What Happened On Roosevelt Island's Main Street July 4 Evening? Reports Of Fighting And Large NYPD Presence Sweeping The Street Clear
Received this message from a Roosevelt Island resident about 12:30 AM July 5 morning
tons of cops by Blackwell Park.........NYPDand received other reports of disturbances occurring on Main Street and at Lighthouse Park July 4 evening. Yesterday, I asked Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Leslie Torres, Vice President Fernando Martinez and Public Safety Director Keith Guerra:
I understand there was an incident last night on and around Blackwell House that required a large presence by the NYPD to respond.Have not received any response back from RIOC nor has the Daily Public Safety Report for July 4-5 been published on the RIOC web site as of the time this post is published. However, RIOC Press Spokesperson advises that they will have a response soon.
Also problems at Lighthouse Park and Main Street.
Please provide details as to what occurred.
Thank you
RIOC Director David Kraut was a witness to some of what happened on Main Street July 4 evening. Mr. Kraut reports:
From my regular "office seat" inside The Trellis I noted large crowds of young people streaming south around 11:30 or so. I'm pretty sure these were off-island kids; I didn't recognize any. A few tussles broke out, including one up Main Street to the north, one right outside The Trellis just around midnight, with some kids shoving each other around the street-side tables, later another one down towards Blackwell house.I spoke with the NYPD Public Information Office yesterday and was told they did not have any information regarding July 4 Roosevelt Island incidents but they will look into matter and get back to me.
I observed two unmarked NYPD vehicles, three other NYPD units and a NYPD van, all lit up. They were moving slowly down Main Street, sweeping the street clear. Also two PSD units were making a tandem sweep. No officers of either command got out of their vehicles in view of The Trellis. I don't know if any officers went on foot in the vicinity of Blackwell House, as I was crossing Main Street to go home at that time. A young island resident told me that there was some kind of barbecue being held somewhere on the island, possibly in Lighthouse Park, and alcohol had been sneaked in, and the bad behavior was a result of that alcohol. I could not say who was drinking or how much, nor the age of the participants, which varied from older teens to young adults. That's all I know
Also, received this advisory from RIOC earlier today:
Starting this weekend, the Public Safety Department will be increasing its presence in Lighthouse Park. During the weekend, two PSD officers will be stationed at the park's entrance from 5 PM to 12 AM on Fridays and 7 AM to 12 AM Saturdays and Sundays. Officers will be checking to make sure that people entering the park are not bringing prohibited items into the park. The list of prohibited items is posted outside the park and include personal grills, barbecues (except in designated areas), alcohol, illegal drugs, speakers, amplifiers and fireworks. In addition to the officers stationed at the entry point, other PSD officers will be patrolling the park to make sure that visitors are following the rules and staying safe.Will update when more information obtained.
Sincerely,
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group
UPDATE 2:10 PM - Earlier today I sent this inquiry to RIOC:
I am following up on email below regarding disturbances which occurred on Main Street and Lighthouse Park the evening of July 4.RIOC's Press Spokesperson responded:
Does RIOC have any comment on what occurred?
Also, how many Public Safety Officers were on duty the evening of July 4 and what level was the highest ranking officer supervising on July 4 evening.
Thank you.
The issue was the disbursement of a large 4th of July crowd from Lighthouse Park. When PSD shut down the park, the crowd traveled southbound. Some stopped in front of the M&D Deli, and some continued down toward Blackwell Park. A fight broke out in front of the Deli around midnight. The initiator was apprehended by PSD and summonsed for Disorderly Conduct. NYPD assisted PSD with crowd control on the island. NYPD K-9 units were at the Subway to ensure safe entry into the Subway system.UPDATE 7/8 -The Public Safety Report for 7/4 - 7/5 was not published on RIOC's web site. I asked RIOC for a copy which was provided. Here it is.
7/4/12 - 7:00 AM to 7/5/12 - 7:00 AMThe Daily Public Safety Report made no reference to the Main Street fighting other than the mention of a Disorderly Conduct summons being issued.
Aided - Refused medical attention.
Minor Accident - Vehicle sustained a small scratch after scraping a pillar.
Aided - Transported to hospital.
Found Property - Secured in PSD.
Unsecured Door - Secured by management.
Graffiti - Search conducted with negative results. Service Dept. to clean area.
Disorderly Conduct - Subject was summonsed.
Aided - Transported to hospital.
Fireworks - Two sets of fire crackers confiscated and individual was warned and admonished.
5 comments :
Ok, mr. Kraut is a dumbass.
There was a party shutdown at the lighthouse park and the "youth" dispersed onto main street. All I saw was about 15 psd officers on the street, and apparently someone called nypd for additional backup. When nypd arrived none of their officers got out of their vehicles.
Psd did a mighty fine of, knowing they were outnumbered maybe 200 or so individuals with 15 of them. Everything eventually was under control after an hour or two. I did observe this from the street, not from a bar getting drunk like mr.kraut.
is it really necessary to call people names? You can make your point without insults, can't you?
How is your observation so much different than Mr. Kraut's? Are you just taking an issue with the fact that he described some of the cars and officers as NYPD instead of PSD? Everything else is pretty much identical with the exception of tone and eloquence.
I saw the crowd that night coming back from watching the fireworks from a party in Manhattan on the Hudson River. There were several police cars - lit up - and to me it looked like City - not PSD - cops were sort of ushering a large crowd of what appeared to be off-island partiers North on Main St. One of the subjects was pushing a shopping cart filled with barbeque-related items - so I figured there must have been a giant bbq 4th of July party somewhere on the island and the cops were simply trying to close down the park, and thus had to clear out the partiers. I didn't see any fighting - everyone seemed fairly peaceable to me. I was surprised at the size of the crowd and the fact that none of them seemed to be walking into Island buildings, so I concluded that they were all from off-Island. I also wondered how they were going to return to their homes - had they walked up from Southpoint Park? Had they been bbq-ing at Blackwell Park? (I'm not sure bbq-ing is allowed at either park, though.) It didn't occur to me that they had come from Lighthouse Park because they were clearly heading north up Main St from Blackwell Park. Maybe some had taken the train back to their homes by the time the remainder headed back up Main St - to get to their cars at Motorgate? Or to walk across the RI Bridge back to Queens? Or were they going to wait for Q102 buses on Main St.? One thing I can say, bbq-ing is really big at Rainey Park across the E. Channel of the E. River from RI - with large bbq's held there all the time. Maybe RI is near enough for some residents of W. Queens to simply walk over and bbq here. Like Guerra says, as long as park users follow the rules, there should be no problem with off-island bbq-ers. OTOH, this was really a large crowd... it's hard to believe they could all really fit into and find a place to sit at Lighthouse Park even.
Leave Big Dave alone I thought his description was fine
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