Crusties, j’accuse! After an assault in Washington Square Park Sunday evening left a man bloodied and dazed, rumors quickly started swirling that the crusties were connected. Yes, the very same crusties who recently defaced the portico of St. Mark’s Church, one source told us. Well, as it turns out, it was a dispute between two homeless men, neither a crusty, according to Deputy Inspector Brandon del Pozo of the Sixth Precinct. One man hit the other with a pipe over his right eye, causing a great deal of blood — due to the spot where he was hit — but no concussion or fracture. According to del Pozo, the assailant confronted the other man and asked him, ‘‘Do you still have a beef with me?’’ Apparently, the answer was yes. The injured man, age 44, was removed to the hospital in stable condition. Police know the street name but not the given name of the attacker, and are seeking him, del Pozo said. Both men are known to frequent the park. The victim has numerous convictions for petty drug dealing and assault, and the attacker has priors for drug dealing. As for the crusties, del Pozo said, they’re allowed to hang out in the park just like everyone else unless they violate regulations.
E.V. Town Hall: Borough President Scott Stringer will hold an East Village Town Hall Meeting on Tues., July 17, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tompkins Square Library, 331 E. 10th St., between Avenues A and B. Members of the public will be invited to share their concerns, and representatives from government agencies will be on hand to answer questions about local issues. People are being asked to RSVP at 212-669-4465 or townhall@manhattanbp.org . Co-sponsors include East Village Community Coalition, Fourth Arts Block, The Neighborhood School P.T.A., LUNGS, Ninth Precinct Community Council and Public Service Area 4 Community Council, among others.
“Vast right-wing conspiracy”: Last month, Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg in The New York Times wrote a report exposing Joe Ricketts, owner of DNAinfo news, as the leader of a right-wing Super PAC plan to unseat the president. The alleged $10 million, 54-page plan is entitled ‘‘The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good.’’ The strategy is reportedly to run commercials linking Obama to incendiary comments by his former spiritual adviser, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Former C.B. 2 Chairperson Brad Hoylman tweeted: ‘‘Wondering if it’s not time to use another source for NYC story links considering DNAinfo owner radical stance toward Obama.”
How rando! Our article on the Economakises’ mansion at 47 E. Third St. that ran in last week’s issue of The Villager and is running in this week’s East Villager was picked up by real estate blog Curbed.com. Most of the Curbed readers’ comments on our article were very pro-landlord, defending the Economakises’ legal right to clear the formerly 15-unit building of rent-regulated tenants. Responding to another reader who disagreed, a pro-landlord poster wrote, “How dare they not let you, anonymous commenter, dictate what some person does with his own property. We should all be forced to house randos in our apartments for whatever some ancient law says is a fair price.” Hmm, so now, hard-working, taxpaying New Yorkers in rent-regulated apartments are little more than “randos’’ — as in ‘‘random people,’’ just sort of human tumbleweeds. Wow!
Umm…nope: Priya Warcry called last week to say she was positive she saw an eagle in Tompkins Square Park and it was tearing apart a pigeon. It definitely was NOT a red-tailed hawk, no way, she insisted. Bill Weinberg saw it, too, she said. We called him — he said it was a hawk.
“You talkin’ to me?” The first free Thursday night movie at Tompkins Square Park was, at times, a bit upstaged by the entertainment — and we’re not talking about the opening musical act. At one point during ‘‘Taxi Driver’’ someone suddenly blurted out, “I lost my rat!!!’’ Then a crusty who got in a fight came staggering through the crowd with a bloody face, causing ‘‘everyone to part like the Red Sea,’’ we’re told. Meanwhile, L.E.S. Jewels was spanging for change. “Yes, the crusties, for better or worse, are part of the show in Tompkins,’’ said Phil Hartman of Two Boots, one of the event’s organizers. We asked Phil why ‘‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show” had been replaced on the schedule by ‘‘Goldfinger,’’ and he said it was because the former wasn’t available. The opening band will be performing the theme songs from the Bond flick, he noted.
Beal support: The Nebraska trial of Bleecker St. Yippie icon Dana Beal for transport of marijuana — he says, medical marijuana — is scheduled to begin July 18. Supporters are desperately being asked to flood the judge, Mary Gilbride, with letters. All the details are in the ‘‘info’’ section of the ‘‘Free Dana Beal’’ Facebook page.
