In aftermath of Avenue D arrests, pols want answers from city on how social distancing is being enforced

Local elected officials are calling on the city to report on why and how social distancing is being enforced.

The demand comes following a violent arrest on Avenue D and Ninth Street late Saturday afternoon that was captured on video via a bystander.

An NYPD officer, identified as Francisco Garcia who's stationed at PS4 on Avenue C, was stripped of his gun and put on modified duty following the ugly confrontation when an attempt to enforce social distancing rules escalated.

Per Gothamist:

" ... a plainclothes officer can be seen punching and tackling Donni Wright, a groundskeeper with NYCHA, while shouting the n-word, brandishing a taser, and subsequently kneeling on Wright's head. The confrontation began after officers, some of whom were not wearing face coverings, spotted "a number of people not wearing masks" at the corner of Avenue D and 9th Street, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Monday.

Shea told Pat Kiernan yesterday that he was not happy with some of the tactics that he saw used in the video. Mayor de Blasio had this to say...

Saw the video from the Lower East Side and was really disturbed by it. The officer involved has been placed on modified duty and an investigation has begun. The behavior I saw in that video is simply not acceptable.

— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 3, 2020

And yesterday, a handful of elected officials, led by local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera, sent Shea and de Blasio a letter asking for "transparency and accountability" in the way the NYPD is enforcing social distancing.


[Click on image for more detail]

The letter reads in part:

This incident highlights our concerns that social-distancing enforcement may not be applied equally in all communities. Social media accounts portray scenes of people congregating in parks across New York City’s more affluent parks and neighborhoods, yet the enforcement actions that come to light are those like the May 2 event on East 9th Street and Avenue D, predominantly a community of color.

We, therefore, request that NYPD release a report on social-distancing enforcement statistics by neighborhood and demographic. The report should include all citations including warnings and fines, along with 311 complaint data on the matter so that we and the public can compare application of the law.

Communities of color have been particularly burdened by the COVID-19 outbreak, and it is imperative that, especially now, they see that New York City government is in their corner. In the interest of transparency and accountability – and to help repair the mistrust fostered by the May 2 incident and others like it in the past – please release this data immediately.

The letter is signed by Rivera, State Sen. Brad Hoylman, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, U.S. Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, the city has paid out nearly $200,000 to settle lawsuits involving Garcia, an eight-year veteran.

Gothamist had more details on some of these incidents yesterday.

According to a complaint filed in 2013, Garcia allegedly told a woman eating with her partner inside a Harlem restaurant that she "dressed like a man." When the woman attempted to get his badge number, Garcia allegedly pushed her, then replied: "Take a fucking picture of it, fucking dyke." The city settled that suit for $8,500.

A year later, Garcia was accused of wrongfully arresting a man trying to visit his girlfriend inside a Washington Heights NYCHA building. According to a federal lawsuit, which the city settled for $27,500, Garcia "forced [the man] to the floor face-first," then punched, kicked, and clubbed him.

The letter also states that the officials "expect a full investigation of Officer Francisco Garcia. All disciplinary actions should be on the table, including dismissal."

For further reading:
Mother of man beaten in East Village social distancing melee rips NYPD

Bravo Supermarkets coming to Avenue D

The build-out continues at 119 Avenue D between Eighth Street and Ninth Street ... and it's starting to look a lot like a grocery store...



The work permits on file with the city list Bravo Supermarkets as the incoming tenant. The New York-based Bravo has more than 70 locations in the northeast (with nearly a dozen in Brooklyn and Queens) as well as in Florida.

Per the Bravo website:

Bravo Supermarkets are neighborhood grocery stores that your family can depend on! Because all of our stores are independently owned and operated, we have the unique ability to truly cater to the needs of our communities, which is why no two Bravo Supermarkets are exactly alike! At Bravo you'll find the products that are meant for the people who live in the neighborhood- stocked with a large assortment of specialty and international products, fresh meat, seafood, produce and so much more!

No word on an opening date just yet.

Avenue D is currently served by Uncle Johnny Grocery and Compare Foods as well as several delis.

The previous tenant at No. 119, the All in One Value Center, closed last fall.

Report: Arrest made in Avenue D murder

The Villager has an update on the murder of 23-year-old Malik Campbell last Friday outside 118 Avenue D at Eighth Street.

On Saturday, police arrested Rashawn Taylor, 18, a resident in the Smith Houses. He is charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, The Villager reports.

The NYPD did not cite of motive in the shooting. However, a super who works nearby "blamed the shooting on rivalries between groups of young men living in different public-housing developments along the East River."

As for Campbell:

“Everyone is just sick about it,” said the victim’s grandmother Irma Campbell, who said she helped raise Malik and his identical twin brother, Eli, in Haven Plaza, a block of subsidized housing located off Avenue C at 12th St.

Malik grew up in Haven Plaza with his parents and attended the Earth School on Avenue B and East Side Community High School on E. 12th St.

His grandmother described him as a “good kid, very polite and caring,” though she conceded he had run afoul of the law recently. At the time of the shooting, he was on probation for a low-level drug offense — “pot and pills,” she said.

Report: NYPD searching for suspect after man gunned down on Avenue D

DEVELOPING: Man shot in East Village, police search for shooter: NYPD https://t.co/hR5Xlj5vUZ

— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) November 3, 2017

There are reports that a man was shot at 108 Avenue D at Eighth Street around 4:15.

CBS 2 reports that the victim, 23, was shot in the head in the Jacob Riis Houses.

The victim is in critical condition, and police are looking for the suspect, per PIX 11.

Will update when more information on the shooting becomes available.

Updated 11/4

According to the Daily News, Malik Campbell died at Bellevue from the gunshot.

Per the News: "Cops are trying to determine if the violence was connected to an earlier stabbing, according to sources."

[Updated] Report: Anger over Confederate flags on 8th Street and Avenue D

Several flags drape the windows of an apartment on the top floor of a building on Eighth Street and Avenue D.

There are two Confederate flags, several Israeli flags and what appears to be an American flag with 13 stars...



The Post reports that the flags have been hanging in the windows for several months. (Updated: The Daily News says that the flags have been there for a year.) However, after the weekend's deadly violence that erupted at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., people are now taking notice of these flags.

According to the Post, people threw "rocks and bricks" at the windows yesterday.

“They’re scary, we don’t know who we are dealing with in the neighborhood. I feel uncomfortable because that represents evil. I see the protests in the news and I come home and see this,” said local Louise Abddhal, 56, as a chorus of others yelled at the window.

Residents had turned a blind eye to the offensive banners in the past, but started getting mad after Saturday’s rally in Charlottesville ...

“It’s been there forever and no one said anything. Now it’s going crazy. Virginia is bringing more light and attention too,” said longtime resident Janet Brown.

At night, the flags are illuminated in the windows.

Buzzfeed Senior Editor Matt Stopera tweeted this Saturday night...

Ave d and 8th street in NYC right now. If you think awful racism isnt everywhere then wake the fuck up! pic.twitter.com/eHGCeb5j1T

— Matt Stopera (@mattstopera) August 13, 2017

Police responded to the rock tossing, though no arrests were made, the Post reported.

Updated 5:25 a.m.

The Daily News filed a story overnight about the flags. The also posted a video showing a man on the corner throwing throws at the sixth-floor windows.

Last night around 11, police had blocked off the area outside the building and were attempting to speak with the tenant. (The Post reported that the leasing agent had reached out to the tenant as well.)

"We don’t want a riot here," Michael Schweinsburg, the Eight B C D Block Association president, told the News.

Schweinsberg said he hoped that the cops can convince the tenant to take down the flags — for the sake of the neighborhood.

“The cops went up there, there was absolutely no response to repeated knocks on the door,” he added. “So the idea now is that they’re going to reach out to the landlord and ask for something to be hung from the roof to cover it up. That way hopefully he will communicate.”

The NYPD said that they will keep a patrol car on the scene "to monitor the situation."


[Photo from last night at 7:30]

Updated 10:30 a.m.

The Daily Beast has more details, including that the tenant has lived in the building for 12 years.

The flags, according to several neighbors who know their owner, might be as much a product of mental illness as they are of racism.

The apartment building’s superintendent Ruben Vargas told The Daily Beast that the flags have been up for five months.

Until then, the tenant had been a building nuisance. Two neighbors were scared of him, Vargas said, and a third had moved out “because he goes off on a rampage inside the apartment throwing things around.” Multiple people described the tenant as mentally ill.

“Some days he’s talking to you, then you see him again and he’s out cursing and saying racist words. ‘Heil Hitler,’ all these things,” Vargas said.

Updated 11:30 a.m.

Here's a statement from City Councilmember Rosie Mendez...

Recently, I was made aware that confederate flags were hung in the windows of an apartment building in my district. It saddens me that a symbol of hate and oppression would be displayed in my district — a multi-ethnic district that is comprised of and embraces its racial and economic diversity. More troubling is that these flags remain in display after the tragic and fatal events that occurred in Charlottesville this weekend.

I am concerned as I am hearing that local community residents are upset by the display and are taking some matters into their own hands. There have been reports made to my office of counter actions taking place at the residence that are alarming and illegal. You can voice your displeasure, but you cannot throw objects at the windows, to the building or block anyone’s entrance or exit to the building.

While this display may be offensive to many of us, please know that each and every one of us has rights and protections under the United States Constitution. We all have a First Amendment Right to Free Speech. Displaying a flag, in and of itself, is not illegal and there are no legal actions that can be taken to have this individual remove the flags from his/her windows.

However, there are limitations to our First Amendment Right to Free Speech and if this individual steps outside of those limitations, then local law enforcement can take the next necessary steps.

I want to remind everyone that this is a multiple dwelling building. Many other individuals, families with children, live in this building and are probably equally offended by the display. I ask that you please respect and support your neighbors who reside in this building and who unfortunately live next to this individual.

While I do not know nor do I have any contact with this individual, I respectfully request for everyone’s safety that s/he take down this flag — a symbol that is so offensive to the surrounding community.

To my neighbors, I hope you continue to exercise your First Amendment Right as we traditionally do in this community, but we must do it within the letter of the law. Please do not exceed or violate what is permitted expressions of free speech.

Lastly, my staff and I have been in contact with the local precinct and we have been informed that the situation is being monitored.

Updated 8:30 p.m.

Earlier this evening, 12 to 15 people were gathered on the southwest corner. Some of them had signs with them that read "End Racism," and other messages. No one was actively holding them up at this time. There was one police vehicle parked on Avenue D. There weren't any news crews at this time, though there were two photographers on the corner.





The Daily News filed a second story earlier today that names the resident.

Updated 8/18

Workers have dropped a tarp over the windows. Read that story here.

Updated 8/19

The flags have been removed.

A question on the extra lights and police presence along Avenue D

Photos and email from an EVG reader...

Any word on the reason for the heavy police presence along Avenue D & FDR Drive as well as the assemblage of generator lighting throughout Jacob Riis Houses?

Demolition permits filed to level the former Rite Aid and 2 other empty storefronts on Avenue D

[EVG photo from Sunday]

On Monday, we reported that the Rite Aid on Avenue D has relocated one block to the north.

DNAinfo pointed out yesterday that there are now permits on file with the city to demolish the one-story storefronts at 79-89 Avenue D between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street.

As previously noted, a 12-story building with a total of 96,038 square feet (7,868 of them for the retail component) will rise here. There are 108 dwelling units in the works. A spokesperson for L+M Development Partners confirmed to DNAinfo that the building will also feature some inclusionary housing.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

Permit pre-filed for new 12-floor building at 79-89 Avenue D

Rite Aid relocates ahead of new development on Avenue D

Rite Aid relocates ahead of new development on Avenue D

The Rite Aid on Avenue D between East Sixth Street and East Seventh Street relocated late last week...



...just one block north to the vacant retail space in the Arabella 101 building...





The move is to make way for a 12-story mixed-use building ... three one-level storefronts will need to be demolished: the Rite Aid and the long-vacant laundromat and Shady's pizza...



The approved permits on file with the city show a building with a total of 96,038 square feet (7,868 of them for the retail component). There are 108 dwelling units listed. The Real Deal reported in May 2014 that L&M Development Partners could build to 96,400 square feet with an inclusionary housing bonus.

L&M Development Partners, one of the groups involved in the Essex Crossing development at the former Seward Park urban renewal site, bought the three parcels of 79-89 Avenue D in 2014 for $12.5 million.

We have not seen any renderings for the new building just yet. GF55 Partners, whose area work includes Jupiter 21 and 48 Bond, are the architects of record.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

Permit pre-filed for new 12-floor building at 79-89 Avenue D

Report: Bystander shot in foot during argument on Avenue D

A woman standing outside the Riis Houses last night around 11 was accidentally shot in the foot when a fight broke out nearby, according to published reports.

A witness told DNAinfo that she heard five shots at 178 Avenue D near East 12th Street.

Per DNAinfo:

"Gunshots are nothing new around here, but it's getting old, getting tiring. You feel like a hostage in your own neighborhood," the witness said.

The victim, 53, was taken to Bellevue Hospital ... where she was listed in stable condition. According to the Daily News, the woman was hit in her left foot and the bullet grazed across her right foot. It was not clear if she knew the men arguing. The shooter remained at large.

Report: There are a lot of rats on this East Village corner

Over at the Daily News, veteran staff photographer Sam Costanza reported that the corner of Avenue D and East 10th Street "was crawling with vermin" early this morning.

Per the article:

"As females walk by these bastards jump out and scare 'em," Costanza said. "It's quite a sight."

And!

The Daily Newser counted at least 10 rats swarming in close proximity, including one "cat-sized" rodent.

He also took a photo of the rats perched inside the hubcap of a Honda.

Head to the Daily News here if you'd like to see photos AND video of this.

Reader report: Gunshots on Avenue D late last night; NYPD patrol tower today

[Photo via an EVG reader]

Several readers reported hearing gunshots last night …

Said one this morning: "Woke up to 5 loud gun shots last night outside my apartment on Ave D and 8th Street. Then a police siren about 5 minutes later."

Per another resident later today:

"Altercation around midnight on D between 8th Street and 9th Street among young males escalated and one party came back and fired shots. No one hit. Car on D took some shots and [the former] Joselito's took one in the window. Multiple 911 calls placed last night and half a dozen detectives plus a new surveillance tower van out there now."

The former Joselito space for rent on Avenue D

[EVG file photo]

Back in June, Joselito, the inexpensive and delicious Dominican restaurant, moved from 125 Avenue D to a smaller space at 172 Delancey.

Now that space between East Eighth Street and East Ninth Street is on the market.

According to the Miron listing:

This is an affordable rent for a restaurant that had a full liquor and seats approx. 56
Great opportunity for the right operator.
Approx. 1,200 sq ft + basement
10 year term

Note: Additional 1 story building in the rear. Approx. 500 sq ft (included in the package)
Condition: This space need work!!!

The current asking price is $6,000.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Joselito Restaurant has left Avenue D

Taking Citi Bikes for a bike ride

Spotted on Avenue D this morning... We've never noticed this more environmentally friendly way to transport bikes from one station to the next... via @artisanmatters

[Updated] A bloody crime scene on Avenue D and East 7th Street

Multiple readers have pointed out that there's a crime scene at Manhattan Express Deli Grocery on the southwest corner of Avenue D and Seventh Street … from an incident early this morning …



Officers are collecting evidence from the store … no official word on what happened here … one witness was telling onlookers that it was a stabbing. We'll update if/when more details become available.

Police also had the dumpster across Avenue D cordoned off…



Updated 2:06 p.m.

According to the Post, a man was slashed in the face around 4:30 a.m.

"The suspect, who remains unidentified, slashed him with a sharp object across the right side of his face and fled, cops said."

Report: New 12-story, mixed-use building in the works for Avenue D

[Google Street View]

Just about a year ago news broke that 79-89 Avenue D — three single-level buildings — was for sale. Aside from two vacant storefronts, the address here between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street includes the Rite Aid.

The space is now ready for new development. The Real Deal reported last evening that L&M Development Partners bought the parcel for $12.5 million. (The asking price had been $22.5 million.)

Plans call for a 12-story, mixed-use building here on the west side of Avenue D. And as The Real Deal notes, "The existing single-story structure contains 72,300 square feet of floor area, which can be expanded to 96,400 square feet with an inclusionary housing bonus."

Meanwhile, we have heard rumors that this Rite Aid will be closing in the coming weeks. However, there hasn't been any official announcement. This would make the second Rite Aid in the East Village to close to make way for new development.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Space that houses Rite Aid on Avenue D hits market for $22.5 million

A memorial for John Blanco on Avenue D

Here's a follow up on the post this morning about John Blanco, a popular bouncer at Croxley Ales on Avenue B. He died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident early last Thursday morning.

Stacie Joy shared these photos from outside where John lived on Avenue D...

Friends and family remember teen shot and killed on Avenue D

Serena Solomon at DNAinfo has a feature today on Deontay Moore, the 18-year-old lifelong resident of the Jacob Riis Houses who was shot and killed Friday night.

"He was always happy and even if he was sad, you would never tell," said Moore's sister Janet Mejia, 22, who lives in Harlem.

"He was a great uncle and he loved his nephew," Mejia said. "He was love wherever he walked."

Mejia joked that Moore had been a "pain in the ass, like any little brother" who always had a practical joke up his sleeve to lighten the mood.

Moore was standing with friends on Avenue D near East Eighth Street Friday night around 10:45. The NYPD have said that gunmen on bicycles fired into the group, with one bullet striking Moore in the head.

[Photo by Serena Solomon via DNAinfo]

[Updated] Report: Gay man attacked on Avenue D last night

Reports are coming in about an apparent gay bashing in the East Village last night...

Last night, another gay man was brutally attacked in NYC's East Village. "You just want to cry and move on," he says. twitter.com/JordanBach/sta…

— Jordan Bach (@JordanBach) May 21, 2013

The attack reportedly happened on Avenue D and East Fourth Street. NightllifeGay.com has more details about the incident:

Allegedly, witnesses are reporting the assailant was yelling "f*ggot" as he was kicking and beating Dan. Neighbors rushed to Dan's aid and chased after the attacker but unfortunately he got away. The police are investigating the assault now and have not determine it a hate crime.

Read more about this here. Towleroad has a report here.

Last night in the West Village, an estimated 1,000 people marched to Sixth Avenue and West Eighth Street, where 32-year-old Mark Carson was murdered this past weekend. Police have charged Elliot Morales with the second degree murder-hate crime of Carson. Morales reportedly made anti-gay remarks before shooting Carson in the head.

Updated:

A gay couple in their 40s were attacked early this morning while walking on Broadway between Prince and Houston. Via WNBC 4:

The men were both punched, and one suffered an eye injury, sources said.

Police said two men, 32 and 33, were arrested and face a charge of assault as a hate crime.

As The Advocate notes: "This brings the number of New York City gay bashings in the past 30 days to an alarming seven."

Updated 5-22

WPIX had an interview with the victim, 45-year-old Dan Contarino. This report said the incident happened on Avenue D.

"You don’t expect this to happen. Sometimes certain people just snap, maybe its marriage equality, something on people’s minds, the anger that comes out when they drink,” said Dan Contarino, who believes that is how he became a victim of the latest anti-gay hate crime in New York City.

He says a man who he had seen before in the area where he lives, started yelling at him on the street near Avenue D in the East Village Monday night.

“Are you a f****t, things like that. Certain things I don’t usually like to publicly say. It just happened so quick, I’m still absorbing the shock,” he told PIX 11 News.

You can watch the video of the segment here.

While this report makes the attack seem random, The New York Times reported that Contarino and the man accused of the assault, 39-year-old Roman Gronell, who lives at the Bowery Mission, had know each other for the past month.

Via the Times:

The first attack took place late Monday after what began as an afternoon of drinking between two men, who had known each other about a month, turned violent, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said.

At around 10:45 p.m., as they walked near the Bowery Mission, where one of the men lives, they discussed the fact that one of them was gay. While the conversation was initially friendly, Mr. Kelly said, “suddenly, according to the victim, his assailant just snapped, became enraged and yelled antigay expletives.”

The Post has other details.

A few hours earlier, Dan Contarino and another man went out for drinks at the Yuca Bar on Avenue A and then to the Boiler Room, a gay bar on East Fourth Street, where they drank shots and beer, police said.

After a pizza stop at around 11 p.m., they started up a conversation about homosexuality while walking back to a homeless shelter where they both were staying.

That’s when the other man snapped.

Updated 9:30

WABC 7 reports that the NYPD made an arrest in the case.

Police say Gornell Roman was charged Wednesday with assault and aggravated harassment, both as hate crimes.

Roman is accused of yelling an anti-gay remark and attacking a drinking companion in the East Village on Monday. Roman and the victim, Dan Contarino, lived at a nearby homeless shelter.

Easy as...: Alphabet Plaza makes first appearance above ground

Work continues here at East Houston and East Second Street/Avenue D... future home of a 12-story mixed-used apartment building called Alphabet Plaza ... the new structure has made its first appearance above ground, as these photos from EVG Facebook friend Edward Arrocha show...





Still waiting to see new renderings... as well as learning what franchises will be leasing the retail space (smart money is on Walgreens).

Previously on EV Grieve:
Will Avenue D finally turn into Avenue C?

Listing appears for Houston and Avenue D development

Report: 12th-story 'Alphabet Plaza' in the works for Second Street and Avenue D

Alphabet Plaza ready to rise on Avenue D

Alphabet Plaza is rising on East Houston and Avenue D

Noted

Spotted outside Arabella 101, the newish luxury apartment building on Avenue D...



Haven't seen "yuppie" scrawled on much of late... perhaps we're seeing a return to, say, 2008 ... or maybe earlier.