Two men beat another man in front of a building on West 93rd street between West End Avenue and Riverside Drive around 9 p.m. on Thursday following at least one gunshot on the block, a witness tells us.
Sam, who lives on 93rd between West End and Riverside, says he ran to his window after hearing what sounded like a gunshot. (We also heard reports of shots fired from other people who live in the area.) He said he saw two men beating up a third man.
“They were on him for about 2 minutes but it was really brutal, stomping on him, punching him. The guy was completely defenseless,” wrote Sam. People began yelling at the assailants from their windows saying they called the cops, and the two men ran away toward West End and jumped in a Southbound cab. The man who had been beaten was able to walk away afterward. “I still can’t believe he got up and walked away,” Sam wrote. He did not think any of the people involved in the fight had been hit by gunfire. A knife was also found at the scene.
Update: A 22-year-old Upper West Sider named Anthony Steward was reportedly arrested for firing a shot from a .25-caliber semiautomatic gun. He told police that two men were trying to rob him so he shot at them to scare them off. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and reckless endangerment.
“During a canvas of Riverside Park by officers from the 20th Precinct, they found Steward walking on a park pathway near 93rd Street without a shirt and bleeding, police said. He was brought to St. Luke’s Hospital and released after being treated for flesh wounds from the fight, including a cut on his arm and bruising, [Capt. Marlon] Larin said.”
Apparently the area was full of police officers more than an hour after the fight, and three areas of the street were taped off, other witnesses told us.
Another person who lives on the block says that she heard one person was stabbed.
I arrived home from work at 9:40 tonight and West 93rd was blocked off by police cars and crime tape between WEA and Riverside. Detectives were interviewing witnesses who said that 15 minutes before I arrived there had been a loud fight between 3 men; one was stabbed and another pulled out a gun and several shots rang out. All three men then fled (2 northbound, 1 west into the park.) A lone ball cap was left on the street from one of the men – an eerie reminder of what had taken place just minutes before. All of the neighborhood residents watching the scene kept remarking how this kind of thing “just doesn’t happen on the UWS” and the “UWS is the safest neighborhood in Manhattan.”
Sam helped the police find the victim, who was found in Riverside Park without his shirt on. He said the beating did not appear to be a random attack. “This was definitely not a random act of violence there is some kind of back story or history to it.”
A police spokesman did not have any details about the fight or gunshots when we checked in around 11 p.m.
Photo by Emily.
sickening.
Maybe the Finest from the 24 could have been there to protect us from the gunshots and beatings if their CO wasn’t so worried about sending them off to harass and ticket the real threat to our community, the bicyclists!
@ Steve, 2 things:
1. The cops arrived in less time than it took me to take the elevator down in my bldg.
2. The guy that got beat fled to Riverside, cops found the gun around where they apprehended him, he was not an innocent guy walking down the street, he more likely fired a shot in a highly residential neighborhood.
@Steve I have almost been hit by cyclist many times while trying to cross RSD at 97th. I for one am glad they are ticketing cyclists for running red lights.
Also, this seems like the wrong article for your snide comment.
good coverage, Avi. just the facts. thank you.
of course this sort of thing happens on the UWS… and always has. it happens on the UES as well!
You can’t completely sanitize the neighborhood, no matter how much “UWSMom” wants to. This is still NYC, and still the UWS. For the sake of nostalgia, I present the following to you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrEmF4SK3T4
Hi What’s up -One of the truly disturbing things about these post replies is that some of the few nasty posters presume to assume what another poster thinks about an issue. What’s interesting is that I have stayed completly out of this dialogue, so you have zero idea what my thoughts are. Shocking, but I agree that these things happen all of the city AND all over the country, so I would not condemn the UWS. This was a drug related crime and not a strile against an otherwise innocent resident. The 24 does a great job with limited resources and they should be commended, as should the many residents who tried to intervene. Did this incident occur because of the increase in SRO’s and undesirables, hence more drug activity – absolutely! Do I want to “sanitize” this problem on UWS above 86th St, as well as eradicate the rat population -absolutely. Do I want to see an improvement in educational opportunities on the UWS side- absolutely. If that constitutes an “insane rant” in your mind, then there’s little hope for the UWS unless people like you leave and take your debris with you. For those of us whose families have lived through all that already (yes, like Peggy Olson in the 70’s on UWS) we’d like to improve the quality of life here and not return to decline. Hope that’s not a problem for you.
I agree totally with you WestSide Mom. Let’s make the UWS great again. But why so tame and tepid in your post this time? Come on, Baby! Get your Groove Back! We need your Chutzpah to help change the minds of the ignorant and otherwise uninitiated to the former majesty of the great UWS.
“There are no more junkies at 103rd and Broadway waiting for the connection. The connection has gone somewhere else. But the feel of junk is still there. It hits you at the corner, follows you along the block, then falls away like a discouraged panhandler as you walk on.”
– William Burroughs
LOL the Baseball Fury on 72nd street and bway! that was my reference!
I just watched on Netflix , “The Panic in Needle Park” .. 1971 Verdi Square.
Wow – all I can say… yes, a movie, but wow the area looked awful. How did it go from the Mad Men era of hats and gloves in the 60s to a sh+thole by the early 70s?
scary that it can devolve so fast again.
Apparently you don’t watch Mad Men. Peggy Olson’s brownstone, in a “bad neighborhood”, was on the UWS… purchased circa ’67.
Nor, apparently, are you familiar with the plot of West Side Story.
My point being that most of the UWS was not considered an elite neighborhood in the 60s.
Bruce -I thought we have an understanding that you do not respond to my comments and vice versa.
I see you are noticeably quiet about the sh*t show known as Freedom house. but what can else can be expected from the hypocritical limo liberal set.
You think those people don’t know better, so they are allowed to do whatever. I think all people -including the poor multigenerational welfare dependent class are the same as everyone else and should be part of main stream society and act accordingly.
please do not respond to this email – but I know you will – so readers, you know what my response will be to Bruce’s hyprocisy , intolerance of anything that is not the extremist party line.
I will leave it at that.
Have a good weekend all and I hope no one gets mugged.
Guyton Gomez: i think West Side Story was supposed to be on or near San Juan Hill…that is also what Wikipedia says. San Juan Hill was a neighborhood that was torn down to build Lincoln Center.
Yes, I read the posting on Freedom House. I haven’t read all the (many) comments. why do i have to comment on everything? i have a few thoughts that I might put down if I get a chance… but it was the sort of thing that required a little more thought… since i was busy i didn’t get to write anything. thank you for asking.
Bruce — do be sure to read the article on the Freedom house bust. How is it the only articles on the WSR you miss are ones that document something appalling at the shelter?
By the way, if I’m not mistaken, West Side Story was Hell’s Kitchen, not the upper west side.
PS saying “you can’t respond to anything I write” is a form of bullying and/or attempted intimidation.
more ranting… and nasty name calling. please try and control yourself.
There has been a rash of crime near us recently. I’ve lived here for 7 years and never seen a thing happen.
Last week 2 guys were arrested on 87th at CPW right outside my window after they mugged an older lady around the corner.
Today while walking the dog I saw 3 more guys get arrested (one evidently had a gun) at 86th and Columbus after robbing a woman at 88th and CPW.
Steve is right, take care of the real crime before the bikes. Sure the bikes are a nuisance but I don’t tell my wife that it’s unsafe for her to walk the dog because of bikes.
If things don’t change it might be time to move.
Liam, clearly we know how to police our city. Guiliani , bloomberg and Ray Kelly have shown us that.
Their hands have been tied by the City council and know the mayor’s office. But, with a city controlled by extremists liberals (not the core centrist democrat party) and supporters like you know who , this is the result.
Sad very sad but true.
This old new yorker knows.
That’s crazy talk… the cops are the same cops and the rules are the same rules.. with the exception of driving up to a group of kids and pushing them against a wall and doing a cavity search a few times a week…
as if you have actually ever seen that happen.
the cops know when folks are up to no good.
But now they are held personally responsible, cannot question suspicious characters, have another third party to oversee them, are not allowed to patrol the inside of the NYCHA projects,,,, all these changes in last few months.
Keep dreaming if you think it has no affect.
well said, Joey.
is this the same Ray Kelly who was first appointed police commissioner by David Dinkins? Or did Giuliani’s police commissioner, Bill Bratton, do a better job?
For G. Gomez: Lincoln Center now sits on the site where West Side Story was filmed. Most of the buildings used were abandoned and scheduled for demolition as part of 60s urban renewal. I do know that
Hell’s Kitchen was the turf for Irish gangs, notably The Westies.
Hell’s Kitchen was also the site of conflict between the Puerto Rican and Irish gangs depicted in West Side story. They may have found it convenient to film the movie a little further north (if it was empty and scheduled for demolition, the Lincoln Center site would have been perfect — much better than using similar buildings in Hell’s Kitchen that were still occupied), but I do think the action the film depicted took place 10-20 blocks to the south. (The Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood Association seems to think so. https://hknanyc.org/hood.html) Thanks for the info — I didn’t know that about the Lincoln Center site!
The film adaptation of “A Thousand Clowns” (1962??) shows the neighborhood you’re describing quite well.
More of this coming under Comrade De Blasio.
A few corrections, San Juan Hill was 103rd st between B’way
and West End Ave., The Lincoln Center site had a large greek
population, Commerce HS was there. The rivalry was mostly
between the Irish teens and the others, Hispanic, Jewish and.
Black. The gangs were well organized. The largest gang were
The Royals SAC, there was a Life magazine cover story about
them in the 1940’s. The Irish dominated till the mid fifties
and started moving to the Bronx and Queens as the Hispanics
were moving in. The Jews started moving tp the East side
post WW2. The main stabilizing part of the UWS was rent
control.
the area now occupied by Lincoln Center was an historic African-American community in NYC known as San Juan Hill:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Hill,_Manhattan
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/manhattans-long-gone-san-juan-hill/
https://untappedcities.com/2014/03/19/vintage-photos-the-lost-san-juan-hill-lincoln-center-and-a-west-side-story/
I have lived in the neighborhood for 15 years, and there is no doubt that the west 90s have been in decline for the last 5 or so years. I generally avoid walking north of 86th after dark when I am alone, and would never, ever considering living between 87th and 110th now.
The fact that this is happening, when vast swaths of the city continue to become safer and more livable (including the rest of the UWS), is embarrassing.
Chris, that sounds like an absurdly blanket generalization and slightly hysterical. I do not perceive that danger, and walk north of 86th Street more than daily without incident…so do my friends and neighbors. Maybe you can specify exactly on what blocks you perceive such danger?
Wendy, I agree with you. I run in Riverside Park at night and also regularly walk up and down Bway late at night from 86 — 110th. Since I’ve seen all the comments about “the deteriorating neighborhood” i’ve tried to notice if there were more homeless people. I don’t see it. For example, in a recent nighttime run in Riverside from 95th to 72nd, I saw one elderly homeless person and a few (apparently non homeless) teenagers hanging out.
I live on W. 95th, down the block from the shelter. I’ve noticed no exterior changes on the block. sales prices continue to go up in my condo building — way up — as do market rate rents. While I don’t have direct experience in other buildings, i’m reasonably confident that is the case with other buildings on the block.
It does seem to be declining…. Maybe the answer is a formalized neighborhood watch program, although given the events of the other night, it would have ended badly had these thugs been confronted.
Lincoln center has their own security team, given the affluence of the residents up here it would probably be worth exploring. I for one would be happy to contribute if it meant safer streets. Just my .02.
Occupy W90s?
Hi, I lived on the UWS in the early 70’s and it was Scary… seems we’re having a repeat of then!
For those of you who fail to see a declining neighborhood in the West 90’s, you’re either blind, in denial. More loiterers, panhandlers, and sidewalk sleepers are in front of us every day and night. You do a disservice to our neighborhood by rationalizing every car theft, shooting, beating, and burglary something that happens every neighborhood. Does that mean we should accept it? The fact is that these incidents are on the rise, and something should be done about it.
of course something should ALWAYS be done about crime… and apparently the police dept is doing a pretty good job of responding quickly, based on the report in West Side Rag on the recent uptick in car break-ins. but from what I understand, based in part on statistics posted on another thread on this site, crime in the UWS and in the W. 90s is NOT up in any significant way. it’s important to do somethign but also important to get the facts straight.
no, I do not see obvious signs of “a declining neighborhood”, and the continued increase in rents and sales prices, as well as commercial rents, says the opposite. I have watched carefully because I read all the cries of doom and gloom here. (and because I’m a condo owner.) I don’t see more vagrants in Riverside Part nor on Bway at night. I run in Riverside at night and see almost no homeless.
On W. 95th Street, i don’t deny that people living in the homeless shelters (the old SRO tenants) or next door facing the shelter will have problems with noise and other sorts of things that have been reported here. But I don’t see any signs of decline on W. 95th street itself, which was always a busy through street. Yes, you have middle aged people, many with health problesm and down on their luck, hanging out on the stoops of the shelter in small groups. So what? they are no threat to anyone, are perfectly friendly, and saying this represents “decline” is exageration or worse.
I actually kind of like having neighbors hang out on stoops, like the old days. The people from the shelter are not the only ones on the block who do so.
Paul, we all agree with you.
those who don’t are “progressive” ostriches with their head in the sand refusing to acknowledge things that go against their politics, but are reality.
“we all” agree with you… except for those who don’t!
PEOPLE. Can we stop fighting with each other and figure out together how to get this garbage out of our neighborhood???
Seriously, what do we do?
Yes! Let’s get “Freedom” House out.
I’m not sure that we do have Brewer and Rosenthal’s support. I believe Brewer made the backpack comment in an attempt to keep our neighborhood as a neighborhood and not allow it to become another times square. BUT, tourists go all over this city, so if there is a hotel or two in on the UWS, so what? There are similar situations in London – small, affordable hotels in residential areas that offer what busy neighborhoods cannot. I believe her other intent was to keep affordable housing going for new yorkers and not lose that housing to cater to tourists. CLEARLY this has backfired, as the landlords were losing money and when Bloomberg (who I support on most of his policies) decided to house all homeless, the owners were thrown a bunch of money to do it. Most business owners would do the same.
Now, Brewer has wised up to the can of worms she has opened, but I’m not sure she is anti-shelter. I have heard her speak in person at block association meetings. She is livid that the landlords are making so much money, but she does not have a problem with the UWS bearing more than its share of shelters. She is SUPER LIBERAL. And as long as she represents the UWS, we will deal with her policies.
well said, MJ , well said.
fyi II: Brewer no longer represents JUST the UWS. She is now Borough Pres and represents all of Manhattan.
She carried 85-90% of the vote in the area around Freedom House, so someone must agree with her “super liberal” policies.
85% of the electorate stayed home and did not vote.
nice twist , twisty
Bruce, I clicked your link, went to page 28, and here’s what I have learned.
Central Harlem – 22 shelter
East Harlem – 15 Shelters
Lower East Side – 15 Shelters
Morningside Heights – 9 Shelters (which we border)
Upper West Side – 4 Shelters
Every other CD – 2 or less
Doesn’t something seem wrong to here??
see p 4 of the Comptroller’s report for a map which shows pretty graphically that UWS is not one of the concentrations of homeless shelters. We have more than UES… but still a very low number.
here is the Comptroller’s report on siting of homeless shelters, from May 2013. See p 28 for shelter siting in Manhattan. All Community Boards are roughly the same size in population. We have 4 shelters; Central Harlem CB, 22.
https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/20130509_NYC_ShelterSiteReport_v24_May.pdf
Yes I do understand Bruce. I also know her policies, and she “advises” in accordance with them. She didn’t want tourists. She wanted SROs, and she got shelters.
And yes, I do understand the difference between supportive housing and shelters. I live near supportive housing. Sadly, it’s not much better.
What is the community board number for other neighborhoods…the UES, the village, tribeca. Are their zones the same size as ours? I wonder if we have more per capita.
MJ, with all due respect: are you aware of how city govt works? the powers and responsibilities of various offices?
she represents all of Manhattan, which is not “the city.” Gale Brewer is Borough President. She has some influence but is not the Mayor and cannot just move homeless shelters hither and yon.
And if you wanna argue that she didn’t cause this, fine. But now as you say she represents the city, so it’s her job to clean it up!
Gale Brewer is not “stashing all the shelters here.” The shelter on W. 95th was placed before she became Manhattan BP; in any case, it is up to DHS; the BP has at best an advisory role.
Actually, the UWS DOES NOT have more than its fair share of homeless shelters. The recent Comptroller’s report showed that we have only 4 in all of Community Board 7 — one of the lowest number in Manhattan.
People often get confused between homeless shelters and supportive housing. Many of the projects people cite are what is called “supportive housing”, which is permanent housing.
I support MORE supportive housing throughout the city as this gets people with mental health and substance abuse issues off the street. it is proven to work.
She made a comment about tourists, Bruce! Whatever bag they carry isn’t the issue. She didn’t want loud, noisy, partying TOURISTS. She wanted AFFORDABLE HOUSING, which was a good intent. But it backfired and now we have shelters. And tourists. But not the kind who pay for a room. The kind who sit on the corner with their dogs and loiter for money.
If she represents all of Manhattan, then why is she stashing the shelters here? I’m guessing it’s those like yourself who fail to see what the shelter does to the neighborhood. How can you deny what is happening right in front of your face? I realize it may be hard to swallow, but to look at a circle and insist it’s a square is downright nuts.
fyi, Brewer NEVER MADE “the backpack comment.” See thread below.
MJ, I wish I were smart enough to know what the silver bullet is to clean up this area, but my opinion is that the following will help.
– Contact the office of CW Helen Rosenthal, who supports a closure of Freedom House, and has indicated that she agrees that the UWS has an unfair oversaturation of shelters. Further, contact the offices of Comptroller Scott Stringer, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, and the Mayor himself. Community Board 7 should also be used to lodge complaints and concerns. WE MUST KEEP THE PRESSURE ON OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. If your landlord, condo or co-op board is in agreement, then they should also voice their concerns to the offices above on behalf of your building.
– Call 911 to report any crime, large or small. The “Broken Window” theory of crime-fighting works. By letting even the smallest crimes go unreported, in theory they will lead to larger crimes as well as a downgrade in quality-of-life. And by the way, Aggressive panhandling is a crime. The police will respond.
– Individual businesses (and landlords in the case of empty storefronts) are responsible for trash in front of their stores, and they can get fined if they don’t clean up. Call 311 for this, as well as passive panhandling.
– Support Neighborhood In The Nineties (www.n90s.org) as they have been instrumental in representing the West ’90’s in trying to improve our quality of life. They are suing the DHS and the City to close the Freedom House shelter.
And finally, the West Side Rag itself. How great is it to be able to have a venue to be able to bring these issues to light?
Anyone out there have any other suggestions?
Thanks Paul RL,
This is a great reply. We need to work together. We can point fingers at each other all day long, insult each other’s blocks, name call, etc., but I don’t think anyone is HAPPY about this.
We have such a great community on the UWS, it’s full of families, it’s a great place to be. But the city treats us like we are bleeding heart liberals who will put up with anything.
If you were the DOH, would you sneak a shelter in a nabe where the people are so busy fighting amongst themselves that they’ll never notice (UWS) or the nabe where they will voice their opinion and get something done about it (UES)
This is why we are where we are.
see map on Comptroller’s Report p 4, it is obvious that we don’t have “more than our share” (though we do have more than Upper East Side).
Agree whole heartedly that we should not fight.
Some just do not like to hear anything but the party line.
I do think it is worth pointing the finger at L. Rosenthal and Brewer who sponsored and made into law the bill that outlawed SRO Hotels from doing business as transient hotels. (using the fire code as the hook, I think).
If only because the two of them are in a position to do something about the results now.
I do recall a quote from Brewer about her sniffing that she does not know about you, but she does not wish to share the sidewalks with student backpackers – or something to that affect.
First, that is an unbelievably snobby comment, second, why are young visitors who pay their way and need affordable nightly housing not okay , but young heroin addicts from all over and their dogs are okay to swarm our streets every spring/summer to aggressively solicit residents and use your streets as beds and bathrooms…
again not into fighting among us, but something must be done.
Blaming this all on Brewer and Rosenthal has the hallmarks of a political agenda. In any case, if you want to get both the buildings restored to non-shelter status, you better have Brewer and Rosenthal’s support.
1) I doubt Gale Brewer ever made that comment about “back packers.” It certainly sounds apocryphal. Anyone who knows her knows that she doesn’t speak that way and is hardly a snob.
2) I think the idea of stopping the SROs from being converted into short stay hotels was to defend an important remaining stock of affordable housing. For example, there are SRO tenants remaining in the buildings.
3) SROs with rent-regulated units indeed can be profitable on the UWS. In fact, there are more than a few remaining that ARE profitable. They just don’t generate super-profits.
4) Trying to blame the situation on Brewer and Linda Rosenthal does not jive with reality. It was BLOOMBERG who signed a no-bid contract. Brewer and Rosenthal have opposed this from the beginning and argued that it does not match the letter or intent of their law.
5) Even Neighborhood in the 90s now argues that the buildings should return to rent-regulated SRO status.
Couldn’t agree more. What’s wrong with backpackers?? What I don’t get it why Rosenthal agreed with Brewer on this and now they both claim they are against Freedom House.
MJ, you hit the nail on the head here. I spoke to DHS myself last year about Freedom House. When I complained that we had become a dumping ground against our will, the woman that I spoke to pointed the finger at the Upper West Side itself, claiming that basically we asked for it, because of our “historical tradition” of helping those in need. Needless to say, as a proud Upper West Sider, I was enraged that they would use this excuse as a rationale to abuse us.
Wow, I can’t believe they actually said that to you! I am floored.
can you please define what “garbage” it is you are trying to get out of the neighborhood? that is open to wide interpretation.
Happy to, Bruce. The shelter. Period.
Ever since it opened, we have had a decline. Perhaps not a financial decline (at least not yet) but a safety decline. I realize you strongly disagree, but let’s put that aside for a moment. You are entitled to your opinion.
It placed in our nabe without approval. I don’t care at this point who’s fault it is, but I will say that had SRO been allowed to continue operating a hotel, this can of worms might not have been opened.
The UWS has been treated with less respect than other neighborhoods for years now. Perhaps because we have been branded as liberals, perhaps the city thinks we are more willing to put up with bearing more than our fair share of shelters (which the UES would NEVER do). Whatever the reason, we have been burdened with too many shelters and as a result, there has been a decline in safety.
I don’t understand it either. I love our nabe. It certainly costs a lot, yet there is no denying that it has become a dumping ground.
MJ, thanks for the reasoned and respectful response. I don’t think people really understand what my point of view is on the whole thing. It has been mischaracterized so many times. I’ll try to give a more detailed response when i get a chance.
who is this “we” you keep referring to above?
WE understand your point of view loud and clear.
We just do not agree with it.
why is that so hard to understand.
I am sure you face the same reality if you ever talked to another human being , outside of your political clubs and FDR rallies.
I rest my case.
Bring back the Guardian Angels!
Well, I can only speculate, but its the law of unintended consequences. L. Rosenthal and Brewer thought they would force the units back into SRO use. But. The other city agencies were laying in wait to fill the beds because of the unconstitutional court ordered ruling to house every single person who demands it (from wherever).
Also, Brewer and L Rosenthal where told that by the sro owners before the law was passed – so they cannot plead ignorance.
Here is what politicians do not understand – the laws for running SROs (passed with the intent to preserve the housing) are so egregious and one sided against the landlords , that they have made it virtually impossible to run as a legitimate SROs and not lose money. That is the truth. Ironically if it was easier to convert them, there maybe more of them.
shelters being crammed with “out of towners”: it’s a myth and a diversion regarding the problem of homelessness:
https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/blog/entry/blaming-the-out-of-towners-and-avoiding-accountability/
https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/blog/entry/fact-checking-blaming-out-of-towners/
commenting and harassing all my comments, and taking them out of context and taking small parts of a larger story and diverting the story for your own left wing agenda is a HARRASSMENT , PERIOD.
CEASE AND DECEASE!!!
NOT TO BE TOLERATED
I will not tolerate this form of bullying.
You continue to use “quotes” when you are clearly not quoting me – its right above your comment for g-ds sake.
I won’t go into details , just look above every time you do it.
Here we are trying to come together as a community to fix a problem and you cannot stop yourself from picking apart misreads of my comments for your own good.
You have your opinion I read them. I disagree with most of them , but do not attack your right to speak.
You are a bully and your pen is keyboard is harassing me.
please again stop commenting on my comments.
and quote me properly if you ignore my request – note its a request not a demand and not bullying like you.
What did up you do to Bernstein? He really seems to have it out for you
I speak the truth Cyrus.
a Jewish upper west side democrat that does not cow tow to extremist liberal agenda.
It makes him go ballistic.
Especially if you dare to do anything but fawn over the democrats elected in our district. even if they are the ones who caused the current situation (an inconvenient fact).
We all know the joke is on him, with his twisting of words , exaggerations then claims of persecution. its really sad and pathetic. Especially when the comments where about getting together as a Community to fix the problem no matter what your personal political beliefs are.
But I will not be intimidated by him. Gotta love his faux story about not having time to read the comments on Freedom House and therefore not commenting himself. As if..
woops, it didn’t take the quote…
Webot said:
“You have your opinion I read them. I disagree with most of them , but do not attack your right to speak…
please again stop commenting on my comments.”
you do realize that, on an open message board, that most certainly is attacking my right to speak.
i always respond substantively — as I did above regarding the much-repeated myth that out of towners are filling up the homeless shelters. they are not. a very small percentage are out of towners.
Twisty, I never said “the much-repeated myth that out of towners are filling up the homeless shelter”
Reading in fundamental. and note the proper use of “quotes”.
when you repeat the exact wording or saying of another.
I wrote, “The other city agencies were laying in wait to fill the beds because of the unconstitutional court ordered ruling to house every single person who demands it (from wherever).”
I wrote “from wherever” – that is indeed a fact that we must house all. Did I say the out of towners are the majority or a large minority or anything about a number? no.. so you twist again, grabbing a kernel of information and running with it in the wrong direction, making arguments where there are none.
Regarding Brewer, I recalled a quote for 3 years ago.. was i exact? No, i even said I “recall” … and she did make a snide remark about backpackers. So that was the point.
You are the bully, please take a hard look in th mirror. You seem to have plenty of time.
i respond substantively. you apparently find that too much to handle… without constantly flying off the handle.
Webot said:
<>
of course that is attacking my right to speak. I have the right to contribute to threads. You apparently don’t like what i say so want me not to contribute.
twist twist twist.
Pot calling kettle black
You called me every name in the book trying to shut me up.
We the silent majority on the UWS has had it with your extremists controlling the agenda.
The world has changed and you have not,
I tried to have an agreement with you to avoid each other. But those days are over. If you felt like I hurt your feelings before (boohoo) , I am back now with my opinions no holding back.
NY Post, 1/20/11
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live next door to a tourist who’s young and partying,” sniffed City Council member Gale Brewer.
https://nypost.com/2011/01/20/your-fiends-neighbors/
ironically, the column you link to by Andrea Peyser — known for her inaccuracies and over-the-top rhetoric — appears to be BACKING the homeless shelter and attacking its opponents as hypocrites. But her fats are so screwed up it is hard to tell which project she is talking about.
I find your attempts to hide Ms. Brewer’s responsibility for this whole mess politically unethical.
Says the guy who quotes the unbiased and totally trustworthy Coalition for the Homeless.
the Coalition for the Homeless provided facts re: the population with footnotes, sources etc. if you want to argue that their facts and/or anaylsis are wrong, on the merits, please be my guest. but we shoudl at the very least take what they say into account.
And they have a far better track record than Andrea Peyser and the NY Post.
do they have a lobbying budget that dwarfs the reach of the NY Post?
if they are “spinning”, then you should be able to counter the data they cite.
they are an advocacy organization… which doesn’t mean their point of view should be dismissed. I really don’t understant that posture. obviously Coalition for the Homeless has something important to say.
They don’t put out facts. They put out spin. They have a yearly lobbying budget that dwarfs Andrea Peyser’s salary.
Hardly ironic, I would say she was extremely accurate in her assessment.
sorry about your reading combrension.
that’s not complaining about sidewalks crammed with backpackers. it’s complaining about noise… which is the most common complaint in NYC 311.
and “sniffed” was basically a pejorative comment placed there by the NY Post. hardly dispassionate language.
who said anything out sidewalks , unless you mean the homeless summer invasion of drug addicts.
but there you go again,,, twist twist .
you would make a lousy lawyer.
Dude, you apparently don’t even remember the things you say in the very same thread.
Webot said (above):
“I do recall a quote from Brewer about her sniffing that she does not know about you, but she does not wish to share the sidewalks with student backpackers – or something to that affect.”
the so-called “quote” from Brewer about “not wanting to share sidewalks with backpackers” has been repeated numerous times in these comments — not only by you, although you werd the most recent. Brewer never said it! and in fact in the Peyser column she says nothing at all about backpackers.. no “snide remarks.”
when we marashall our arguments, let’s please try to base them on actual facts.
People have repeated over and over that Gale Brewer complained about “sharing the sidewalk with backpackers”, and used that to show how she is out of touch.
Then, when I point out how she NEVER SAID THAT, and said something entirely different — she complained about the all-night noise residents face when living next to an illegal hotel — I’m told, “who cares about the exact wording.”
Fine… the next time you trash Brewer, please use the ACTUAL quote as an example. You’ll see how silly your argument becomes.
One should not simply make up quotes and attribute them to public officials. that is politically unethical.
“Dude” –
Who cares about the exact wording of what she said. That is just more subterfuge by you.
We as a community need to get together and do something about this major issue. Others and I think Gale Brewer should be held accountable and help since her law is the direct cause – that is an undisputed fact.
Your attempts at mucking the waters and hijacking the conversation on SOLUTIONS is over.
You like the status quo, We don’t
Brewer really needs to be held accountable for this. There’s also an SRO/drug treatment/rehab townhouse on 102nd between WEA and Riverside Dr that’s an utter disgrace. How it got there is a mystery to me. But what I’ve seen is that since these blighters arrived graffiti tagging has hit the nabe, along with menacing loitering on street corners that previously had none & barely concealed drug dealing. Also it seems there’s no time limit on living there. Some of the residents I see now were there 18 months ago. We really are suckers on the UWS. Or at least the pols see us that way.
People might be interested in the Comptroller’s Report from May 2013 on siting of homeless shelters. Please see p 4 and p 28 — it is very clear that the UWS actually has a LOW number of homeless shelters (4 in CB7).
https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/20130509_NYC_ShelterSiteReport_v24_May.pdf
Yes, people may be interested. Here’s what page 28 says:
Central Harlem – 22 shelters
East Harlem – 15 Shelters
Lower East Side – 15 Shelters
Morningside Heights – 9 Shelters (which we border)
Upper West Side – 4 Shelters
Every other CD – 2 or less
Doesn’t something seem wrong to here??
59 community boards in NYC — CB7 is 1.7% of city (1/59)
370 shelters in NYC, May 2013… CB 7 had 4, or less than 1.1%.
obviously we have less than our “fair share.”
Bruce, I actually agree with you that those neighborhoods also have more than their fair share. That’s my point. ALL OTHER CBs have 2 or less, and are treated as the better places to live. More hip, up and coming, expensive. We are being treated as the forgotten ones, with a slow, yet noticeable decline. The city has a tendency to treat the new trendy neighborhoods (like Williamsburg) as the fabulous places when they don’t have a shred of what the UWS has to offer. And we are treated like old dogs who are past their prime and will put up with anything.
typo above… I meant W. 95th Street shelters, not “96th Street”.
I wish the Rag Web site had a PREVIEW feature on comments… Avi!
MJ, if you look up Williamsburg (CB 1 / Brookyln), you will see that they have 9 homeless shelters.
I think with the De Blasio decision to end homeless use of one of the two buildings on W. 95th that CB 7 will now have 3 instead of 4. I have to check on this. I think “Freedom House” is counted as 2, not 1.
It is very hard to make the argument that the UWS has become a “homeless dumping ground” based on these statistics.
There’s a lot of other factors. For example, I believe that when people complain about “homelessness”, they are also complaining about the number of supportive housing facilities in our area. But this then gets complicated very fast. Supoportive housing is very important and actually keeps “at-risk” people — people with diabilities, mental illnesses, various types of substance abuse, chronic diseases, HIV — OFF the street.
i thought that two facilities on W. 95th was too much… and I won’t even go into the no-bid contract with an apparently voracious landlord that the Bloomberg administration cut. But i just think it’s a lot more complicated than people make it out to be… and I find many people being knee-jerk in their responses.
For example, what about the population in the 96th St shelters? Do we know how many are elderly? How many sick? How many veterans? Substance abusers? etc. they have to be taken into account.
A very complex issue.
first of all, CB 9, with 9 shelters, is only partially in Morningside Heights. it goes from 110th street to 155th and also includes West Harlem and Hamilton Heights, and what is now called Manhattanville.
if you look at the map, you will see that most of the shelters in CB 9 are in the northern reaches of the district.
it amazes me that people can look at these numbers and say, “gee, the UWS is getting a bum rap.” it shelters are considered negative, then obviously Harlem, E. Harlem, and the Lower east Side are the areas that are getting far more than their “fair share.” not to mention Brookyln and the Bronx.
While I do think society has a responsibility towards the less fortunate my beliefs have been sorely tested by the situation on west 95th b/w Riverside & West End. I find myself avoiding the south side of 95th walking east.
Last week I was called a “white bitch” & spat at while trying to actually pass some residents of the shelter(?). I called the community officer @ 24th precinct & was told to avoid that side of the street! the officer told me ” a lot of the residents are HIV positive & will spit/bite, because they have nothing to loose” Lost for words.
That is awful MWood.
Sorry to hear that happened to you.
Bruce,you seem to have an axe to grind against the people who live in condos, and also the people who live in the market rate housing. I wonder why.
You remind me of the Republican Congressional fillibusters.
You really don’t care how much wind you take, nonsense you spew, and what you say as long as you block progress and positive changes of others. That is appears to be your intent.
ummm… it would be hard for me to have an axe to grind against people who live in condos, as I am one myself. However, I do like to point out that we all receive a large government subsidy (the mortage interest tax deduction, as well as many other forms of property tax subsisidies) and by any measure are MORE SUBSIDIZED than rent-regulated tenants, and probably also people in public housing (on the latter, at the very least it is close).
i have no beef with market rate tenants. those who are long term tenants are victims of the attacks in the last 10 years on the rent stabilization system, and are paying way too much. So I am in sympathy with them.
I DO have a beef with ANYBODY who tries to get rid of long time community residents in public housing, rent stabilization, supportive housing etc. I also have a beef with people who dehumanize people in the homeless shelter or want to treat them as 2nd class or 3rd class citizens.
……and you pay monthly maintenance, you are responsible for home repairs (no calling the super without a charge).
I am sure the condo board must love having you.
Best of luck.
i am sorry I opened the door for yet another diatribe by you.
Of course as I condo owner, you do pay property taxes, transfer taxes (on sale) and mortgage recording tax.
Not to mention you are investing in the City.
So, good for you Bruce!
You win.
Peace out.
I agree about the social responsibility, but I think the shelter also has a social responsibility to stop that from happening.
I am sorry for your experience.
i agree — complain to DHS! By the way, if someone with HIV is spitting, it is an assault.
I walk past the shelters every day and nothing close to that has even happened to me. In fact, I have made several acquaintances who live in the shelter and they are wonderful people.
but then I’m not a woman… i understand it might be worse for women.
My experiences is that the security guards are very good.
Welcome To BB’s wonderful world of the Upper West Side – where the lovely munchkins , I mean shelter/project residents live a happy go lucky life only to be tormented by the evil Queens – I mean rich investment banker condo owners.
agh what a wonderful world.
Now for the rest of here on eath – We need to organize, protest and demand action by the City and politicians who work for us, the community.
a mixed metaphor. Munchkins are get tortured by wicked witches. Red Queens torture Alice.
you seem to have an axe to grind against the people who live in public housing, and also the people who live in the shelters. I wonder why.
this is what happens when limousine liberals decide to save money on the budget by releasing low-level drug-addicted criminals early and with no follow-up or housing or treatment and when
medicaid starts denying working poor or just poor and demented or disabled or just poor medicaid —hence no access to doctors or medication.
save a litle to lose a lot.
more events will occur like this.
the upper west side is not sacrosanct nor immune.
newton ct also tried to save money by not providing services to the miserable.
that didn’t work out neither.
The fact is, if you take in all the homeless shelters and all the other supportive facilities in the neighborhood, we DO have more than our fair share, way more. And it is absolutely affecting personal safety and the quality of life in the West ’90’s and lower 100’s – period.
There is a lot of blame to go around, however I do agree that we need the support of those that are currently in office – yes, even those that might have had a hand in shaping our current situation i.e. Brewer, Stringer, L. Rosenthal et al. Contact them and let them know how you feel!
I’m a pretty liberal guy and believe in rights, etc,etc but bring back stop and frisk. If nothing else it will make people think twice about walking around armed. If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about. I don’t understand the big deal about is.