L.E.S. fatal stabbing
Two men were stabbed, one fatally, in front of 100 Hester St. — where the Chinatown YMCA shares the building with I.S. 131 and Pace High School — around 6 p.m. Wed., Nov. 18, police said. Responding to a 911 call, officers found two 18-year-old men stabbed, one later identified as Nelson Pena, of 55-75 Pike St., in the Rutgers Houses, who was declared dead on arrival at Bellevue Medical Center, with stab wounds in the torso and the leg. The other victim, stabbed in the neck, was reported to be in stable condition in Bellevue. School and YMCA officials said the incident did not involve students or Y members. Police did not release the name of the surviving victim and are investigating the case.
‘Shut the city down!’
A demonstration that began at 8 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 19, in Washington Square Park with New York University and New School students in sympathy with student occupations in the University of California system, ended shortly before 9 p.m. on MacDougal St., where two N.Y.U. students were arrested. Maria Lewis and Drew Phillips, both 18, were taken to the Sixth Precinct police station in handcuffs and released shortly before 11 p.m. with disorderly-conduct summonses.
Protestors had marched from Washington Square up Fifth Ave. to Union Square, and then blocked traffic at Fifth Ave. and 14th St., chanting, “Workers and students, shut the city down,” according to Washington Square News, the student newspaper. The demonstration, organized by Take Back NYU, walked through the New School building at 65 Fifth Ave. chanting “Occupy everything!” and then went down to MacDougal St., where police arrested the two students.
In February of this year, Take Back NYU occupied a third-floor room in the Kimmel Student Center demanding tuition stabilization, full disclosure of N.Y.U.’s budget and endowment and a fair labor contract for all university employees.
Knife at her throat
A woman, 23, was entering her building at 169 Thompson St. around 1 a.m. Thurs., Nov. 19, when a man confronted her with a knife and demanded money, police said. The victim gave him $40 and her debit card, but the suspect said it wasn’t enough, put the knife to her throat and forced her to take him to her third-floor apartment, where he took three bracelets, a laptop computer and a ring. A witness on the street phoned 911 and a foot-patrol officer who responded arrested the suspect as he was leaving the building with the stolen articles. Damon Howlett, 30, was charged with first-degree robbery.
High Line’s line on art
Park Enforcement Patrol officers arrested Robert Lederman on the High Line at 14th St. and 10th Ave. around 3:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 21, and issued him summonses for vending without a park permit, failure to comply with officers’ directions, unauthorized vending and disorderly conduct.
Lederman, president of A.R.T.I.S.T., a street artists rights group, who sells his own artwork, said in a statement that it was the 42nd time he had been arrested for similar reasons. He said that between 1994 and 2001 he won five federal lawsuits on street artists’ First Amendment rights issues. He cited a federal court order that artists could freely and legally sell in New York City parks without a license or permit.
“These court orders are constantly being violated by the Parks Department on behalf of corporate interests like Friends of the High Line,” the statement said.
Friends of the High Line said they were not commenting on the arrest, and referred questions to the Parks Department.
In a statement, a Parks spokesperson said: “The High Line is a unique public space, a thin, elevated corridor at less than 3 acres with pathways as narrow as 8 feet wide in some places. Many activities are prohibited. These include biking, skateboarding, throwing a baseball or a Frisbee or walking a dog. The High Line can receive as many as 25,000 visitors on a busy day, walking along its long linear surface surrounded by fragile new plantings. Mr. Lederman and other vendors are able to ply their trade in hundreds of New York City parks and on hundreds of miles of city streets, where visitors can linger and enjoy their wares.”
Yet, Parks’ statement didn’t say if vending art is specifically banned on the High Line, to which Lederman responded, “Note that they fully acknowledge that artists can legally sell in parks. Our ruling covers all New York City parks, no exceptions. According to the High Line Web site, it is owned by the city and is a New York City park. There is no question I can legally sell there — and their non-statement statement proves it.”
Cell-phone struggle
A Midtown woman told police that she was in the apartment of a man at 101 W. 12th St. at Sixth Ave. around 11 p.m. Wed., Nov. 18, when he grabbed her cell phone out of her jacket pocket. When she demanded it back, he pushed her against the wall, hit her in the face and choked her, police said. The suspect, Charles Debellis, 55, was charged with larceny, third-degree assault and possession of stolen property. He was paroled pending a Jan. 21 court appearance.
They sprang at Spring
A man and a woman leaning against a wall at the bottom of the stairs in the Spring St. Sixth Ave. subway station grabbed a victim from behind after he passed them at 1:30 a.m. Sun., Nov. 15, police said. The man put the victim, 25, in a chokehold, told the woman, “Get it, take it,” and both fled with the victim’s wallet, iPhone, credit cards and his MetroCard with $89 on it, police said.
Pastry shop perp
A burglar entered the cafe in the rear of a pastry shop at 94 Thompson St. between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Mon., Nov. 16, broke open a cash register and fled with $685, police said. The next-door surveillance camera did not record his image, according to the police report.
Albert Amateau
