Report: Philip Seymour Hoffman 'scored his smack like a common junkie' in the East Village

The Post is touting this "exclusive" …

Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman scored his smack like a common junkie, schlepping to an East Village apartment to feed his heroin fix, law-enforcement sources told The Post.

A witness has come forward to tell cops that several months ago, he personally eyeballed Hoffman buying the drugs himself, making the transaction at the same apartment where the witness was being supplied.

Based on this tip, the NYPD set up surveillance on the apartment on the unnamed street/Avenue Monday night. Police arrested one man emerging from the apartment, but, as the Post notes, he was not carrying the drugs branded "Ace of Spades," the logo that appeared on the heroin reportedly found in Hoffman's West Village apartment.

'Mayor of Avenue D' busted for running large-scale drug operation

The Manhattan DA's office has indicted 11 members of an LES-based narcotics trafficking organization that possessed and sold street-level crack cocaine, according to a news release from Cyrus R. Vance Jr. yesterday.

From that release:

According to the indictment, since approximately January 2012, the defendants obtained, transported, processed, packaged, and sold large quantities of crack cocaine to customers in and around the Jacob Riis Houses, a New York City Public Housing Authority development between East 8th and East 13th Streets, from Avenue D to the F.D.R. Drive, as well as at other locations.

The leader of this organization – DWAYNE MITCHELL, a/k/a “Dubbs,” 35 – obtained wholesale quantities of crack cocaine from supplier SABED RAHMAN, 29. MITCHELL and RAHMAN are accused of meeting regularly over a long period to exchange wholesale quantities of drugs and cash, including at a Starbucks location in Midtown Manhattan.

Prosecutors told the Daily News that Mitchell acted like the "Mayor of Avenue D" while "charming the neighborhood by hosting barbecues and field trips to Six Flags for kids."

And more from the DA's release:

According to the indictment, the defendants used cell phones to communicate and conduct their business. They also attempted to conceal the conspiracy and alleged illegal transactions by conducting them in a covert manner and using coded language, including the terms “chicken,” “donuts,” and “food,” to refer to cocaine and sums of money.

Mitchell reportedly faces up to 20 years on the most serious charge.

Residents meet to discuss increased drug use/sales along E. 3rd and E. 4th Streets

Last night, concerned residents met at P.S. 15 with local leaders and 9th Precinct reps to discuss the "proliferation/spread of drugs" on East Third Street and East Fourth Street between Avenue C and Avenue D...

Resident Steven Matthews was in attendance, and left this as a comment on our earlier post about the meeting:

The meeting went well. There were approximately 36 people there, including someone from the 9th Pct and the DA's office. Almost everyone had a story, of drug use taking place in their vestibules, dealers operating out of renovated but unoccupied building, dealers having keys to the NYCHA buildings and operating out of them, founding members of community gardens (El Jardin) who have all but abandoned it because of drug dealing in them... And they came from all through the neighborhood, from 3rd and 5th Streets as well as both avenues. Many of them said they heard about the meeting from this blog, so hats off to EV Grieve!

There will be a follow-up meeting in two weeks. In that time, people with sales/use taking place in their buildings will approach the owners and try to get the building registered in the city's Tresspass Affidavit Program. And everyone was urged to call 911 when they see drug sales/use taking place. The 9th Pct rep said that despite the number of stories people had, there have been very few calls, so they were not aware of the severity of the problem.

DNAinfo and NY Press were both there; I'm sure they'll have stories today.

We'll link to those articles when they are posted...

Previously on EV Grieve:
Emergency meeting called to discuss 'the blatant drug activity' on E. 3rd St. (29 comments)

Emergency meeting called to discuss 'the blatant drug activity' on E. 3rd St.

Perhaps a sign of the bad old days, or whatever you want to call them, on East Third Street between Avenue C and Avenue D... the flyers tell of an emergency meeting tomorrow night at PS 15 to address "the proliferation/spread of drugs on our block."

The conversation will center on topics ranging from drug sales to drug use...

SHOCKERS: Local college students prefer drugs to sex (at least in 1967)

The Washington Square Journal from Nov. 30, 1967, includes a SHOCKING expose about the habits of local college students... You can click on the piece to read it a little better.... The article reports on the findings of Dr. Sylvia Hertz, a psychologist-sociologist, who polled students on college campuses in the metropolitan area and discovered that "campus drugs have outglamourized and outchallenged sex on today’s college campus since sex is easily attainable, available and taken for granted, and has lost its yesterday spirit of adventure and conquest."



And an archival photo that accompanied the article here.



I swear that I saw this woman in the same position outside the Village Pourhouse the other evening, though she was wearing University of Florida sweats.

Toilet humor

Grub Street's Daniel Maurer notes that the three restrooms at the Ninth Ward are labeled either Sex, Drugs or Rock & Roll.

[Photo by Daniel Maurer, via Grub Street]

Which might explain why so many kids are requesting the long version of "Nights In White Satin"

"Clubgoers and college kids are taking trips back in time -- getting high on hallucinogenic drugs popular in the 1960s and '70s, cops say. The NYPD has begun closely tracking the seizures of designer drugs rarely seen since the hippie era but now being peddled to customers in nightclubs and karaoke bars." (New York Post)