grave warning about the importance of locking — and deadbolting — your front door, after a man entered her luxury Manhattan apartment in the middle of the night while she was alone in her bed.Kate Bartlett, 25, has been living in New York for more than five years, during which time she has built up a huge social media following by sharing regular videos about her favorite fashions, daily routines, and lavish trips abroad.However, she recently set aside her more light-hearted content to focus on a much more serious topic, opening up about a harrowing encounter that she had with a late-night intruder — and the lessons that the incident taught her about safety, particularly for those who live alone.At the beginning of the video, Bartlett emphasized that she “debated” telling her story for a “long time.” Ultimately, she decided it was “worth it” if her experience could help to keep “one person safe.”“So two years ago, a random man broke into my New York City apartment in the middle of the night while I was there,” she said as she warned viewers to keep their doors “locked and deadbolted.”Bartlett went on to note that the location of her apartment in the high-rise, as well as the round-the-clock security in her building, had given her a false sense of security, particularly because she believed that she was residing in a “very safe” area of the city.“Two years ago, I was living in a luxury high-rise building downtown, I had a 24-hour doorman and I was on the 42nd floor in a very safe neighborhood,” she explained.The key system in her building was more like a hotel, using key cards rather than the traditional metal keys.“So the doors to all of the apartments in the building were a key card system.

So it wasn’t like a key that you had to turn and lock.It was just like a hotel key card that you would scan and the door would open,” she went on.“Obviously, you need a key card to open t...