The Post has a new front for its ongoing exposes on perceived quality-of-life offenses: The Cooper Union academic building.
The annual appearance by the travelers/crusties/whatever-you-like, who have been camping out here every summer since the school opened the building six years ago at 41 Cooper Square between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street, prompted this headline-worthy quote:
“I have seen drug deals, public urination, defecation, masturbation in broad daylight in the Taras Shevchenko alley,” a Cooper Union faculty member told The Post.
Apparently the group didn't care for reporter Kevin Fasick, who earlier this summer posed as a homeless person outside Gracie Mansion, attempting to interview them.
Nine of the drifters were splayed out on bits of cardboard Thursday morning, and began hurling insults, water and bits of cookie when approached by a reporter.
“I was going to chase him down and beat the s–t out of him,” one thin, bedraggled man spat in anger.
“If I ever see you or that photographer again, I’ll kick the s–t out of you,” he threatened.
And where was the Post in 2010 when a serial vomiter (careful with that link) was targeting this building?
Updated 4:32 p.m.
Oh! We didn't see the paper's version of the story with this headline…
Thanks Matt Rosen!
66 comments:
The Post actually got this right. I once tried to tell the security guards about some shit happening in the back but those fat asses wouldn't even waddle over to the locked door - its just a matter of time before something bloody takes place.
The travelers bother me just as much as the frat boys and sorority girls do. I went to college with a lot of travelers who would slum it during breaks and in the summer but were always from well off families.
Wow, New Yorkers really love to whine
those kids are wilding out!
If you went to college with a lot of travelers, then you went to the wrong college. I'm sorry but the Crusties are much more interesting and colorful than any Frat boy douche bro or Sorostitute. Just don't get your hands too close to their mouths and you'll be just fine.
I saw this group the other day with that poor little dog. He looks like a a mini pinscher. I was wondering where they got him.
Idunno. The crusties I knew 25 years ago in Chicago were frequently from wealthy but broken homes in the Detroit suburbs. They might have had access to daddy's Platinum Card (many did not), and of course at season's end they'd probably go groveling back to that luxe pile in the burbs, but they also had substance abuse and all other manner of serious mental health issues, usually because they'd been utterly neglected by their upwardly-mobile asshole parents. I couldn't really look down on 'em. Their poverty was fake but the hurt was real.
That said, when I have to hoist my child over the ones camping under Neighborhood School because they take up the entire fucking sidewalk, I don't much care for 'em.
NYPD Patrol Tower at Cooper Union please!!
It's all fun and games until someone gets crusty-poop thrown at them.
This city obviously needs tons of shelters and services.
Let's stop complaining about the homeless and start DEALING with them.
Yes, even the young, difficult [and possibly monied] ones.
I know the crusties can challenge our compassion more than other needy folks, but I'm really amazed at the horror people express in the recent "dialogue" about the homeless, rather than pity and shame.
Shame on us, as the richest country in the world.
The only defecation here is coming from The Post as part of "Cleansing The East Village for the Rich."
But they are rich! Filthy, stinkin' rich!
I agree with 3:12. While they may not be popular, the crusties, as they are so aptly named, are a permanent summer feature. Lots of these kids come from NJ and have homes. They come to the city to score free money and drugs and to hang out. I agree that they seem to have more disdain now then they did before, but can you blame them? Look at how we are singling out all of these folks, i.e. homeless and others, as "undesirables". It reeks of fascism, classism, and the like. Again, I'm going to go with city-related landscape here and beg indifference. I'm a progressive, but no, I will not offer my shower to the likes of these kids. I did see a bunch of them on 12th Street the other day, clustered in a group and giving each other haircuts on the go with a shaver powered by what I have no idea. There was a trail of hair for several blocks, which I thought was a little icky, but whatever, to each his own. Again, I'd rather match wits with the crustie folks ANY day rather than the BARRAGE of NEW MONEY and FRAT BROS AND THEIR DRUNKEN, LOUD, and OBNOXIOUS HOES. But I suppose obnoxious behavior like yelling at all hours in the streets and puking is fine as long as you pay the tab. The moral? Be nasty, but carry a hefty credit card. Nasty and poor? It's the tombs for you!
I'd have the same reaction to a Post reporter. Just saying.
If this is true, then the Post should feel right at home with them, no?
What crimes are being committed? Sure, pee stinks but it's not murder, rape or Citibike.
Last year they were defecating and having knife fights at St. Mark's Church. Glad they're somebody else's problem. The police, if you can find them, never did a thing about it. Good riddance!
They are no better than the fratbros and frothos.
Being homeless is worthy of compassion and concern -- as long as it's not just a lifestyle choice of the actually well-off (is it in this case?) - but their behavior is beyond that. Threatening to beat someone up? Shooting up? Why weren't they arrested?
Is this just "poverty tourism"? If not, then where do they disappear to as soon as the outdoor temperature drops below room temperature?
- East Villager
Crusties are the scum of the earth, and I find the reflexive defense among some posters to be rather patronizing to the homeless, as if they were a monolithic group that should generate universal sympathy. If you actually get to know people who live on the streets, you'll find that some of them are nice, and some of them are assholes. The assholes don't deserve our sympathy, and they're not sticking it to the man by begging for money off of people who work for the man, and then spending that money on booze and smack. I've met a number of upstanding homeless people in my years, but none of them were crusties. I have, however, seen crusties routinely abuse their significant others and their dogs, slug a tourist in the face because he wouldn't give one $5, throw their trash in the middle of the sidewalk when there's a garbage can right next to them, have sex in a public park 15 feet from a children's playground, etc. People should be judged by their behavior, not their identity. Of course, I'm grouping all crusties together, but I've yet to see any evidence to the contrary.
They should all be thrown in jail. The drunken people at night (the "Frat Bros") that everyone here is always crying about (bunch of babies here) are actually easy to avoid for adults. Go to bed at 11 and you will really never see them. I don't.
I see crusties, homless, and drug addicts break the law every single day around Tompkins Sq Park and I have never seen a cop do a thing about it.
How about the police enfore the laws. NYC's taxes are so unbelievably high, it's the least the city could do. If this were the case, the drunken partiers and the crusties alike would be dealt with appropriately.
Never had a crusty run in, and I've seen much worst in the 34 years I've lived here. What is really a shame is the attention the down and out (even the ones with trust funds) are getting by the big newspapers and press. Here's a new flash for your paper: all mammals shit and piss and homeless shit and piss has been on our streets for decades, what make this shit new? Oh, they are shitting (literally) in a highly desirable neighborhood for wealthy developers and non-strungout trust funders.
I've never had a crusty piss in the entryway to my building. I have 3-5 frat boys do it everyone weekend. About 2x a month one of their drunk GFs will throw up (and subsequently start crying) for good measure.
This happens year round.
It's laughable that some people prefer these idiots to the 'frat bros'. I really don't think anybody can be serious when they say that.
Both are annoying but I would rather take the type of annoying that doesn't verbally and sometimes physically assault normal working folks in the neighborhood.
Junkies are gross. Watch this: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/dope-sick-love/ You'll think differently if for some reason you think having junkies around is not a bad thing.
Yes, 5:59, go to bed at 11 and you won't see any bros, right...
Genius plan, why didn't I think of that!
Or you could just close your eyes whenever you see something unsightly, and for those few moments pretend you don't live in NYC at all!
Hey 5:24...what you say is true of ALL New Yorkers: Some are assholes and some are not. I'll take a "reflexive" bet here and say you belong to the first, and not the latter, category. So you hate the crusties and can so compellingly divide the category between "worthy" street folks and those you consider "ill-behaved". So glad you're on the case; we need more people like you to point out the undesirables. NOT. I see a lot of shitty behavior in the streets and with the ignited class division that is now starting to define this and other "wealthy" neighborhoods, I'll expect more prejudiced people like yourself to come out of the woodwork, like dirty little insects.
Anon 5:16pm - they go to Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles, and SF. If people think NYC has a street homeless problem I suggest a visit to any of these cities.
hey shawn g little, how about they piss all over your building?? I have no problem with them sleeping there and doing there thing as long as it doesn't involve leaving trash behind (like they usually do) pissing on the sidewalk, doing drugs in front of children and abusing their dogs. I understand that being homeless isn't a crime but I've lived in this area back and forth for almost 35 years and I don't think there is anything wrong with people wanting the front of their homes to not smell like piss on a daily basis. And I've talked to security at cooper union and they have no problem with the crusties sleeping there as long as they leave by sunrise and don't leave a mess. I don't think that is too unreasonable.
Anon 7:50pm- did you just call the guy prejudiced? Hes calling the white crusties out You realize he is criticizing white people LOL.
That should make you happy.
"Urination, Defectation and Masturbation" was the title of a G.G. Allin song, wasn't it?
The Crusties really try the tolerance of this-here liberal, live-and-let-live guy. It's hard not to take any side in regard to them, but they're all manner of uncool. Okay, I'm compassionate, coming from an abusive home and having struggled with the resultant "issues," myself, but I'm also insulted by their arrogantly defiant parasitism. I don't appear particularly affluent, myself, but some Crusties have been downright hostile toward me in demanding money, like I owe them something because I'm obviously better-off than they are, or aggressively passive-aggressively provoking me to where I've had to keep my hands in my pockets and keep walking. On the other hand, some with whom I've talked appreciated my talking to them like same-level human beings. It's hard not to generalize them, but they do kinda stereotype themselves, no?
There's probably a need for a deeply-probing documentary about Crusty culture and its social ramifications, but that's not my job. I read in these comments references to the frat bros and woo girls and the like: those people are equivalently off-the-chain and too liberal with their misbehavior and bodily fluids in public spaces. Somehow, they and the Crusties form two sides of a societal coin. People are getting more and more unbridled in their hostility and exaggerated entitlement - just look at all the YouTube videos of people fighting and freaking out at fast-food joints, the proliferation of "trolling" online, and the spread of dumbed-down depravity as a spectacular commondity. It's as though 80% of the population is "acting-out" in infantile rage.
The Crusties seem to be acting-out their messed-up upbringings and the alienation with which they were practically born. I "get" that - but it's hard to maintain respect for people with no self-respect.
Oogles suck, ya'll think they are cool because they scare off the "yuppies" and are better than the frat bros when in reality most of these kids get enough money sent to them from parents in Connecticut via Western Union for dope to be able to attend NYU. Glorifying mental illness, drug addiction, homelessness and suburban brats coming into the city every summer because you despise what the neighborhood has become because you are TAXED TO DEATH causing only people with money and NYU to overtake the area isn't gonna solve shit.
"defecating and having knife fights". That is really quite a feat. I'd like to see that (or not).
Disgusting. They need to be cleared out. Great that we have the Post to amplify these quality of life nuisances. I don't know what you people have against living in a clean, civilized city.
The crusties are a scourge. I don't understand how it's cool to piss and shit in public, shoot up in public, stink like a dead body, etc. If you have such a liking for these folk, why not let them crash on your couch?
To all of those people who think that they are no worse than drunk bro's...
Remember the fun that crusties caused last year?
1) Attacked multiple older homeless people.
2) Kept crapping on the floor of Saint Mark's church even though they were allowed to use the bathroom.
3) Camping out in front of schools and dropping heroin needles on sidewalks.
4) Continuously accost people for money with the threat of violence.
I do not find this acceptable
But but @Anon 8:51 that's what keeps the EV gritty and the rents low! That's all that matters right?
No, 8:51 — I don't remember any of that from last year.
What schools? Every one? Be Specific. Attacking elderly people? This must have made the the local police reports! Can you provide links to these attacks in The Villager or DNAinfo?
The incident at the Church happened in 2012. Get your facts done before attempt your right-wing fear-mongering
http://thevillager.com/2012/06/21/crusties-cross-line-graffiti-obscenities-on-e-vill-church/
The crusties/travelers are essesntially the brothers and sisters of the frat and sorority kids, but they are the ones who like punk music and a more casual style of dress shall we say. Go to any liberal arts college on the East or West Coast, and you will meet crusties/travelers who take the the road to live the wild life when they aren't at school. It might not be the most appealing life to a lot of people, but for these kids it is a chance to get away from their traditional families. Some genuinely homeless locals get pulled into the scene when the crusties arrive for the summer, but they are left to fend for themselves one the crusties with cell phones and credit cards take off. It's a phase for many of the crusties. What is sad is how this isn't a phase for the poor kids who don't have a home to return to.
It would be nice sometime if there was a moratorium on blaming everything that goes wrong in the EV on the frat boys and sorority girls. I never knew there were so many sociologists gathered in one place who were experts on the crusties and with such intimate knowledge of their motivations, their backgrounds, and their "real" lives. What documentation do some of you have other than urban legend. I've noticed crusties in Austin, Texas when I was there in July. It seems as if this is something larger than the relatively small numbers that descend on the EV every year. If anyone knows of "real" studies that would be helpful for those of us who would like to understand this phenomena.
Pooper Union. That is a good one.
Crusty-ism is just another form of white privilege.
3:01 You don't get it.
Anon 10:47/10:59- these arent college kids. These are addicts who travel around. They buy and sell drugs, shoplift, panhandle etc. There have been articles written that document these folks. The stereotype of the rich college crustie isnt accurate. These people are in LA, Seattle, Portland, and SF. They have chosen to live like this. There are thousands of these people on the West Coast moving around. Jobs, sobriety, and apts are things they have no interest in. This is not a 'phase'. These people OD, go to jail, or end up in some trailer park in Nebraska. There is plenty of documentation. Amazing how a small group of crusties in the EV gets all this attention. There are hundreds of these people camped.in Venice Beach. This NY Post pic could be taken under every freeway overpass in LA. They have nothing in common with frat people. And they abuse animals.
What I don't get is why would they masturbate when they can have sex with each other?
Attention New York Post.. Since we know that you are watching this page we would like to make a suggestion to you.. Since you obviously LIKE to follow homeless people around to report on where they may be using the bathroom how about sending some of your fake homeless reporters out to find out how hard it is to find public bathrooms in the City. Also, have them use the Tompkins Square bathrooms and do a report on how they are filthy, never have toilet paper, smell horrible and have not been upgraded and made useable for years. Despite the fact that the neighborhood has been gentrified the Tompkins Square Park bathrooms are like third world toilets and people take a risk when they use them because the last time I looked the Men's room did not even have toilet seats on the toilets.
H you're all ignorant of everything but. There is nowhere for the homeless to shit or piss in this city. I went to a store once asked to use the bathroom the gut said "customer only" so i pulled out the little by of money i made bought a water and a peach and he then said "for customers but not customers like you" i shit in a white box came back in and threw it in his face. Because you know what it really sucks when you aren't even allowed to shit anywhere
Anon 2:58, you're disgusting. Go to the park, or a police station, or a shelter, or a bus station, or a train station.
John Penley-plenty of bathrooms. Homeless people can go to Penn Station, Grand Central, Bryant Park, any public library or the Bowery Mission or most city parks. Port Authority Bus Terminal, Starbucks, fast food places. Apple stores on 14th and 59th. Holy Apostles soup kitchen in Chelsea-which operates M-F 10:30-12:30 is an option also. The park by Chelsea Piers has good bathrooms. I know because I used all these when I was homeless. Agree that the TSP bathroom is a disgrace and a health hazard. That's why I would go to the library instead. I operated out of a backpack and kept clean. But there are plenty of restrooms all over Manhattan. You can't smell and not shower and wear rags and expect bathroom access. Sorry. I had no issues. The Sony Building atrium in Midtown has clean facilities. There are libraries all over. The 24 Starbucks in Union Square and some 24hr McDonalds were reliable emergency spots. So there are places. Go to 31st -6th/7th to.the St Francis breadline. Ask about bathrooms
Hey Anon 2:58... Let me get this straight. You have nowhere to go to the bathroom but you have a smartphone and time to follow a thread on EV Grieve. Only in America
Gotta love the bros....:) They own all of us and the East Village. We all need to suck it up and acclimate. As far as crusties go, they too are an annoyance. They need to get real jobs like the rest of us, who pay our own bills, bathe, and go about minding our business. I pass this each day as I go home and can't believe my eyes.
Excellent info, especially since these greedy landlords leave many of us on the verge of being homeless practically on a monthly basis. I worry all the time about how I'd manage to stay clean, so I guess that's the source of some of my empathy for those crustie kids; I'd loathe even a fraction of that sort of grime...it's a whole other level. Where can you shower without doing the shelter thing? I mean, are gym memberships and friends the only options? Are there public showers? I see some of you have experience with these matters. For real, I'd love to learn more about how to manage such a situation.
Get a nyc rec membership for $75 for 6 months. The NYC Rescue Mission has overnight beds, showers, meals, clothes. The Yorkville Common Pantry on 109th has breakfast, showers, haircuts and laundry. Shelters have showers. Keep your clothes clean and use baby wipes. You can get by on 3-4 showers a week. Go to small local libraries that have a private mens room. 5 private minutes is time to brush, wash up etc. Recycle for laundry money. Good
luck with friends. They will let you shower once and thats it. People shun the homeless. You can stay clean and eat. Its sleeping that is the problem.
The Public School was PS19, on 11th street and first avenue. The crusties camped there last year. I had to call the ambulance two times when I found the blond woman overdosed from heroin.
They may not have crapped in the church last year but they certainly crapped in the park by Saint Mark's.
These things are not necessarily in the paper but I live on the block.
This is not something we should live with....
RE: Anonyous at 10:59 -
We've got Crusties here in Austin, Texas year-round - and more come down from NYC when the weather there turns cold. The Crusties live mostly in the woods in Pease Park, walking distance from the University of Texas, where they panhandle obnoxiously on "The Drag" running adjacent to the UT campus and there are churches with chow line, food pantry, and such.
The Crusty population in Austin intersects with a growing population of junkies (heroin is abundant and apparently affordable here), ex-cons, violent ne'er-do-wells, kids tossed out of their homes (note their being white or sometimes Hispanic; black families don't just throw their kids out), and down-and-out drunks. The Crusties and the others occupy the same public space just to the west of UT, and as a member of neither population, I half-appreciate their providing a "balance" to the spoiled and self-absorbed UT kids, many of whom live in student condos, such as the massive new freshman "dorm" with six-story parking garage, luxurious lobby with concierge, and cafeteria that looks like a nice New York diner. It's a weird ecosystem, for sure. Every so often, APD beats its chest and does some "clean-up" or assigns officers on bikes to go passively intimidate the "homeless" crowd, but also they have drunk partiers on 6th Street to beat up, drunk drivers to humiliate, drunken frat boys to tell to quiet-down, and young black men to murder.
The Crusties are unpleasant in any city, but y'know who's really getting on Austinites' nerves these days? The passive-aggressive, and often overly-aggressive, Save the Children solicitors on the streets. I try to be on the lookout for pairs or trios of young people wearing red t-shirts and holding clipboards, but they seem to be lurking to ambush around any corner. One caught me on a bad day and I almost put him in the hospital. Crusties call me a "douchebag" for not giving them money; I don't care - but the Save the Children a-holes, man . . .
Oh, yeah: everyone concerned about Crusties as an "issue" should click on the "Crustypunks" link in the sidebar.
Empathy people, we are human beings right? We deserve empathy because we give it freely, right? Otherwise we deserve what we put out into the universe. Then if something bad happens to you, you can be given empathy instead of cruelty
I am really concerned about the number of people reading the Post.
There's another tribe of crusties under the construction netting in front of the PS 63 entrance on 4th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A.
Hey can we get one of those tower cameras on the corner of 11th and first ave to take in all the illegal shit that goes on?
When I was homeless I use to go to the yippies when they were at number 9, most were real nice and some would get you a coffee only one bad yip, Alice was she the boss
I have always had a real home and am grateful for that. If I were to become homeless -- which is within the realm of possibility for many Americans, given the lack of FAMILY WEALTH of most (this is a big part of what the whole 1% thing is about), lack of income security, and lack of safety net -- I would not know how to be a fine and upstanding homeless person. I would probably steal, offend "homed" people, and eventually go crazy.
Wouldn't you?
Can you stand to really think about it?
Well most people who are homeless don't steal, go crazy or offend homed people. Surviving in this town as a homeless person is a full time. Your schedule revolved around churches and soup kitchens and meal times and library hours. You manage and adapt because you have to. You have no other options. You have to learn to not be stressed all the time. Its not the end of the world. You adjust and learn where to eat, shower, get clothes etc. Once you get stabilized you can start formulating a plan to get off the street. It is possible with enough work.
Crusties are disgusting animal abusers. I don't care if you want to live like that, leave animals alone.
Also - the going on about the frat bro's is really starting to make people look straight up jealous. Sorry their parents work hard and they get to experience things you didn't. Get over it.
I just wish someone would take the dogs from those people.
"Also - the going on about the frat bro's is really starting to make people look straight up jealous. Sorry their parents work hard and they get to experience things you didn't. Get over it."
Yes, the "get over it" line. Where I have heard that one before? Defending Bro culture is like defending Crustie culture, it's defending the indefensible.
Yes where the animal rights people? Where is PETA? These dogs and cats are being mistreated and used as props by panhandlers. Where is the outrage? How many of the puppies these people have were stolen? Why is everyone silent on this? Where is the NYPD on this?
To everyone that is pro crustie, try running a small business in the east village...especially when our building was bought by ICON. They are camping out in front of my restaurant. I am a small business owner who has been in the neighborhood for awhile, but I have lost business because of this. The 9th and cb3 are not helping. Any idea how to address this problem?
Live on Ave C, work in a restaurant nearby and walk my dog late at night. I have witnessed numerous times, the Crusties charging their iDevies into the one outlet that hasn't been locked outside of PS 64, really? They are not homeless if they have an iPod or iPhone. Sorry, homeless people who need help are a different story. No sympathy for the ones who choose this and camp out in front of our restaurant, only to harass and cause customers to leave. And, they actually have their own blog. http://crustypunks.blogspot.com/?m=1
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