Seen & Heard: The 1st Precinct Steps Up

••• Never seen this before: A Google Street View cameraperson. (Thanks to D. for the photo.) Maybe this is how they get the footage of interiors….

••• 19 Murray was going to get a funky newfangled sidewalk shed, but then it didn’t…? UPDATE: James explains why in the comments.

••• From Nabil Ayers: “I’m working on a project that I want to let you know about. I’m reissuing Valley of Search, the 1975 free jazz album by my uncle, Alan Braufman. It was originally released by India Navigation and recorded live in his loft on Canal Street at the peak of the downtown NYC loft jazz scene. It’s a very personal project—I spent a ton of time there as a child, a song is named after me. It’s Cooper-Moore’s first ever recording (he’s my godfather, and went by Gene Ashton then). Out June 29. And on August 1, some original members will perform this music for the first time in over 40 years… at WNYC’s Greene Space on Varick. Alan and Cooper-Moore and a full band will perform this music at WNYC’s Greene Space—a free event, on August 1.”

••• A new gelato cart is stationed outside Whole Foods. Thanks to S. for the photo.

••• Dismayed by the many counterfeit-goods vendors at Broadway and Canal on Saturday—there even were more than usual—I took my own advice and tweeted to the 1st Precinct. Here are four “before” photos:

And the “after” tweet. Kudos to the 1st Precinct, but if they really want to clean up that area, they’re going to have to keep doing it, again and again and again. (Sure enough, the peddlers were back a half hour later, according to a reader.) And we’re all going to have to help. So next time you see peddlers, if you’re on Twitter, tweet the 1st Precinct at @NYPD1Pct. Alternatively, try reaching out to the two Neighborhood Coordination Officers assigned to Tribeca: Dinah Bodden (917-860-2601, dinah.bodden@nypd.org) and Joseph Milone (929-284-0996, joseph.milone@nypd.org).

 

15 Comments

  1. On Saturday July 14, the vendors were back on the street in the same location. Canal/Broadway all intersections on sidewalks. All day.

  2. They may not have been able to use Urban Umbrella at 19 Murray Street because Urban Umbrella could not support a pipe scaffold on top for a full re-coating of the entire facade.

    The photo of 19 Murray shows both a 1-story sidewalk shed and a pipe scaffold sitting on top of the sidewalk shed. The sidewalk shed protects pedestrians while the pipe scaffold above gives the construction workers access to the facade to perform repairs. (Buildings with a sidewalk shed but without a pipe scaffold are either using a hanging or suspended scaffold for point-specific repairs to bricks, windows, etc., or they are not under repair themselves but are only adjacent to a building undergoing repairs and must by law have the neighbor’s sidewalk shed extended in front of them–5 feet long if they abut a neighbor undergoing facade repair less than 100 feet tall or 20 feet long if they abut such a neighbor 100 feet tall or taller.)

    On January 25 2016–in an article entitled ‘Scaffolds,scaffolds everywhere’–Crain’s New York Business wrote, “It doesn’t help that the Urban Umbrella experiment was a bust. Great as it looked–Mayor Bloomberg called it the shed for the 21st century–contractors said it didn’t fit well into the city’s busy sidewalks, couldn’t support scaffolding and cost twice as much as a conventional shed.”

    They apparently went to Toronto for re-engineering and, like a Broadway musical, some out-of-town previews. That said, it is still not clear that Urban Umbrella is now capable of supporting scaffolding on top of its sidewalk shed. In the July 9, 2018 issue of Crain’s New York Business–in an article entitled “Let there be light”–this 2016 problem was noted again, stating, “the design […] didn’t meet mandatory weight-bearing requirements sufficient to support scaffolding.” Nowhere in the article does it say that this problem has now been resolved. (Having a traditional wood plank and metal pipe scaffold above would also negate the advantage of sunlight being able to shine through the translucent deck of an Urban Umbrella during the day.)

    Anyway, here’s their August 2017 rendering of what could have been at 19 Murray St. Note the absence of a pipe scaffold above the sidewalk shed in the rendering, unlike real life here.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BXa9vt0lkbw/

  3. Good job about the vendors.
    Yes, this is a continual process until the scourge is gone.

    Why don’t the police just make it a regular stop when they have no other pressing priorities during the day? All the fake goods should be confiscated also.

  4. I moved to NYC 40 years ago, it was like that then, it’s still like that
    I love the police comment “thank you for being our eyes and ears, we now have that on our radar” lol it’s been there for 40 years lol.

  5. The vendors weren’t bothering anyone. What’s the big deal? Plenty of people look through their stuff and purchase something. Mainly tourists.

    • It really hurts the retails stores in the area. People that sell clothing or similar merchandise (even a block away) get grouped in as knock-off product. Further, because of this several stores will not want to be in the area. There is a reason no name brand store from SoHo come pass Canal Street. Then as a domino affect, having a bunch of vacant stores hurts the local retailers.

      Secondly, people that live and work nearby now must deal with crowded sidewalks and illegal vendors. Not exactly a place you want to call home.

      Lastly, although some tourists do not mind, young kids are intimidated by this. I have heard stories of kids offered drugs by these vendors friends that sit with them.

    • You must be trolling because if you’ve ever been in the area, the vendors are a nuisance to everyone. They argue and fight over customers, block up entire sidewalks, and act hostile and aggressive towards anyone that doesn’t welcome them with a smile.

    • The fake vendors cause all sorts of problems, from blocking the sidewalk (good luck getting through there with a baby carriage or wheelchair) and subway entrances, to intellectual property theft which damages legitimate brands, to hurting business at local stores, to actually driving away prospective businesses (including a tenant for the beautiful corner building), to urinating outside, to littering, to fighting, to aggressively confronting passersby.

  6. Their goods are delivered by vans which park on Lispenard. I once saw a driver make a too small space bigger by alternately bashing into the cars parked in front and behind. Since the one behind belonged to me I asked the driver to knock it off and go someplace else. He ignored me. When two NYPD cops happened to stroll by at that moment I asked them to intervene. They told me to call 311. I did and got no response.

    The community has done nothing about these street vendors for years. I figured that that was because New Yorkers are afraid to complain about the anti-social behavior of some black Muslims for fear of being called racist. The Mayor says that’s why he eliminated “broken windows” policing. Is there any other explanation for their ongoing presence?

  7. These people are actually breaking the law – counterfeiting (some people don’t realize it’s a crime) and a parasite to the community … residents and businesses … just so some tourists from Ohio can show their friends their fake bag.

    NYPD should enforce it so Trump doesn’t get any grand ideas and send ICE there.

    • I’d like to clarify what Chris was trying to say:

      These people are NOT actually breaking the law – counterfeiting (some people don’t realize it’s NOT a crime) and NOT a parasite to the community … residents and businesses … just so some tourists from Ohio can show their friends their NOT fake bag.

      NYPD should NOT enforce it so Trump doesn’t NOT get any grand ideas and NOT send ICE there.

      • Counterfeiting is against the law.

        US Code Title 18 part 1 Chapter 113
        §2320. Trafficking in counterfeit goods or services

        https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title18/pdf/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap113-sec2320.pdf

        • See also New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law – PEN § 165.70 Definitions

          https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/penal-law/pen-sect-165-70.html

          See also:

          New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law – PEN § 165.71 Trademark counterfeiting in the third degree

          A person is guilty of trademark counterfeiting in the third degree when, with the intent to deceive or defraud some other person or with the intent to evade a lawful restriction on the sale, resale, offering for sale, or distribution of goods, he or she manufactures, distributes, sells, or offers for sale goods which bear a counterfeit trademark, or possesses a trademark knowing it to be counterfeit for the purpose of affixing it to any goods.

          Trademark counterfeiting in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor.

          ——————————————————————-

          New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law – PEN § 165.72 Trademark counterfeiting in the second degree

          A person is guilty of trademark counterfeiting in the second degree when, with the intent to deceive or defraud some other person or with the intent to evade a lawful restriction on the sale, resale, offering for sale, or distribution of goods, he or she manufactures, distributes, sells, or offers for sale goods which bear a counterfeit trademark, or possesses a trademark knowing it to be counterfeit for the purpose of affixing it to any goods, and the retail value of all such goods bearing counterfeit trademarks exceeds one thousand dollars.

          Trademark counterfeiting in the second degree is a class E felony.

          ——————————————————————-

          New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law – PEN § 165.73 Trademark counterfeiting in the first degree

          A person is guilty of trademark counterfeiting in the first degree when, with the intent to deceive or defraud some other person, or with the intent to evade a lawful restriction on the sale, resale, offering for sale, or distribution of goods, he or she manufactures, distributes, sells, or offers for sale goods which bear a counterfeit trademark, or possesses a trademark knowing it to be counterfeit for the purpose of affixing it to any goods, and the retail value of all such goods bearing counterfeit trademarks exceeds one hundred thousand dollars.

          Trademark counterfeiting in the first degree is a class C felony.

          ——————————————————————-

          New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law – PEN § 165.74 Seizure and distribution or destruction of goods bearing counterfeit trademarks

          Any goods manufactured, sold, offered for sale, distributed or produced in violation of this article may be seized by any police officer.  The magistrate must, within forty-eight hours after arraignment of the defendant, determine whether probable cause exists to believe that the goods had been manufactured, sold, offered for sale, distributed or produced in violation of this article, and upon a finding that probable cause exists to believe that the goods had been manufactured, sold, offered for sale, distributed, or produced in violation of this article, the court shall authorize such articles to be retained as evidence pending the trial of the defendant.  Upon conviction of the defendant, the articles in respect whereof the defendant stands convicted shall be destroyed or donated.  Destruction shall not include auction, sale or distribution of the items in their original form.  Donation of the items shall be made at the court’s discretion upon the request of any law enforcement agency and pursuant to the restrictions and procedures of section three hundred sixty-m of the general business law , for the benefit of indigent individuals.

          • Oh boy, these two obviously don’t follow current events or the Sarcasm Digest Daily. Sad! #MAGA

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