Dead in the park
On Sun., Aug. 6, around 9 a.m., police responded to a 911 call of an aided male inside of Washington Square Park near the park’s southeast corner. Upon arrival, officers discovered a 32-year-old man, unconscious and unresponsive. E.M.S. responded to the location and pronounced him dead.
The city’s Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing.
Per their usual procedure, police are withholding man’s name pending proper notification of his family. However, Villager reader George Jochnowitz said on Wednesday evening that he had just spoken to a “talkative panhandler” in the park who said the man’s name was Tucker, which Jochnowitz presumed was his first name.
Another reader of the newspaper who frequents the park, who requested anonymity, said she heard that the victim was a “crusty,” which usually means a homeless young person, often one who uses alcohol and / or drugs heavily. But in this case, he apparently was not a “crusty traveler,” meaning someone who moves around the country following the warm weather.
Jimmy Alberici, a Sixth Precinct community affairs officer, said the man was known to the police, though he didn’t immediately recall his name.
“He’s been around for years,” Alberici said. “He’s a neighborhood guy.”
East Village D.O.A.
On Tues., Aug. 8, shortly after 11 a.m., an East Villager was found dead in her apartment. Cops answered a 911 call of an unconscious female inside 535 E. Fifth St. They found a 46-year-old woman, unconscious and unresponsive with no apparent signs of trauma. E.M.S. medics responded to the location and pronounced her dead at the scene. Following notification of the woman’s family first, police publicly identified her as Rachael Jaffe, 46.
The city’s Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation remains ongoing.
Arrow Keyboard meltdown
Be-bop-a-lua…bomb?
Yikes!
A local musician lost his cool and threatened to blow up a Citi Bank branch at 395 Sixth Ave. when he realized his bank account was closed. Police said the man entered the bank on Mon., July 31, at 4:05 p.m. to inquire about his bank account. After a long argument with a female employee, he allegedly said, “I’m not leaving until my account is reopened. I will kill someone unless it’s reopened and I will blow up the place.”
Jerry Noury Jr., 71, was arrested for misdemeanor aggravated harassment.
During the disco era, Noury was known as “The Arrow Keyboard Man,” playing a DIY cordless electric keyboard while gyrating on the dance floor at Studio 54 and other clubs. He also ran an after-hours club in the Meat Market on Little W. 12th St. for disco revelers to continue their partying into the wee hours, ferrying them down in white stretch limo. He also had a very brief cameo in the movie “Hair,” firing sparks out of his Arrow Keyboard in a scene in Central Park.
As a young musician, he changed his name to Novac Noury. In a July 2007 profile in The Villager (“Disco’s arrow man is now aiming to be a developer”), he explained that he was inspired by both actress Kim Novak and the NOVAC computer — referring to the Nuclear Operative Variable Automatic Computer from the 1954 science-fiction film “Gog.”
Noury currently does his keyboard playing for the Greenwich House senior day program at Our Lady of Pompeii Church, at Bleecker and Carmine Sts., where he leads the sing-alongs.
2-on-1 robbery
According to police, a man was robbed in front of 102 Christopher St. on Wed., Aug. 2, at 3:36 a.m. One suspect reportedly applied pressure to the victim’s neck while the other took his wallet from his front right pocket.
Hamidou Diallo, 20 and Angelo Rodriguez, 29, were arrested for felony robbery.
Drinking with a knife
A man trespassing in front of 4 Charles St., on Sat., Aug. 5, at 3:15 a.m., caught a cop’s eye, according to a police report. Specifically, an officer spotted the suspect with an open container of alcohol in public view. After searching him, the officer found he had a knife on him.
Jonathan Liu, 37, was arrested for felony criminal possession of a weapon.
J.J. Walker mugging
Police said a man was robbed at knifepoint near the southeast corner of Clarkson and Hudson Sts. in James J. Walker park on Wed., Aug. 2 at 12:30 p.m.
The suspect approached the victim inside the park while displaying a blade in one hand, and choked him with the other hand.
The robber demanded the victim’s property and forcefully grabbed his money and jewelry before fleeing to Varick St.
Cops caught the suspect opposite 275 Bleecker St., where the victim’s jewelry was found on the alleged mugger’s right hand.
Deondre Ellerbee, 19, was charged with felony robbery.
Went together
On Tues., Aug. 8, around 2:24 p.m., police responded to a call of an unconscious female inside 145 E. 16th St. Upon arrival, officers observed two unconscious and unresponsive women, a 70-year-old and a 94-year-old, inside the apartment. E.M.S. responded and pronounced both individuals dead at the location. The city’s Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing.
DNAinfo reported that both women died of heart disease. The New York Post said they had been dead for a week or two.
The names of the deceased are being withheld pending family notification.
By Tabia C. Robinson
and Lincoln Anderson
