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Seen & Heard: Not the fun stuff
I am putting these together in a post now because I feel I should, yet none of these have been verified by the NYPD. One can’t be anyway — it wasn’t a report — but the press office said there was no complaint on file for the other two.
I was in Whole Foods around 5p yesterday and was surprised that one whole hot food island was closed for the night. Then I came home to this email from A., sent around 2:30p: “I popped in to snag some tomato paste. As I walked through the prepared food section, a man was ambling up and down the aisles. Tons of people around. He turns and starts spitting in the food and runs out. Everyone just stopped and stared and then a worker started screaming to get attendants. Can you believe this?”
And then a couple of days ago, this from M., who is a regular runner in Hudson River Park and saw the story of the rape in the Village: “I was running a few months ago and saw a man masturbating on one of the benches. It was so disturbing. I found two cops walking in the park and told them. They said thanks for telling us and started walking towards him, and when I did another look back, they had turned around versus approaching the man and they were walking in the other direction. I am upset given he looks like the picture I just saw and potentially could have prevented this awful crime.”
And the above from photo from C., who said the staff at Archive Wines said a homeless man had thrown a rock through the window of the T. Mobile site next to Whole Foods.
I am not sure what to say other than all of this sucks.
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More and more reasons to vote for Zeldin tomorrow. Enough is enough already.
Suprising you’d say that, given red states lead the way nationally on crime rate, and given Zeldin wants to put guns in schools and opposes any ban on semi-automatic weapons.
Aside from the gating issue of electing a candidate aligned with stop the steal insurrectionists, it’s completely backwards to think the candidate who wants more guns everywhere, including in a densely populated city, is the anti-crime candidate.
It’s not going to matter who the DA is or what bail reform looks like if the streets are flooded with more guns. People are going to be getting shot left and right, accidental or not. It’s common sense.
I imagine you’ll disagree, but allow me to at least explain the thinking behind the policy of widening legal gun ownership.
Right now, only criminals, cops, and privileged persons with private security have guns. So the chance that a criminal using a gun to commit a crime will succeed is high (the crime have to be a shooting, the gun just makes the criminal the most powerful person around). Just as stop and frisk (no matter what you think of the policy) resulted in the bad guys carrying their guns less frequently because the risks of incarceration increased, the idea is that if there were many law abiding citizens (with firearms safety and other training) carrying guns, then the ability of a criminal to have the advantage goes way down and the risk of personal injury to themselves goes way up. So overall then, there’d be less gun crime.
… the crime doesn’t have to be a shooting…
There is no data that supports that at all. The top 15 states with the highest per capita violent crime as measured by the FBI is littered with red states where gun ownership is high and easy. Texas is 11th.
I know that’s how the thinking goes, but it doesn’t stand up to research, common sense, or reality.
1. More accidents, more intimidation, and more unnecessary escalation are by far the most frequent end results of having more gun availability—and they all lead to more shootings. The Good guy saves the day or scares criminals from committing crime scenarios are largely fantasy. The drunk guy at a bar starts waving his pistol around when somebody knocks over his beer or the driver starts waving his pistol around when somebody honks too loudly at him is reality. There are tons of studies on this: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-threats-and-self-defense-gun-use-2/
2. People with guns are great targets for criminals. It’s a lot cheaper to rob someone for their gun than it is to find/purchase one on the black market. That means more robberies and more guns in the hands of bad guys. (Contrary to your notion that a gun will make them think twice; they’ll just bring a buddy or two or catch you by surprise. You’re not a highly trained special ops soldier. And if you defend yourself, you just started a shoot out in a crowded city. Maybe one or two of them is dead. Maybe you’re dead. Maybe a few innocent bystanders are dead. It’s a terrible outcome. For what? Everybody would’ve been better off if they just snatched your iPhone and ran. Or maybe they would’ve just left you alone because you had nothing valuable enough to steal aside from your gun.)
3. Even if broader gun access made sense, which it doesn’t, how would it be implemented? Because I have to assume you’d think there should be some limits, like no guns in the subway or in Times Square. (If you think guns on the subway are fine, this discussion is not worth having.) How do you define, legislate, and enforce those limits? I’d wager it’s practically impossible. A straight up ban with minimal exceptions is the only realistic solution.
Those are just a few counterpoints. There are definitely more.
Ultimately, it’s one thing for people to carry firearms in rural towns where the peak of social interaction is seeing the same people over and over again at the local diner or grocery store or whatever—people like you who you know and trust to behave responsibly. It’s a very different thing in New York City where you can easily interact at close proximity with thousands of strangers on a daily basis—people not like you who you don’t know and don’t trust by default.
MAGA – Trump will fix it all.
“Trump will fix it all.” It’s beginning to feel a lot like Berlin 1932 – 1933.
Pretending that January 6th was the “Second Reichstag Fire” is not going to help Democrats in the midterms or in 2024.
Wow, maybe he’ll finally get around to Infrastructure Week and that big, “beautiful” healthcare plan that, for four years, was going to be unveiled in “a few weeks.”
Zeldin, Esposito, and Adams will reverse the demise of NYC.
If you want more of this vote for Hochul! Time for a new Pataki/Giuliani-type combo otherwise we are heading back to the ‘70s…
republicans run on crime, but have committed the biggest crime of all, The attempted overthrow of our duly elected governrnent with Zeldin one of the chief supporters. He (and trump) are traitors and are unfit for government at any level.
Zeldin is fooling everyone he’s tough on crime, and he’s just using it to scare people who don’t like thinking for themselves. He had yet to offer a real plan but people tend to like stories than know what’s actually feasible.
sharp increases in arrests and prosecutions for illegal gun crimes — including by Bragg himself (Manhattan gun possession convictions are triple their 2019 levels) — have helped drive shootings down 13% and murders down 14% year-over-year. Comparing October 2022 to October 2021 looks especially promising in important categories of crime: Murders were down 33% citywide. Shootings, down 34%. Felony assaults, down 6%.
Zeldin: “We’re half way through the debate and she still hasn’t talked about locking up anyone committing any crimes”
Hochul: “Anyone who commits a crime under our laws, especially with the change they made to bail, has consequences. I don’t know why that’s so important to you.”
Comparing period 1/1/21-10/23/21 with 1/1/22-10/23/22, per NYPD:
Felony assaults up 14%
Rape up 11%
Robbery up 34%
Overall crimes up 30%
Transit crime up 41%
When I read the article about the woman attacked on her early morning run on the Hudson River Parkway- one of the things that stood out was hearing the woman who first came to her aid and called police- she said that she was surprised that there were so many people around..walking/jogging etc that had done nothing to help the woman who was in distress and crying out for help.
The city politics have long been built on a platform of extremes – live here long enough and see the politics here swing from far ends of the pendulum decade after decade. We’re on the Bernie Goetz track right now – if nothing gets enforced and the game is survival, it will get ugly just as it did when the city was deep into the stop and frisk world. Nobody wants woke politics from either side of the political divide.
The Internet feeds into our biases. Zeldin is not any more of a solution than Hochul, but algorithms will support our position and show us the content we want to hear. We owe it to ourselves to get off the dopamine drip of personalized content and listen to the other side even if we fundamentally disagree with the party stance. I don’t care if you’re D or R… if you’re all in on one or the other candidate, you haven’t been listening. They’re both uniquely terrible, but pitching some nuggets good stuff.
Everything sounds nice from the “grass is greener” stump anyway until it’s you getting assaulted. As far as I’ve seen, our voted officials right now have done nothing for me – and it makes me detest living here more than I ever recall, despite having lived here for decades.
It makes me more interested in voting them all out, even if that means voting in politics and policy I don’t agree with. That’s where I am at. And maybe we should all be voting them out at each election until it’s someone we’re finally happy about where it’s not just settling. Settling is how we ended up with BdB for 2 terms.
It truly does suck. I run very early in the morning too and just thinking about all this makes me on edge. I stopped running up the west side for a bit after the March incident. Of course, I now go around the FDR and I’m not sure what is safest. There is no other time for me to run.
I have also witnessed masturbators on the West side and on the benches of the Brooklyn Bridge. I only warn other runners going that way, but don’t know what cops would do.
I feel so horrible for this woman from Thursday. I think many of us early morning runners feel the same.
let’s be honest, Tribeca, West Village, FIDI have seen major upticks in crime under soft criminal justice reforms democratic progressives have championed. There are more mentally ill homeless people floating around, Woman was recently raped in Hudson Park, saw a homeless man a few weeks ago openly masturbating across the street from PS 234. several examples of criminal behavior on this thread. I’m confused Why do we want the people responsible for doing absolutely nothing but encouraging the deterioration of this city and the quality of life in this neighborhood to be elected? please spare me the it was worse in the 70’s BS.This is now, What is it exactly that current democratic “leadership” actually bring to the table that makes it so enticing?
S, Absolutely nothing!
vote for Kathy, just look at this wonderful ” SAFE” city we live in where quality of life is an issue. Where you have to fear going on the train or walking alone at night. Where every pharmacy has to lock up becasue of stealing! Where criminals have more rights that the citizens who live here! Vote for Kathy, she turns her heard and allows criminals get out of jail for free!! Oh, we forgot about the migrants who are more important than our own American homeless on the streets! I am done with what has happened to this city past couple of years!! Enough!
The incidents you reported were all committed by mentally ill people who are homelesss. And you want to connect that with bail reform? Such foolish thinking – and fear-mongering – is the cause of these problems, not the solution.
It’s beyond me why anyone is surprised or dismayed by what’s happening in the city. The woke progressive ideology is explicitly calling for defunding the police, getting soft on crime, and bringing more people (that we can’t take care of) illegally into this country (among other things). These are the same people that, at best, turned a blind eye (
and, at worst, cheered/encouraged as people looted and burned down businesses a few summers ago. You reap what you sow. I know so many people who’ve given up and moved to places/states that better align with their ideologies (my family included) because the woke voting base in NY will continue to run the state and city into the ground until there is nothing left. It’s sad to see but totally predictable.
Well then, don’t let the door hit you on your way out of town. There was never any police defunding. They just stopped doing their jobs. It’s pitiful actually. Zero patrolling or enforcement.
I love how your comment weaved all the loony conservative talking points into one, even reaching back to the looting from over two years ago. Tin toil hats for everyone!
Speaking of the looting, what happened to the looters? Were any of them arrested? Was there any penalty, recovery of stolen items, etc.?
Hello Tribeca Citizen
Could you please devise a plan to ensure that these “neighbors” comments are actually from people who live in Tribeca or generally in Manhattan, rather than Staten Island or Ohio. I think there’s been a red infiltration into our local online press. No longer a neighborhoody place to submit or read comments.
Thank you.
Tribeca resident
Not possible. For instance, how do I know where you live?
You might want to consult with Gothamist who recently cleaned up their comment section. It was pretty atrocious before.
I guess I don’t really have a problem if people are reading or commenting from outside the neighborhood. I read all the comments and can delete if they are inappropriate. I certainly do not assume that all Tribecans share the same views either. A “red” comment could absolutely be from a neighbor…
Totally agree with Loren that the forum has become unfriendly, and unpleasant, for actual Tribeca citizens lately. The anonymous, aggressive and inflammatory posts really ticked up around the election, and many posts bear the hallmarks of trolls, not neighbors with more conservative views, who usually provide more NYC/Tribeca specific details in their posts. Is there a reCAPTCHA or verification tool that could use trivia or photographs of Tribeca or NYC? I.e., if you actually live here, you could recognize the photo(s) or answer the questions, but not if you don’t live here, or never have?
This urge to silence those from outside of the neighborhood, or at least outside of NYC, even suggesting measures requiring the use of “verification tools,” is backward and bizarre. While they hasten to add that they don’t seek to limit participation by “red” contributors, only participation by those whom they view as outsiders, it should not escape notice that this parochialism is one characteristic of those identifying as “red.” And haven’t you read the letters to the New York Times, from readers froms Buffalo, Los Angeles and even Peoria? I appreciate those letters — regardless of their political bent — because I’m interested to know about their take on what’s going on here. Also, it’s a tribute to the Tribeca Citizen that it attracts the attention of geographically diverse readers.
The unfortunate issue is that a lot of these posts are not genuine; they are written by trolls to incite reaction and anger. And they do. But, to me the bigger issue is that I don’t want to read political perspectives in my neighborhood blog. I love reading Tribeca Citizen – the restaurant openings, nosy neighbors, coverage of Halloween, etc. But I for one would love Pam to filter out political perspectives of any ilk, from people near or far. I can get it somewhere else.
I’m one of the people that moved away (like so many other New Yorkers who left during the pandemic). I lived in Tribeca for almost 20 years — who are the trolls here? I still occasionally read TriBeCa Citizen because I still have connections to the area and still work in Manhattan periodically. I have no issues if you want to live in your own echo chamber, but quite honestly that’s part of the problem.
To the point of police reversing course and not speaking to the masturbating man, it doesn’t surprise me, considering the work-to-rule go-slow attitude some of our police force exhibited in the past . And I also am reminded that police unions tended overwhelmingly (PBA, Sargents union, Patrick Lynch et al) to support our former president, and Rep Zeldin. Defunding police and bail reform are not connected. I want police to do police work not social work or administrative tasks. I also would appreciate police more if they did a better job of living the values imprinted on their vehicles – Courtesy, Professionalism and Respect. Some do, but a lot don’t which was quite evident during the pandemic with a sometimes haphazard approach to mask wearing during a public health emergency.