There has reportedly been an increase in the number of residential complaints about a variety of activities on 14th Street and First Avenue.
The intersection was a focal point of discussion during a recent 13th Precinct Community Council meeting. (The 13th Precinct has jurisdiction starting on the north side of 14th Street.)
Town & Village covered the meeting. From their report:
The intersection at East 14th Street and First Avenue has recently become a hub for the homeless as well as unsavory characters who’ve been loitering, making neighborhood residents feel unsafe, a number of neighbors have been saying.
StuyTown Property Services general manager Rick Hayduk told the precinct commanding officer, Steven Hellman, that management has gotten an uptick in calls about the area.
“We wanted to heighten awareness about First and 14th because there’s been an increase in vagrants,” Hayduk said.
Residents have also voiced complaints to [City Council Member Keith] Powers’ office about aggressive panhandlers on the north side of East 14th Street across First Avenue from Stuyvesant Town and in front of the Papaya Dog and near the vendors at the corner.
There was a report of a stabbing outside Community Grocery & Candy on Jan. 11. Two men had reportedly gotten into an argument inside the store, and it turned violent out on the sidewalk.