Cops clean up homeless encampment
across from Stuyvesant Town
BY DEAN MOSES
What began as a routine response
turned into an hours-long
operation Tuesday night for
members of the 13th Precinct who cleared
out a homeless encampment at the corner
of East 15th Street and First Avenue, across
from Stuyvesant Town.
For months, large plastic sheets could be
observed dangling from scaffolding mere feet
away from local schools including P.S. 226
and the High School for Health Professions
and Human Services. Inside the shadowy
dwelling, a menagerie of obscure trinkets had
been collected, ranging from mannequins to
house plants, albeit without the house.
The outcroppings of this crude shelter
were erected in February but grew larger
over the summer as it steadily expanded,
according to residents. Over the course
of its tenure, it was developed along the
sidewalk with shelves, a patio umbrella for
shade, and even a microwave oven — all of
which could been seen lugged out during
the NYPD’s removal process on Tuesday.
The operation began just after 5 p.m.,
when the NYPD was called to deal with a
violent altercation, which led to a suspect
Police removed items from a homeless encampment at the corner of East 15th
Street and First Avenue near Stuyvesant Town.
being apprehended. Following this arrest,
offi cers tore down the encampment and
place the belongings into storage until the
suspect could collect them after release.
According to local residents who stopped
to observe the commotion, the female who
inhabited the area would not only collect
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
items but also design clothing, which she
then sold to passersby with aid from her
boyfriend.
Shetay Lebon, a nearby resident who
would often stop by to speak with the homeless
individuals after learning of a mutual
love of art and fashion told amNewYork
Metro that they are “cool people.”
“The reason why I started talking to
her is because she is like me, she draws
clothes,” Lebon said.
Lebon shared that the homeless woman
would often receive clothes from people,
which she would mend and design.
William Griffi n, a religious volunteer
who distributes food to the homeless
was simply walking by when he stopped
to watch the cleanup. As somebody who
spends vast amounts of his free time attempting
to care for the needy, he has a
vested interest in situations like these.
“It’s been an ongoing war against the
poor. I don’t want to give New York City
a completely bad rap, they spend a ton of
money, I think it’s over a billion dollars
on homeless services annually but this
city does not provide enough support for
homeless people. This is the result. People
have to live some place,” he said.
As Griffi n expressed his concerns for the
homeless, one onlooker shook her head and
mumbled in disgust, “That’s somebody’s
possessions they are touching,” while
another man applauded the action with
cheers, yelling, “Thank you for cleaning
up de Blasio’s mess!”
Vagrant vendors in East Village get tickets
as cops work to break up junk market
BY DEAN MOSES
Sections of the sidewalk between East
14th Street Avenue A and First Avenue
have now been sectioned off to
prevent vagabond peddlers setting up shop.
Caution tape and large cones were
erected early Saturday morning in hopes of
deterring unlicensed vendors from selling
their wares as a part of a weekend, pop-up
fl ea market in front of newly constructed
apartment buildings and neighboring small
businesses.
These measures are reported to have
been taken by private security from a
nearby building after last week’s reports
from amNewYork Metro on the situation.
While this latest effort to control an outof
control market seems to have kept that
section of the sidewalk clear — removing
some homeless main stays from the area
— it has also pushed some sellers further
along the avenue.
Traders can now be seen turning the
corner of First Avenue, setting up shreds
of wrinkled tarp littered with worn shoes
and battered power strips. The scene is
A vendor near the entrance to the 1st Avenue station near 14th Street.
likewise identical on the corner of Avenue
A in front of the recently installed L Train
station elevator.
A similar situation has manifested
itself right around the corner, along First
Avenue between East 14th and East 15th
Streets, where individuals have clustered
together selling used merchandise, engaging
in drug use, and occasional reports of
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
violence, according to nearby residents and
merchants.
Whereas Avenue A is watched over by
the 9th precinct, this section, although
nearby, is governed by the 13th Precinct,
which appears to have taken a more direct
approach to clearing up the area.
According to an anonymous source, on
Oct. 15, police offi cers and the Department
of Sanitation performed a enforcement
sweep, handing out summons, confi scated
items, and forced out vagrant dwellers
before the sanitation team removed trash
and other debris.
amNewYork Metro viewed a copy of one
ticket which states violation is for “the unauthorized
selling of merchandise without
a valid vending license.”
Although the sidewalk on 14th and
15th Streets have been mostly cleared,
First Avenue remains an amalgamation
of legitimate fl ea market dealers — who
pay to sell in conjunction with nearby
Immaculate Conception Church — and
homeless peddlers, who many feel use the
religious location as sanctuary to hawk
stolen and broken goods, while also supporting
a cycle of homelessness and drug
use.
Local residents and business have reported
countless lewd acts and controlled
substance distribution, violence, piles of
garbage, and constant 911 calls over the
past several months.
Since amNewYork Metro’s initial report,
the area seems to be remaining unhampered
on weekdays, yet the weekends appear
to be just as jam-packed as ever, even
obstructing foot traffi c.
amNewYork Metro has reached out to
the NYPD for further comment.
4 October 22, 2020 Schneps Media