Credit: Twitter @LocalEcologist
Washington-Square-Park-Meeting
Greenwich Village, NY (77WABC) — Every seat was filled in the basement of a Greenwich Village church Wednesday night. Community members, the Parks Department and the NYPD gathered for an emergency meeting on the ongoing concerns surrounding rowdy crowds at Washington Square Park.
“There’s always been drug dealing. There always have been mentally imbalanced people. There’s always have been bad behavior,” one attendant said at the meeting.
The meeting, held at the Our Lady of Pompeii Church on Carmine Street, was attended by NYPD leadership from the 6th Precinct, NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harris, and members of the New York City Parks Department.
Please join us Wednesday June 16 at 6:00PM to discuss Washington Square Park at the Sector Adam Build the Block meeting. The meeting will be held at 25 Carmine street, Our Lady of Pompeii Church. pic.twitter.com/wAF8VCHDnD
— NYPD 6th Precinct (@NYPD6Pct) June 14, 2021
From furious residents to angry business merchants, city officials listened to dozens of testimony from those who call the surrounding area of the park home.
“The New York City Police Department — we’re ready to come back. We’re ready to protect you,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison. “We’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure that you feel more comfortable in the community that you live, have a business in, or whatever kind of stakeholder it is you [are].”
Residents say since the pandemic started, iconic park, with one of New York’s most famous arch’s, has turned into a haven for drug use, loud music and partying, and never-ending fights and violence.
Cops say alcohol and drugs are involved in the park parties and neighbors are complaining about noise and crime. Some residents say they can’t sleep and it’s dangerous for their families.
A midnight curfew was put into place during the Memorial Day Weekend to help get control of the situation. But police had to use physical force on the Saturday before the holiday in order to remove rowdy park patrons from the park.
Video posted to social media showed the physical clashes between protestors and police. NYPD arrested more than 23 people and several NYPD officers suffered injuries as a result of the clash. The 10pm curfew was in place for two weeks before it was lifted this past weekend.
https://wabcradio.com/2021/06/06/23-arrested-in-washington-square-park-nypd-rowdy-park-goers-clash/
This past Saturday, more slashings, muggings, physical fights and trash were strewn all over the 10-acre park. In addition, graffiti was written on the arch to celebrate George Washington, filled with anti-police rhetoric.
NYPD Assistant Chief Stephen Hughes asked the crowd if they prefer a 10 p.m. or midnight curfew and a majority of hands were raised for the earlier time. Manhattan Parks Borough Commissioner William Castro acknowledged the uptick in “bizarre behavior” in the park the past year.
The line to get into the church before the meeting curled around Carmine Street for blocks. Many locals were not allowed in due to capacity restrictions. Others protested outside of the church, chanting anti-police sentiments. There were some who blamed aggressive police tactics for the surge in chaos at the park.
The hottest club in Manhattan is the #WashingtonSquarePark "emergency" community meeting pic.twitter.com/kOadJuktaB
— Victoria Bekiempis (@vicbekiempis) June 16, 2021
Meanwhile, as the city officials spoke, locals who were locked out from the meeting gathered on the street and mainly voiced anti-police sentiments and protested the rarely-enforced park curfew.
“There’s going to be a presence of police officers in there and our goal is pretty simple here — for people to be allowed to use the park because it is a beautiful park, it always has been, but also public safety,” said NYC Police Commissioner Dermot Shea.
