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

Checking in on East Village Meat Market

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

I stopped by East Village Meat Market, 139 Second Ave. between St. Mark's Place and Ninth Street, over the weekend to pick up some flax seeded rye bread.

The bread, made by Moonrise Bakehouse, is available by prepay/preorder. Deliveries to the market occur on Fridays, with pickup between noon and 3:45 p.m.

While I'm there, manager Andrew Ilnicki shows off some of the available meat provisions (brisket, T-bone, short ribs, prime rib and porterhouse)...



The longtime meat market, which dates to 1970, has plenty of supplies, including Eastern European standbys like pierogies, sour cherry syrup, blintzes, borscht, and poppy seed rolls as well as dairy products like cheese, butter, eggs and milk. For now, they're open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Help Limited to One stay on their feet with these limited-edition Vans

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Limited to One (@limitedtoonenyc) on May 1, 2020 at 2:19pm PDT

Limited to One, the record shop specializing in rare and limited vinyl releases on 10th Street, has teamed up with Vans for a special edition Classic Slip-On.

It's part of the Vans Foot the Bill effort that launched last month to help small businesses nationwide during the COVID-19 crisis.

Owner Kristian Sorge explains how it works via an Instagram post:

"We designed a shoe for Vans and all of the net proceeds go to our small business. Being a mom-and-pop record shop, we order a lot of items for our shop locally or directly from other small businesses such as record labels, t-shirt screen printers ... So when you support us, you support our vinyl community!"

You can customize your own pair via this link.

The temporarily closed shop, located at 221 E. 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue, is also selling vinyl via Instagram these days.

And earlier this year, I interview Kristian for a podcast on JasonCharles.net. You can listen to this show on Spotify here.

Ruffian Wine Bar now selling bottles of wine to go

[Image via Instagram]

Ruffian Wine Bar on Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Avenue is now open as Ruffian Wine Shop.

You can order online here at any time for pickup from noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays. They're also delivering within a two-mile radius.

Management says that they'll be expanding days/hours/delivery zones in the days ahead.

In addition, their other local establishments — Kindred on Sixth Street and the pop-up kitchen inside Black Emperor on Second Avenue — will be re-opening soon for pickup and delivery.

A sign of things to come?

A for rent sign arrived yesterday in the front window at T-swirl Crêpe, the dessert shop on 14th Street that has been closed during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Pinch, who took this photo, added: "Hopefully not too much of an indication for what’s to come for other businesses."

T-swirl Crêpe, part of a small chain with multiple NYC locations, opened here between Second Avenue and Third Avenue in July 2015.

Monday's parting shot

The last outpost of Ricky's, located on Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street, recently closed... and workers today were removing remaining items (essential work?).

During its heyday, there were nearly two dozen Ricky's in the city, but the kitschy retailer started to close storefronts in recent years. The Broadway outpost had been selling pandemic-related cleaning products this spring.

Photo by Derek Berg.

The free face masks went quickly today at East River Park

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

I arrived at around 11:15 his morning at the East River Park Sixth Street Promenade for the free masks.

Unfortunately, the Parks Department had already given out all the 5-packs of white reusable masks. They had a small stock of camo-green size XL bandana handkerchiefs left...







Parks Department workers told me that there were more than 50 people lined up at 10 a.m. when they opened, and that they went through 2,000-plus masks immediately.

They will be back at the same spot on Thursday at 2 p.m. with double the amount of face masks.

The ballfields are currently locked up in Tompkins Square Park

[Photos yesterday by Steven]

Multiple people shared the news that the ballfields/TF in Tompkins Square Park were locked up yesterday morning, staying closed throughout a summer-like day that saw temperatures hover near 80.

This area along Avenue A at 10th Street remains closed today.

There wasn't any communication from Parks official about the closure — and whether this was a temporary thing or something more semi-permanent for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. One NYPD officer told a reader that the area would be locked up for the foreseeable future.





There were also also reader reports from Saturday about groups of people in this area not practicing social distancing (including a children's birthday party?).

This is the latest part of the Park to close to help enforce social distancing, joining the basketball and handle courts, dog run and playgrounds.

Investigation for excessive force demanded after social-distancing arrests on Avenue D

An NYPD officer has been placed on modified duty following an ugly confrontation on Saturday afternoon when an attempt to enforce social distancing rules escalated on Avenue D at Ninth Street.

A passerby shot a now-viral video of the encounter. Gothamist spoke with him:

Witness Daquan Owens, who took the video below, said the incident started after plainclothes officers approached a man and a woman talking outside a deli around 5:30 p.m. and ordered them to separate. But Owens says the two people were maintaining a six foot distance in accordance with rules intended to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"They were social distancing," Owens said in a telephone interview on Sunday. "The girl was standing by the phone booth, the guy was sitting on a milk crate. When the cops pulled up she said he’s not doing anything. They grabbed her and started tussling with her. Then the guy on the milk crate got mad and started yelling at police."

Here's a narrative of the video below:

Owens's video begins as several plainclothes officers attempt to handcuff two people outside the deli at the northeast corner of Avenue D and East 9th Street. At roughly the 35 second mark of the video, one of the officers turns and advances on bystander Donni Wright, 33, pointing a taser at him. Owens says the officer called Wright the n-word, which can be heard at the 37 second mark, and Wright can be heard asking the officer if he used the racial epithet.

"Move the fuck back right now," the officer shouts. "Don’t flex."

Also in circulation: Security footage showing the start of the incident...



According to the Times:

The police said that one man, Shakiem Brunson, was holding a bag of marijuana and became aggressive toward the officers, who moved to arrest him. While he was being handcuffed, a woman, Ashley Serrano, tried to intervene, the police said, and was also arrested.

Donni Wright, a groundskeeper for the NYCHA these past 10 years, was also arrested, and charged with assaulting a police officer.


[Donni Wright, pictured on the street]

The Times identified the officer in the Yankees cap as Francis X. Garcia, who is now on modified duty pending an internal investigation.

The city has paid out at least $182,500 to settle lawsuits involving Garcia, an eight-year veteran who works in the Housing Bureau, the Times uncovered.

As NBC 4 pointed out, the incident "has caught the attention of activists and New York City leaders who have demanded the city enact fair and uniform enforcement of social distancing across all communities."

Local City Councilmember Carlina Rivera is demanding an investigation into the use of excessive force.

I’ve contacted NYPD. We have demanded an investigation for excessive force. Regardless of what transpired before the video, what is the justification for the rage? Where's the professionalism and de-escalation tactics we should expect? We will hold these officers accountable. https://t.co/C7js7wl62D

— Carlina Rivera 利華娜 (@CarlinaRivera) May 3, 2020

Meanwhile, David Rankin, a civil rights lawyer representing Wright, told the Times that "the arrest fit within the police department’s long history of violating people’s rights to observe an arrest and called on the officer to be investigated 'fully, quickly, and thoroughly.'"

"The idea that he is doing this without any gloves and no masks, and using profanity and racially charged language, is just completely unacceptable," he said.

Now that the L-train tunnel work is complete, here's what to expect along 14th Street

ICYMI: On April 26, Gov. Cuomo announced that the Sandy-damaged Canarsie tunnel rehabilitation phase was completed — reportedly several months ahead of schedule and less than $100 million as originally expected.

L trains are now running more frequently on weekends than during the L Project tunnel rehabilitation phase, but service reductions remain.

Now the MTA is focusing on non-tunnel elements, such as the new entrance on 14th Street at Avenue A and the rehabbed station at First Avenue.

The L Project e-newsletter from this past weekend provided an overview of interest to residents and commuters in this neighborhood. Here's a recap of what they had to say (completion dates subject to changes):

• The First Avenue north entrance is expected to open this month with final granite work at the street level scheduled for the fall.

• The First Avenue south entrance opened ahead of schedule last Monday. (The MTA said that the pushed to get it done early given the entrance's proximity to Mount Sinai Beth Israel.) Final work at the street level is scheduled for summer and fall.


[1st Avenue south entrance]

• The new Avenue A north entrance is currently open, with final finishes scheduled for after the completion of the First Avenue north side.

• The Avenue A south entrance is also open. The MTA still needs to complete the granite work. However, officials say that they're keeping this entrance open for the time being given its proximity to the hospital.

• Two street-to-platform elevators at Avenue A on the north and south sides of 14th Street: Estimated completion scheduled for the summer.





• Street restoration along 14th: Paving expected to begin on May 11, pending weather conditions, and the work is estimated to last one week.

• Tree planting along 14th Street: Planned to begin on Thursday, pending weather conditions.

• Avenue B-area substation: High-tension power connection expected to occur in May or June.

• Avenue D fan plant: Final work scheduled to be completed in June.

• New escalator at 14th Street-Union Square: Estimated completion is now scheduled for the summer following COVID-19-related contractor delays.

Previously on EV Grieve:
1 weekend down: L-train slowdown recap

Renderings reveal the MTA's plans for the Avenue A L station; why does everyone look so happy?

Nightmare scenario for residents who learn that 14th Street and Avenue A will be the main staging area for the L-train reconstruction

What the L: Cuomo calls off full L-train shutdown

Where the city is distributing free face coverings today

The city has been handing out face masks in NYC parks since Saturday.

This morning (May 4!), you can pick up the five-pack of masks in East River Park — specifically the promenade at Sixth Street from 10 to noon.

Our friends up at the West Side Rag reported on Saturday that the city exhausted the supply of 2,000 packages after 45 minutes from a location in Central Park.

This link has the other NYC locations where the city will offer up the masks.

As of April 17, all New Yorkers are required to wear a mask or face covering when out in public and in situations where a 6-foot distance from others cannot be maintained.

Asian Taste is back open

Asian Taste reopened yesterday on the northwest corner of Avenue B and Third Street ... providing another quick-serve and inexpensive Chinese food option. (Fei Ma returned to service back on Friday on Avenue A.)

As the interior photo by Stacie Joy shows, management has added a clear protective shield at the front counter to add a barrier between workers and customers.

They are open for pickup/takeout from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily.