D.A. Bragg announces indictment in L train stabbing

EVG reader photo from Sept. 20

An East Village resident accused of stabbing a passenger in the back while exiting a Brooklyn-bound L train at the First Avenue stop last month has been indicted. 

Yesterday, Manhattan D.A. Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the indictment of Raymond Kwok, 27, for stabbing a 29-year-old man this past Sept. 20. Kwok is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Assault in the Second Degree and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree. 

"New Yorkers relying on public transportation deserve to be safe, and violence in our transit system, especially with dangerous weapons, will not be tolerated," Bragg said in a statement.

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, on Sept. 20, at approximately 8:43 p.m., Kwok and the victim argued after bumping into each other while the man was walking downstairs at the First Avenue L train station. A few moments later, as the man continued walking, Kwok stabbed him in the back, according to Bragg's office. Per reports at the time, the two men did not know each other.

The victim was eventually transported to Bellevue, where he received stitches for the cut.

Kwok fled the scene and was picked up three days later. During his arrest, officers found a switchblade in Kwok's right pocket.

City's fight against unlicensed cannabis shops now targets landlords; 4 East Village shops busted

Photos Tuesday by Stacie Joy 

On Tuesday, Mayor Adams and Manhattan DA Bragg announced that they have joined forces to combat the proliferation of illegal, unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in the city.

For starters, the NYPD filed complaints against four unlicensed establishments selling cannabis in the jurisdiction of the 9th Precinct, which covers the East Village. 

Per a media advisory from the city: 

The complaints allege that an officer observed the sale of cannabis products at these establishments to underage individuals and sought to shut them down for the illegal sale of cannabis products and operating without a license. 

Additionally, the Manhattan DA's office mailed letters to each of the more than 400 known smoke shops in Manhattan, warning them of the potential for eviction proceedings for unlawful cannabis sales. 

The NYPD's lawsuits allege that officers observed the sale of cannabis to underage auxiliary officers at these four establishments in Manhattan: Runtz Tobacco, 14 First Ave; Broadway, 736 Broadway; Saint Marks Convenience & Smoke Shop, 103 Saint Mark's Place; and Sogie Mart Rolls & Puff, 24 Avenue A. 

The NYPD now seeks to shut down these unlicensed establishments under New York City's Nuisance Abatement Law for the unlicensed sale of cannabis, also a violation of New York State's Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. 

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was present at Saint Marks Convenience & Smoke Shop between Avenue A and First Avenue when a contingent of law enforcement officers from the 9th Precinct, the Sheriff's Interagency Enforcement Task Force, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and the state Office of Cannabis Management paid a visit.

Law enforcement officials carried out bags full of confiscated merchandise and left copies of the lawsuit behind. Despite the action, a few of the shops opened later that day. 

New York City Sheriff Anthony Miranda told a City Council hearing last month "that this tactic was unlikely to lead to stores being shut down right away," as Gothamist reported. "Nuisance abatement takes a little while because the person has to have due process," Miranda said at that hearing.

The letter to the smoke shops from Bragg informs commercial entities that the DA's office "is prepared to use its civil authority under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law to require owners and landlords to commence eviction proceedings of commercial tenants who are engaged in illegal trade or business, and to take over such eviction proceedings if necessary." (Find a copy of the letters here.) 

The Real Deal identified the landlords behind the four East Village shops that were busted on Tuesday: 103 Saint Marks Place and 736 Broadway are owned by Bahram Hakakian's Allied Realty & Development, 24 Avenue A is owned by a limited liability company linked to Alfred Sabetfard of Sabet Group, and Runtz Tobacco at 14 First Ave. Per TRD: Jeong Hoon Kim and Son Dinh Tran are linked to LLCs that own two of the properties. 

There are an estimated 50 illegal shops in the East Village; 1.400 in the five boroughs.

Bragg said that his office will determine where evidence exists of unauthorized cannabis sales and other illegal activity and will notify landlords of their requirement to begin eviction proceedings.

If the landlord does not make an application to evict within five days of the written notice — or if, after making the application, the landlord does not "in good faith diligently prosecute it" — then the DA's Office will bring its own proceeding against the tenant as though it were the landlord.

The Housing Works Cannabis Co. store — New York's first legal recreational marijuana market — opened to great fanfare and long lines in late December on Broadway at Eighth Street in a former Gap retail space. Another legal dispensary is expected to open on Third Street near the Bowery this spring.

DA-hosted East Village gun buyback nets 16 firearms this past Saturday

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy

The Manhattan District Attorney's office hosted a gun buyback on Saturday that yielded 16 firearms.

The event occurred at Gethsemane Garden Baptist Church on Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. Participants could receive a $200 bank card and an iPad for handguns or assault rifles; a $25 bank card for rifles, shotguns or airguns — and no questions asked.

The guns exchanged — after an inspection — featured 10 semiautomatic weapons, five revolvers and one derringer. Officials said that more than 25% of the semiautomatic weapons were "defaced" with the serial number obscured. 

"Every gun off the streets is potentially a life saved," Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said after the exchange.

This was the third buyback event this year for Bragg's office. (A buyback session in Harlem this past June yielded 78 firearms; another in Inwood brought in 42.) Bragg said this is part of a larger initiative to get guns off the streets, including anti-gun trafficking initiatives. 

Bragg was also later joined by State Sen. Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, who said they were pleased to partner with the DA's office and the efforts to create safer streets.

... and a soundbite from the event...