Police blotter
Two men take bullets during violent
East Village home invasion: police
BY DEAN MOSES
Twin brothers were shot and wounded during
an apparent home invasion in the East Village
at a public housing complex on Tuesday
night, police reported.
Cops rushed to a 911 call about the incident
at about 9:50 p.m. on Dec. 22 inside a 14th fl oor
apartment within the Lillian Wald Houses at 940
East 4th Walk.
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
A member of EMS rushes back to
an ambulance.
At approximately 9:50 pm on Tuesday night, police
responded to an emergency call after a group of men
knocked on an apartment door and began shooting
Alleged subway creep booked for setting train
fire in Harlem that killed MTA motorist: cops
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
A Bronx man picked up in
Brooklyn on Friday for allegedly
molesting a female
MTA worker has been charged
withsetting fi re to a subway train
in Harlem in March that led to an
MTA motorman’s death, police
announced Friday.
Nathaniel Avinger, 50, of East
162nd Street is accused of torching
a Bronx-bound 2 train near the
110th Street station early on the
morning of March 27. The blaze
wound up injuring several passengers
and led to the death of Garrett
Goble, 36, a motorman who was
found at the scene unconscious on
the tracks.
Cops said Avinger was originally
picked up on Dec. 16 for allegedly
groping a 41-year-old female MTA
employee at the Utica Avenue station
on the 3/4 line in Brooklyn.
at a family of brothers inside of the New York City
Housing Authority’s Lillian Wald complex.
Three men were injured during the attack, the
twin 29-year-olds sustained gunshot wounds. One
man was shot in the hip while the second sustained
a bullet injury to his pelvis.
The youngest brother, a 26-year-old man was
struck across the head with an unknown object.
All three individuals were rushed to Bellevue
Hospital. The victims are in stable condition, police
reported. Cops are now searching for three men
who were seen fl eeing in an unknown direction
following the incident.
NYPD cruisers were seen circling the area in
search of suspects while the entrance to 940 East
4th Walk swiftly became a revolving door of offi cers
and detectives. At this time, police sources can not
provide a description of the suspects or a motive
behind the invasion.
Offi cers from the 9th Precinct canvassed the
area, but no arrests have been made. The investigation
is ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts
can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS
(for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also
submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or
on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages
are kept confi dential.
The alleged arsonist, identified
by police as Nathaniel
Avinger of the Bronx, is
accused of setting fire to a 2
train in Harlem that killed an
MTA motorman.
Detectives brought him for further
questioning, and linked him to the
March 27 blaze, law enforcement
sources said.
About a month after the fi re, on
April 30, police classifi ed Goble’s
death as a homicide. Avinger was
subsequently booked on Dec. 16 on
a murder charge.
Woman takes fatal leap off
the Vessel in Hudson Yards,
police report
BY DEAN MOSES
An unidentifi ed 24-year-old
plunge off the Vessel in Hudson
Yards on Tuesday morning.
The incident, believed to be a
suicide, happened at about 11:44
a.m. on Dec. 22 at the 16-story,
honeycomb-like spiral staircase
at the heart of the new business,
retail and residential complex at 20
Hudson Yards.
NYPD offi cers and EMS units
responded to the scene and pronounced
have withheld her identity, pending
family notifi cation.
Offi cers from the 10th Precinct
and Hudson Yards security quickly
set up a perimeter preventing foot
traffi c from entering the strip leading
to the mall opposite the Vessel.
Personnel at the scene put up a
white tent, clutching it as the heavy
Law enforcement agents said
Avinger rode the Bronx-bound
2 train, which emanated out of
Flatbush, Brooklyn at about 2:15
a.m. on March 27. Just about an
hour later, he allegedly set fi re to
the train car as it pulled into the
110th Street-Lenox Avenue station
in Harlem.
Upon arriving at the scene,
fi refi ghters found three men and a
woman inside the station suffering
from smoke inhalation. Paramedics
rushed them to Mount Sinai Hospital
and Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital
in stable condition.
Firefi ghters then found Goble
lying on the tracks near the burned
car. EMS brought him to Mount
Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead.
The blaze caused major damage
to the both train cars as well as the
station. The 110th Street stop had
to be closed for 10 days for repairs.
female lost her life after
apparently taking a deadly
the female dead. Police
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
On Dec. 22 a woman reportedly
jumped off the Hudson
Yards Vessel Building.
winds swayed it harshly, to help
conceal the jumper’s body from
onlookers. At 1:25 p.m., the body
was removed and taken to a local
hospital.
Tourists and holiday shoppers
who were visiting the 2020 building
of the year, expecting to see the
2,500-step spiral staircase with 80
landings, were immediately turned
away at the corner before being
able to even glance at the Vessel.
NYPD is investigating the
scene, and the alleged jumpers
motives are unknown.
Greenwich Village bully slugs
man repeatedly with his fist
for his property: cops
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Police need the public’s
help in fi nding a tough
guy who accosted and
repeatedly punched a man in
Greenwich Village, then robbed
him of his wallet, earlier this
month.
The attack happened at about
11:20 p.m. on the night of Dec.
4 at the corner of Waverly Place
and Gay Street, where the attacker
confronted the 23-yearold
victim.
Law enforcement sources
said the perpetrator pulled the
man’s jacket up over his head,
then repeatedly punched him
in the face and demanded his
property. The victim complied
with the bully’s request, handing
over his wallet and iPhone.
After obtaining the victim’s
belongings, cops said, the suspect
took off on foot and was
last seen at the West 4th Street-
Washington Square subway
station.
The mugging was reported
to the 6th Precinct; the victim
suffered minor injuries including
pain and redness to his face.
On Dec. 16, the NYPD released
a photo of the crook from
the West 4th Street station soon
after the assault.
Anyone with information
regarding his whereabouts
can call Crime Stoppers at
800-577-TIPS (for Spanish,
dial 888-57-PISTA). You can
also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.
com, or on Twitter
@NYPDTips. All calls and
messages are kept confi dential.
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