Wednesday, July 13, 2016

An ugly scene at the 6BC Botanical Garden



Several readers/residents passed along an email that's circulating among garden members about an ugly incident Sunday in the 6BC Botanical Garden on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C.

A garden member showed up around 5 p.m. to work on her plot... she unlocked the gate. Several people came into the space upon the arrival of the gardener, including "a tall young man who said hi" who sat at the wire table in the back.

Here's more via the email to garden members:

Two other guys, a young man with a teenager sitting by the pond, started talking to me about what a treasure the garden is and we had a short conversation. While talking to them I turn, look around, and I see the first guy sitting at the wire table still, but completely naked and masturbating. I tell the two men I was chatting with ... "I must call 911." I did panic a bit, because at this point a good number of people were walking around in the garden.

Now the naked man is standing up and walking toward me, touching himself and growling, talking dirty. I start screaming “sir you must leave, we are calling the police.” He doesn’t care and honestly he seems very high. The gentlemen at this point reassured me they are staying with me while I call the police and as long as needed. The naked man is approaching and I start walking toward the exit, telling people to leave. I was hoping to lock him inside, but I couldn’t, too many people were still inside as well.

According to the email, the man walked outside the garden, turned west and headed to Avenue B. The woman, accompanied by the two other men, waited for the police from Grape and Grain next door.

The naked man left his clothes in the garden, so with the police I walked back there to show them where he was. Going through the pockets they found his phone and his ID: I recognized him in the photo. Something else was in his pockets, which I found very scary: a star-head screwdriver that can become a weapon in the wrong hands.

The email ends with a note about what an oasis of peace and harmony the garden is, though: "We are still in New York City and some crazy people walk around..."

The email did not contain a description of the man. We don't know if the police made an arrest in this incident. He probably wasn't too difficult to find given that he was naked and the police had his phone and ID.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

This Pokémon thing has gone too far.

Anonymous said...

I'm curious where he wandered off to -- I mean he was naked.

Anonymous said...

That is frightening. Hope the cops found him (like you said, it probably wasn't difficult.)

Anonymous said...

I bet that guy is riding the L train right now.

Anonymous said...

Could have been worse...it could have been Hillary naked...now that would be a scary sight!

Seriously though....this is still New York City and it is still the East Village, which has never lost it's edginess. So it is not a total surprise, but I bet she was thoroughly frightened.

Hope they found the guy...he is obviously in need of mental health care and we hope he gets it.

Anonymous said...

I live on that block. Between the forever under construction park across the street, the scaffolding, and the two generator trucks, a little sanctuary for drug addicts has sprung up.

They usually just mind their own business (in the sense that you just have to step around them when they're passed out on the sidewalk or your stoop or you have to make sure you don't step on any needles), but sometimes can be aggressive. It's ridiculous how little the police in the area care.

Anonymous said...

I hope everyone that constantly bemoans that it's not the 80s anymore is happy, because it sounds like it's coming back. Be careful what you wish for.

Anonymous said...

I don't say this to throw a stone at the previous poster, but the attitude that this is NYC and the East Village isn't a good way to look at things. Some things should not be tolerated just because its NYC or the EV.

I'm not saying we need to be like the Upper East Side, but someone needs to get in the 9th Precinct's ear about breaking up these encampments and making some drug arrests.

Anonymous said...

In all fairness to 6B Garden, the incident did not happen there. It happened in 6BC Garden. 6B is the garden on the corner of 6 St. and Avenue B. The other commenters are correct, though, when they say to exercise caution. There are a lot of strange new drugs out there, and a lot of people willing to try them. We all need to be alert. I, too, wish the police would be more alert. The donation box at 6BC was broken into recently. When I went to the precinct to report it, the officer I spoke with didn't even know where the garden was, although it is in their precinct.

Anonymous said...

Nah, can't blame this one on Pokemon, as it sounds like he didn't have a pocket for his monster.

cmarrtyy said...

Drugs, T-H-E-Y'R-E B-A-C-K.

EV Grieve said...

My apologies on the name mistake.

Anonymous said...

Maybe he was on K-2

Anonymous said...

I am glad this woman wasn't attacked by this guy, and it was also good that the other guys stayed with her. We need to back each other up and take care of each other.

Anonymous said...

As a long term member of 6BC and a previous Board member as well as a renter on 6th street , I just wanted to say we all have to be ALERT and AWARE!! You
are still in a major city filled with crazy people and Junkies. Even though rents are high it does not mean the junkies are gone. Many of these gorgeous gardens attract JUNKIES/Insane people. We still have many robberies/Burglaries /etc in Alphabet City as well. Be careful walking home late...

Anonymous said...

Drugs, T-H-E-Y N-E-V-E-R L-E-F-T ... they just went mainstream with respectable looking pushers in lab coats with prescription pads and insurance codes corresponding to clusters of behaviors that someone declared to be mental illnesses.

Anonymous said...

9:57am is still smarting over her precious career politician Democratic Party infiltrator/freeloader/do nothing Bernie Sanders finally getting lost.

Time to make pepper spray legal in this city.

It could be sold by a lone city-run dealer which requires an application and interview.

Anonymous said...

Oh my god, a naked masturbator with a weapon in his abandoned pants tries to sexually assault one of our neighbors in her garden, and some of you choose THIS moment for yet another "Hillary's fugly"/"Yeah well Bernie is a deadbeat pinko" slapfest? Get a fucking grip you wankers!

Anonymous said...

hey, you can't expect the cops to find every naked guy walking around the east village.

Anonymous said...

Unless there were 2 guys running around naked on Sunday, I saw him up at 11th & B. I also saw him yesterday (clothed) at the same location so if the cops picked him up, he was released quickly.

Anonymous said...

Don't blame the police. Blame DeBlasio. He let the mentally health challenged back on the streets to do drugs and piss and shit there as well. Duh Blah-sio.

Anonymous said...

7:30pm oh shut up you tosser.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it is the Ghost of LES Jewels back once again