Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
It was more like Smash & Grab at the newish (and unlicensed) Grab & Go Convenience at 23 Avenue B.
Last Sunday morning, someone smashed the front door here between Second Street and Third Street...
A store employee told me the thief stole some weed (mostly prerolls) and "not too much stuff" but was "caught already."
Meanwhile, there's plywood treatment at the space, now with a rolldown gate in place as of Wednesday.
These illegal weed stores, susceptible to break-ins and robberies, (cash only?) are EVERYWHERE! Even in mid-town. And when I walk past them, mostly empty* so what's with that?
ReplyDelete*FD, maybe at night they pick up a lot business?
This may be a silly question but is it illegal to steal illegal items?
ReplyDeleteSo, the cops come out to investigate a robbery at an illegal business, the shop tells them they stole some illegally stocked goods and the cops spend their time and resources to apprehend the culprit - is that how it works? Maybe if the rule was that illegal operations can't rely on the protection of the legit system of law and order they might be less inclined to open in the first place. A glib response, I know - but the illegal activity was occurring there before the robbery!
ReplyDeleteThere was a skit a long time ago—probably in the 1976-77 season of SNL—called the "X-Police." (Actually, in the episode hosted by Hugh Hefner in the 1977 season.)
ReplyDeleteIt's only available as a transcript, not a video: snltranscripts.jt.org/77/77cxpolice.phtml
It's no "headless body found in topless bar" but this is a pretty nice headline. You're flirting with greatness, here.
ReplyDeleteI've lived here for 20 years and the neighborhood has gone to sh*t. The city has allowed an "anything goes" and it has effected the east village in ways I never thought possible. It's vile here.
ReplyDelete25 years ago you wouldn't dare to walk on B at night, so here's another perspective...
DeleteHad to LOL at Pefume Junkie's "I've lived here for 20 years...". You obviously don't know the east village.
ReplyDeleteI have been here way over 30 years and trust me this area always goes from bad to good just gotta give it sometime to get better. With that being said this is only the beginning
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of amazing to think that someone is, actually, able to truthfully say that they've been here 20 years and nonetheless know nothing of the fabled downtown decay. I, too, arrived in the 21st century (though earlier than that) and I would never kid myself that I had first-hand knowledge of the rough times, but since I am not a small innocent child (plus I grew up somewhere that was at least 30% worse than downtown NYC at its worst) I am capable of grasping the not-so-distant rough history of the place.
ReplyDeleteAt 4:24 PM, Anonymous quoth:
ReplyDeleteHad to LOL at Pefume Junkie's "I've lived here for 20 years...". You obviously don't know the east village.
And I'll quote Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York: "The East Village is, face it New Yorkers, the lower East Side."