Living Among West Village Wildlife

It's great to know that the police in Greenwich Village are up to subduing aging Hollywood actors. The video of Rip Torn's DUI arrest, after he was stopped for a fender bender and refused to take a Breathalyzer test, has been shown over and over. Some residents of the Village are less impressed by the zealousness of the local precinct in arresting other miscreants who are less well-known. Indeed, one resident has accused the New York Police Department of deliberately downgrading serious crimes to misdemeanors to keep statistics down. With the Halloween parade coming up this weekend, these people predict their neighborhood will again be overrun by, in the words of one resident, "lawless screeching celebrants till dawn."

In 2002, Jessica Berk, a lifetime resident of the Village, organized a group, Residents in Distress, or RID. She writes that she grew up where artists and writers co-habited with free spirits. "Christopher Street," she writes, "has always been a special place where one could express their individuality." Unfortunately, the area has been inundated, she says, with crowds of a hundred, throwing bottles and shrieking all night long, with public urination and vandalism.

Ms. Berk wrote me to ask for help because she complains she has not received any assistance from the local politicians. "I have been lobbying Sheldon Silver's office to try to pass repeat offender legislation, and/or tighten up the laws that deal with disorderly conduct," she writes. "As you know loitering is no longer against the law. Nonetheless, the police are responsible for keeping the streets safe ... and they definitely have a 'hands off policy' as relates to these issues. Basically they keep an eye on things and move the offenders from block to block but never arrest or remove them."

That is a serious charge, and one that I hope has no basis in fact. I've always maintained that our police department is one of the finest in the nation. I admire Commissioner Raymond Kelly and I hope he will monitor the situation.

Two years ago, Ms. Berk was slapped in the face by a transvestite near her home near Christopher Street and it was, according to an article in the New York Times, the last straw. The January 19 story declared that something had gone horribly wrong in the West Village. The once quiet maze of narrow charming streets had been overrun by bands of drug dealers and transvestite prostitutes. Community meetings had been held in which residents criticized local government officials and the police for not doing enough help. According to the Times reporter, Robert F. Worth, many residents said their elected officials, three of whom are gay, would not help because they feared a crackdown might be construed as anti-gay or racist. The area was turning into a "sinkhole for vice - a Times Square South," one longtime resident was quoted as saying in the article.

The Village Voice also ran a frontpage story on April 30, 2002, documenting the two views of the West Village. The writer, Richard Goldstein, described the street scene thusly: "The sidewalk is a living Ralph Fasanella painting, bursting with zany vitality." Dave Poster, president of the Christopher Street Patrol, had a different viewpoint. "People here haven't slept in years," he was quoted as saying, "and they're afraid to walk down the street." Residents complain of verbal harassment, public lewdness, prostitution, drug dealing, and other menacing behavior. The new kids on the block, Goldstein wrote, call it racism - "and they are fighting to keep the turf that another gay generation won."

It's two years later, and things have apparently gone from bad to worse. Last summer, a local homeless man with a history of violence assaulted Ms. Berk. She has stated there was no response to her 911 call and she had to go directly to the precinct to file a report. The man was arrested and is now on an "immigration hold." The alleged criminal is a man Ms. Berk says the community calls "the Jefferson Market guy," because he used to hang out there and throw feces on people dining out at restaurants. Why hadn't he been arrested for that?

I have many wonderful, exciting memories of the years I spent hanging out in the Village. I sold my first painting in the outdoor exhibit at Washington Square, and I'd spend hours over a single cappuccino at the coffeehouses on MacDougal Street. It was an avantgarde, free-spirited, and liberating environment - and absolutely nothing like what it is now.

Clamping down on anyone breaking the quality-of-life laws, regardless of their color or sexual orientation, is how Mayor Giuliani revived New York City. If the neighborhood politicians don't care enough about the quality of life in this historic community, then residents should vote them out next Tuesday or next year.