An East Village writer shared this with us this morning. She wants residents and Parkgoers to be aware of the man:
My friend and I were sitting on a bench in Tompkins Square Park on the Avenue B side of the park just past the dog run talking about 11:30 this morning. We were enjoying the lovely weather when I looked to my left and made eye contact with a man sitting on a bench. He was staring right at me, and I thought maybe I knew him, then he starting moving his hand around his crotch and stuck it up his shorts and started playing with himself. I turned to my friend and asked her to look past me and tell me what she saw, and like me, she saw him staring toward us while he was playing with himself.
I got up and walked over to Avenue B and walked down a bit and re-entered the park so I could walk by him from the other direction and get some good footage of him while my friend remained on the bench. As you can see in the photo, he has a newspaper on his lap and is wearing loose-fitting shorts. I suspect he is an old pro at this.
After I sat back down, he bolted to the middle of the park where he had a bike. He hopped on it and quickly rode out of the park, leaving out of the exit on the corner of Avenue B and East 7th Street.
ummm report this to the cops?
ReplyDeleteThe cops need to post undercover officers in the park. There is a lot of bad behavior going on. People know they can get away with anything.
ReplyDeleteWTF is so difficult about stationing two or three cops in the park 24-7 to clear the park of scum like this?
ReplyDeleteWhy do people "ummmm"? It's so rude.
ReplyDeletePosting this info on social media will be 100x more effective in catching the perv as telling your average cop.
It's doubtful the cops would prioritize this. Better to warn people so they know what he is up to if they recognize him.
ReplyDeleteUgh, I have seen this guy before. Not happy to hear this is a thing he does repeatedly. They really do need to put some more cops back in this park the way they do in Washington Sq. Last week I walked by someone blatantly shooting up on a bench right by the temperance fountain at 8:30am - like needle in hand - and could not find a cop anywhere nearby to tell about it. I didn't want to take 9-1-1 resources away from people who have real emergencies, so I just let it go.
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ReplyDeleteReporting it to the cops is past of an effective course of action. A picture, a description and a report filed will prompt action and information sharing among teh PD and parks workers as well. Walking up to a beat cop (are there any left?) won't generally get you anywhere, but walking to the precinct, filing a complaint and providing evidence to a dectective will.
That the initial report here made no mention of engaging the police is a head scatcher.
I seriously doubt social media alone will acheive anything...combining it with an engagement with law enforcement might.
People are shooting up on the grass next to these benches while cops are patrolling.. Doubt they are going to stop this..
ReplyDeleteWhile I certainly encourage reporting this to the police, it is unlikely they will take a report even at the precinct. NYPD will claim they can't take a report unless they saw the crime, it's one of their classic ways to keep crime stats down. I've also seen NYPD claim that masturbating in public is not a crime. This is not the sort of thing they take seriously. It's worth it to make a report to the DA office of special investigations, they might actually do something about it/start an investigation, but you'll get nowhere with the NYPD.
ReplyDeleteWhat line do you have to cross to be arrested? Is it actual exposure?
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing saying a police report wasn't filed. Maybe it was.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other poster that said if he did not "expose" anything it may not be worthy of a fine and a cops time. Is it rude? Hell yes but I think it is best to ignore him besides I don't think the dogs noticed it.
ReplyDeleteis that the "looking for a girlffriend flyer" guy?
ReplyDeleteyou complained when NYPD had that tower thingy in the Park and thought it was Guiliani Bloomberg overpolicing. Profiling these public pervs would be considered civil injustice? You voted De Blasio - there ya go
ReplyDeleteGross. What an old pervert.
ReplyDeletejust curious... what is the fine for beating the crap out of him... Would the cops mind?
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I'm surprised none of the "old timers" have said "This kind of thing is part of Tompkins Square Park, if you don't like it go back to Westchester!"
ReplyDeleteI had a very positive experience reporting something like this to the cops, actually. About a year ago I saw a guy (different guy) masturbating in the park early in the morning while I was walking my dog. I left the park in a hurry, planning to just go home, but I happened to see two cops in a deli on Avenue A. I went in the deli, told them about the guy, and right away they left (without whatever they had ordered, just left right away) and went into the park. I didn't wait around, just started to head home but then ran into someone I knew...while we were walking our dogs together, the cops pulled up to me in their car unexpectedly and asked if I would walk down a particular block and tell them if I could identify the guy. Unfortunately I couldn't be 100% sure so I couldn't make an ID. I never filed an official report, I didn't think about it since the cops sprang into action so fast and it was carried out to a sort of conclusion.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I thought the cops were great! It was good luck of course running into them on the periphery of the park. One can't count on that at all. More cops in the vicinity on a regular basis would be good.
@5:06pm: You are right about the police report. My husband was injured by a reckless bike rider (the rider fled, of course), and my husband went to the precinct to file a report. He was indeed told that he could not file a complaint b/c the police had not seen the incident - but was told that if he went back to the SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT and called 911 while waiting there for police to show up, THEN the NYPD would file a report.
ReplyDeletethis may be risky, but how about just verbalizing really loud what the perpetrator is doing. So everyone can hear from ave a to b.
ReplyDeleteWith the way the city is (not) being run in these really new bad days, and take this as hyperbole, these public feral lechers might organize and claim they have rights to jerkoff in public since mothers can breastfeed as they are also exposing themselves. Watch out NYCLU.
As for that tower thing. Could it be that cops are under orders to under patrol the area not only to fabricate crime stats but also out of spite? Like it's a police state, big brother presence or nothing at all.
Real trying yelling at the next skeevoza that tries that, it actually happened on the subway a few weeks ago. This woman yell at the creep and he ran off.
The weirdest thing about this incident is that he had a getaway bike.
Ignore him next time of yell at him, this is a power play he will split once you confront him. If the guy is at the same place or area each day, same time for several days tell the cops about that, they will not bother with a one time offense. You will have to prove he was acting lewdly, video otherwise it is your word against him, he still can say he had an itch and needed to shift things around for comfort. Finally is it true there are no dudes that do this is Westchester?
ReplyDeleteHow can anyone be so stupid? Why would anyone beat off in broad daylight in front of everyone? Do it at home asshole behind closed doors. None us want or need to see it.
ReplyDeleteabout a year ago i was walking down sixth ave behind a young guy who was stopping (blocking the path of) every pretty lady he could, whispering something to them and then watching as they either disgustedly stormed off or (clearly frightened) yelled at him to go away. the guy was prob twice my size otherwise i'd have considered confronting him but instead i went to look for a cop. luckily, i found one outside a subway entrance about a half block away. i told him what was going on and gave a clear description of the guy, even offered to lead the officer to him. the cop muttered "i'll call it in" and went back to texting or playing candy crush or whatever. they don't give a fuck.
ReplyDeleteThere must be a law or an ordinance to prohibit such behavior. Either way, as a man, I would have gotten in his face seeing he exposed his genitals to women and children. That is unacceptable and revolting for anyone to do such a thing, let alone an old man who should know better. Shame on him!
ReplyDelete@2:29am: No, the weirdest thing about this incident is that his getaway bike didn't get stolen while he was busy wanking off on the park bench.
ReplyDeleteI dont understand if it bothers you just confront and yell at the dude if not just ignored it the guy is looking for attention
ReplyDeleteWhy can people need to call cops for this shit
There will always be people that are either mentally ill, perverts and drug users
If You live in the neighborhood you should take care of this problem
EEW on many levels
ReplyDeleteThe very same old guy did the same thing with me over the summer! I was walking my dog in the park around 8:30 AM and he was sitting on a nearby bench wearing burgundy short shorts. First thought was "why is an old man wearing short shorts?" Then when his dick emerged from the bottom, I thought, "Ah, I see. GROSS!" As my dog did her business so did the dog in the shorts. Then he got on his bike and pedaled away.
ReplyDeletePeople used to pay good money to see the same thing up in Times Square. Now we can watch it for free in the park and online by downloading Anthony Weiner pix. That's progres.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure this is what they meant by 'dicks out for Harambe'
ReplyDeleteAt 5:08 PM, Anonymous said:
ReplyDeleteWhat line do you have to cross to be arrested? Is it actual exposure?
You just have to touch a cop, and then you're toast.
To Anonymous October 17, 2016 at 10:11 PM
ReplyDeleteAs an "old timer" I say "This kind of thing is part of Tompkins Square Park, and if you don't like it go back to Westchester!" GET REAL PEOPLE. This is not a police issue, and they should not be concerned with perverts, but rather protecting the public against more criminal activity like brutal violence, terrorism, etc. The park will always attract perverts like this, who generally can be embarrassed and shamed into keeping their small dicks in their pants! Let the police do their jobs!
It would be great if someone recognized this man and could identify him. I wonder if he is from the neighborhood, or if he rides from a distance.
ReplyDeleteHe’s at it again. A couple walking their dog encountered him yesterday (11/29/2017) exposing himself at the children's playground on Ave A. They were discouraged from filing a police report. However the man fled the scene leaving his pants & cellphone behind. The police should be aware of his identity at this point. Why are the precinct and our Communiry Board so adamant about NOT clearing the craziest individuals and repeat offenders out of that park? At this point, Tompkins Square is a foul, open air, lunatic asylum — and it spills urban blight all over the surrounding community. And I’m saying this as a resident of this neighborhood for over 35 years.
ReplyDeleteThis guy did the same thing to me a few months back in the same part of the park (near the playground at B and 7th). I yelled at him to stop. I tried to take his photo but just got a shot of him speeding away on his bike that he had leaning against a fence nearby. He's a pro at this with a good escape plan.
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