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Girl assaulted walking home from school in Fidi
14 Rector from Google
Anecdotally I have heard many of these stories lately — I even witnessed a couple — but this is the first one that the NYPD has been able to confirm. And while it took place more than two weeks ago, I think it is worth mentioning here, just so we have a record of what’s going on.
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, a 15-year-old Fidi resident was walking home from Stuyvesant High School at approximately 4:30p, the police report said, when police responded to a 911 call in front of 14 Rector. The victim said she was struck twice in the face with a closed face. Gregory Holmes, 30, was arrested and charged with assault. His address was reported as 970 Columbus Avenue, which is at 108th Street.
At first, the family assumed he was living at a shelter in Fidi, but in fact he is not. However, he had been seen before in the neighborhood by the victim.
And this is when it actually gets worse. Three days later, her mother was told that the assailant had been released on Oct. 11. The hearing for this case is scheduled for Nov. 29 and he will be standing for two other assault cases on that day. Officers said he is a known offender with severe mental health issues.
“The Police Department and the DA’s office are doing all they can, but they cannot make him come to the court hearing. And the cycle of violence will continue. This will not end well,” the victim’s mother told me. “I’m a private person and I’m not enjoying talking about any of this. I’m doing it as a service to the public – I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. This guy has done this to other people. Who is it going to be next time? A senior? A pregnant woman? What happens when the next person is hit, falls backward, and dies? Just because my daughter got lucky, doesn’t mean the next person will.”
16 Comments
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Progressive DA’s, City Council are to blame with pro-crime policies. Vote them out
How come these are only happening in democratic run states/cities? perhaps the blame should fall on us the citizens for continuously voting for these people. not to mention they campaign on these agendas and enact on them once they are elected so i’m not sure why anyone is surprised this is where we are now.
agreed. Bail reform must end. repeat offenders who assault roaming our city. Its a dangerous city.
Clearly you are misinformed. Red states have much higher crime rates. I am very unhappy with this incompetent mayor
but facts are facts. But enough about us opinionated adults; that poor young woman.
this is like listening to an echo chamber of ignorance / fake news and idiocy. A cursory search on Google shows that isn’t true.
https://amp.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article273844340.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/04/28/red-states-have-higher-gun-death-rates-than-blue-states-heres-why/amp/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/briefing/crime.html
Can the photo of the assailant be published so that citizens be in the lookout? If we don’t know the face we can’t protect ourselves or others.
You single initial, anonymous posters blaming the city council and claiming anyone living in this city is pro-crime, come on, get a grip. This has nothing to do with red vs blue politics but everything to do with common sense. The NYPD should release a mugshot/booking picture of the arrested assailant, especially since he’s got a history and has been released. This system is so frustrating. Others’ lives are in danger because they let a violent repeat offender criminal go back into society.
mr hoffinator:
the numbers don’t lie. find me one republican run city where this is currently happening in. LA, DC, Chicago, NY, SF – this is a red vs blue issue you dummy.
“find me one republican run city where this is currently happening in”
Ok.
The city with the highest crime rate in America is Bessemer City, North Carolina. 1 in 30 chance of being a crime victim. Republican mayor. Red state (most of the time.)
That’s *The city with the highest crime rate in America*
If someone in North Carolina commits a violent crime do their bail laws allow that person to be freed because of stupid bail reform laws? The answer is no.
New Yorkers are optimists and many of us wish (and worse…believe) that habitual criminals just need a few hugs and counseling sessions to turn into productive law-abiding citizens. (“I can fix him” energy.) Sadly, decades of recidivism statistics show that there are many criminals who can only be stopped through incarceration.
A lot of people will blame the mayor for events like this but he can only (somewhat) control policing policy and whether criminals are likely to be arrested. Once arrested, bail laws will determine whether the suspect can be held pending trial. The bail laws are set at the state level by our Assemblymen/women, State Senators and Governor in Albany. A few years ago the laws were changed to require most suspects be immediately released with no bail.
The charges that will, or will not, be brought against a suspect are determined by the District Attorney who is a county level elected officer. If a violent criminal is not charged with a violent crime (bail-eligible) they’ll automatically be immediately released.
The cops can identify and arrest criminals repeatedly. However, if Albany’s laws put the crooks back on the street and the county DA refuses to charge them with a meaningful crime all of the arrests will be pointless. This is what’s happening in NYC right now. Almost every shocking crime you hear about lately has been committed by somebody who has recently been arrested multiple times (the cops doing their jobs) but is out on the street creating new victims because Albany and the DA aren’t interested in incarceration.
So, this can’t be improved just by voting for a “tough on crime” mayor.
Because this is a one-party town, your assemblyman/woman, state senator and DA were effectively elected in a very low turnout primary of which you might not have been aware. NY state and local offices have primaries that are designed to minimize turn out. These elections are in odd numbered years when voters are not focused on races for national offices. NY has primaries on separate dates for state and local offices so each election gets less attention. Some primaries are held far before November to further minimize voter awareness.
For example, each of the 51 city council members represents over 150,000 people on average. Many win primaries with under 10,000 votes and are effectively unopposed in November. Are you happy with the direction of New York City? Too bad. Did you know that your city councilman (Christopher Marte, representing Tribeca and other neighborhoods) has already been reelected? He won a primary over four months ago on June 27th with 5,485 votes. He’s not going to lose on November 7th to a Republican if the GOP even bothers to field a candidate.
New Yorkers (justifiably) like to jump up and down and complain about southern Republicans passing laws designed to suppress voting but the Georgia GOP can only dream about winning offices with votes totaling less than 4% of the population.
Sorry for the rant but a child was just punched in the face by a guy who was out on the streets despite having previously been arrested for at least three other violent crimes. I’m upset.
TH, eloquently said. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Vote anyone with this ideology out.
There is an alternative to Marte on the ballot. He doesn’t even have crime as one of his top 3 issues (which are stop displacement, end wage theft and protect our waterfronts). Learn about Helen Qiu before you vote: https://www.nycvotes.org/meet-the-candidates/2023-general-election/city-council/profile/?candidateId=2789&electionCycle=2023&districtID=01&boroughCode=%20&officeType=5&partyId=C,R,OTH&bannerTitle=Helen%20J%20Qiu&geoAreaAbbr=&officelevel=1
The comments on this story are pathetic. I’m disappointed that you’re my neighbors. So reactionary, so devoid of any real solutions besides posting photos of people so locals can start some mob justice. Just disgusting.
Would you be any less outraged if he had paid a money bond before being released? This is one instance that supports the anecdotal evidence you heard; should we base public policy on it? Do you think that holding people in jail because they can’t afford bond (unconstitutional) is the answer to mental health and poverty related crime? Do you think that being released pending trial is the end of the court process?
It is frustrating, of course, and scary. There are mechanisms to hold some people before trial and those should be used more effectively. But we have to operate our systems in line with our constitutional, legal, and moral standards. Going back to charging money to people we know can’t pay it in order to incarcerate them before they’ve been convicted is not the way.
Today is Election Day. We already voted ourselves into this mess of unsafe streets. And I guess we’ll do it again today. Our legislators and prior Governor Cuomo passed the so-called criminal justice reform laws. And it is impossible to dispute that our new DA Bragg is light on crime. By law, the miscreant who attacked that girl, if charged with misdemeanor assault, is required to be released at his arraignment, to likely victimize someone else before he is arrested again. And he will probably be lightly treated by DA Bragg. Our city council member Marte wants to defund the police, by “reducing the size and scope of the NYPD.” You can google his position on the issue of public safety. The criminal recidivists, career criminal opportunists, and violent mentally ill don’t deserve third and fourth chances. Yet our votes for our politicians let crime run rampant. Look in the mirror.