It is the farbebeating criminal homeless mental patients who are tossing humans on the subway It is the low income hardworking nyc worker who needs to get on the subway at 6am to get to her hotel job who is being attacked on the subway You care more about criminals than the honest minimum wage worker trying to be hardworking getting on that subway — Sarah on Woman sexually assaulted and robbed at Pier 45

Vote LeeZeldin I’m a democrat but I have 3 daughters 2 of which who are training for the marathon running along the same path as this unfortunate woman I’m sorry but terrified to get on subway The city is out of control and Hochul just hired a no bail for all criminals activities to be her legal director She is tone deaf and if she can’t see any crime then both she and Adams need to go — Sarah on Woman sexually assaulted and robbed at Pier 45

dunno, seems like the restaurant scene is thriving here. new ones opening every day. part of the circle of life. — L2 on Terra will close at the end of this month

I've seen the police failing to do anything about the sellers. I've never seen them taking any kind of payment from the sellers. — Marcus on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Of course it’s true. My God, have you spent any time watching the cops operate in Chinatown?!? — J on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Don't forget to vote Democrat to ensure these things don't disappear from our streets. Vote for Kathy H !!! — Big AL on Woman sexually assaulted and robbed at Pier 45

Clearly this is a monstrous crime. "Minor" crimes are real crimes as well. Allowing a culture of lawlessness at the minor level is a negative for society as well. Maybe the difference in level of complaining is that it seems the police are addressing these kinds of extreme crimes, but seem to be increasingly ignoring other levels of crimes. And of course they should prioritize the major crimes of violence. Yet we have a massive police force, and surely they also have time and resources to address the so-called "minor" crimes, without compromising enforcement for the major crimes. — Marcus on Woman sexually assaulted and robbed at Pier 45

This is just horrible. There is info on arrests in the news. The individually has previously been " arrested at least 18 times as an adult, according to police. He also has a criminal record in New Jersey and Ohio." "Police believe suspect who raped jogger in NYC park is responsible for other violent crimes" https://abc7ny.com/jogger-rape-nyc-hudson-river-park/12416105/ NYC tourist raped while jogging was choked so hard neck bones broke, ‘sex fiend’ held without bail https://nypost.com/2022/11/04/west-village-rapist-held-without-bail-latest-vic-was-tourist/ — Marcus on Woman sexually assaulted and robbed at Pier 45

One problem is the cited people don’t show up to court because they not in the country legally. They give fake addresses and no one can track the “John Doe” names they give the police. The police could seize the goods as “evidence” but they would need facilities and people to house and maintain piles of fakes. This would take some money. The city makes money from the trade with tourists going to legit soho boutiques and Chinatown restaurants. The people of Supreme and Tapestry (Coach and Kate Spade) don’t have to lobbying or draw the voting power to curtail. The DOT could shut these vendors down for safety reasons but pedestrian safety is non-issue along Canal Street…only a handful of deaths per year! — Ok on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

I love 3 card monte! They also have the 3 soda cap game with the little red ball that you have to guess which cap it is under. Street games are great again! I just wish they would get of the counterfeit people to make room for more game play — Let the games begin! on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Is this true? Is there evidence for this, or is this speculation? — Marcus on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Yes. It seems that many who promoted or at least were sympathetic to the defund/etc. movements are now experiencing some serious regret. — Marcus on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

"[...] Buried in the MTA’s environmental assessment for congestion pricing is this astounding factoid: one small slice of Lower Manhattan laps the field when it comes to people driving to work. And those people are, surprise!, mostly police. [...] "The Census tract in question is home to a number of law enforcement and government buildings, including One Police Plaza, Manhattan Criminal Court, New York Supreme Court, New York County Supreme Court, the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, One Centre Street and of course, City Hall. "The large number of NYPD and other law enforcement officials driving to lower Manhattan could come into play when the Traffic Mobility Review Board, the panel tasked with recommending price and exemption policies for congestion pricing, begins to consider the various screams for exemptions. PBA President Pat Lynch has been demanding a carveout for cops, asking for one almost immediately after state legislators authorized the traffic toll. [...] "The EA also points out an important reason why lower Manhattan, with its bountiful subway connections, is such a rich vein of drive time radio listeners: parking placards. " 'The higher rate of auto commuting to these census tracts, and the high volume of auto commuting to Census Tract 29, are likely due to the availability of free parking and/or parking placards for some public administration employees,' the assessment authors wrote. (A Streetsblog placard census earlier this year certainly confirmed that.) [...] "NYPD officers, at the very least, have less of an excuse to insist on driving to work, because they can get a free ride on transit if they choose. According to the MTA, the agency has given out 36,681 MetroCards to members of the NYPD. But they, and their siblings in the federal building and court officer services, also go buck wild with placards all over lower Manhattan, especially on blocks just outside of Census Tract 29. As shown in the Streetsblog Placard Census, almost every car parked in the 30-block radius of Canal, Lafayette and Chambers streets and West Broadway and Varick Street had either a real or fake placard, or some other dashboard emblem that passes for a free parking sticker around here. [...]" https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2022/11/04/congestion-pricing-study-finds-law-enforcement-are-manhattans-most-numerous-car-commuters/ — james on Nosy Neighbor: How many people drive into downtown?

So sorry to hear this news today. — Kristian Nammack on Peter Hort, lawyer, judge, art collector and father of four, dies at 51

Just heard tonight from friends. We had not been in touch for a few years. A great memory of Peter was the week after Hurricane Sandy - he and I both spontaneously showed up in W Chelsea to see if we could lend anyone a hand Peter and I climbed down below ground to Derek Eller's storage space and, knee deep in water, pulled out all the art - most damaged beyond repair. What a golden heart. I will miss him. Condolences to all the family - Jamie, the children, his parents Susan and Michael. — Kristian Nammack on Peter Hort, lawyer, judge, art collector and father of four, dies at 51

I find it delightful that nobody in this thread realizes that the fine men and women of the NYPD are active participants in the Canal Street counterfeit business. Beat cops are routinely paid off by vendors. — J on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Even if people don’t agree with everything Zeldin stands for (myself included) one party rule hasn’t been a good thing for NY and the democrats needs a shakeup. How many political scandals and cases of corruption do we need before people realize this isn’t working. Our city isn’t safe and is getting worse - something has to change. All Hochul does is blame others for everything that has gone wrong and has no guts to standup for law abiding New Yorkers. We all deserve better. — Neighbor on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

To those who think the DA should not prosecute low level crime, you are showing that you don’t care about honest working people. You don’t care about the clerk at 7-11 or the security guard at Target who risk getting punched in the mouth or cut with a knife when they confront shoplifters. You don’t care about shoppers on tight budgets who now pay higher prices because of retail theft. Criminal gangs in our city now send drug addicts into stores to shoplift and bring the loot back to be sold on the secondary market. Why not try an experiment? Leave your handbag wide open and your wallet and cash in plain sight as you blithely walk down the sidewalk, and see whether you are physically assaulted and robbed, or just pickpocketed for your mere economic loss. — Brian on Woman sexually assaulted and robbed at Pier 45

Please run for Mayor, James! — EM on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Why do you not see a link between "horrendous crimes" and "low level economic crimes"? The lack of enforcement of "low level economic crimes" breeds greater criminality. The alleged attacker has a long criminal record, including so-called "low level economic crimes": " [...] Prior to the sex-crime arrests, Phanor had been busted at least 25 other times, mostly for petit larceny, assault, drug possession and drug dealing, sources said. Seven of those arrests were sealed. [...] "Phanor had previously been busted at least 25 other times, most recently in Manhattan for allegedly stealing a box of KIND granola bars from a Midtown Walgreens in Dec. 2019. He was sentenced to time served in that case. "[H]e was arrested for drug possession and possession of burglary tools in Oct. 2019 and pleaded guilty at his arraignment on the condition he completed a program, court records show. When he didn’t show up on mandatory compliance dates, two bench warrants were issued in his name in Jan. 2020, the records show." https://nypost.com/2022/11/03/homeless-man-serial-rapist-busted-for-west-village-attack/ — james on Woman sexually assaulted and robbed at Pier 45

I have a few things to say here. I am a vigorous supporter of bail reform and have supported, both in deed and financially, bail reform. But these is real crimes. Not shoplifting or fare evasion - pure low level economic crimes where the costs to society, both in economic loss and costs to incarcerate, far outweigh the loss. These are horrendous crimes against us all. What is being done?? Yet there are a host of comments about the street vendors. Why is that? And no comments here about these crimes. — G on Woman sexually assaulted and robbed at Pier 45

I do think this comment is interesting: "I hear from more and more friends and colleagues who are Democrats that they will be voting Republican as a result of the sense of lawlessness. So such hands-off non-enforcement of this and other crimes has political implications as well." However, I think you are putting the cart before the horse. Politics is the *cause* of non-enforcement, not the effect. Have we all forgotten "defund the police", "bail reform", "marijuana legalization", district attorneys who choose not to prosecute low-level offenses such as transit fare evasion and to seek lesser charges for certain "armed" burglaries and store robberies? Police officers and police departments are not going to enforce or be directed to enforce low-level crime in this political environment. This environment is the result of the policies and politicians that many citizens wanted and pushed for. Be careful what one wishes for. We need to return to "broken windows" policing, but administer it in a competent, non-abusive way. One big difference now is that police officers wear body cameras to document interactions with the public. — james on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Every day I have to zig zag my way to the N, Q, R. Selfishly, I would prefer to just give them a dedicated, non-sidewalk space to hawk their wares while the IP owners battle the city to protect their brands. If people want to buy this counterfeit junk - and then grab a snack in the neighborhood, let them waste their money - but could we at least keep the sidewalks clear? If a couple police stood on each side of Broadway between Walker and Canal every day, on patrol, how hard would it be to keep them from piling their junk on the sidewalk. Too much to write a citation, fine. But they could at least say, “no, get outta here.” — TheBlackSquirrel on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Good point.. I do remember a day when they'd keep everything in sheets to be able to run quickly.. It was part of my negotiating strategy (so, yes, I have been part of the problem..) — B.Thompson on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on

Some possible reasons the topic is coming to the fore recently: - It has gotten much worse since the pandemic - It has spread down into the neighborhood more from Canal Street, down Church and Broadway to Lispenard and Walker Street - perhaps also new people moving into the neighborhood who don't find this acceptable - long-time residents and property and business owners of the area just getting fed up with it - it seems there used to be more enforcement....the guys used to pack and run, or at least hide their wares away, when they saw the police. Now they don't even react. They have it out on tables and police walk by and pay no attention — Marcus on Canal Street counterfeit operation just goes on and on