Monday, March 02, 2009

 

Shades of Tyson on Avenue A Friday Night ? ...









Friday night at an avenue A Japanese restaurant a man's ear had been bitten ... at least as we understood things when we first arrived at 103 avenue A . The signal we received by police radio that led us to the scene claimed , incorrectly , that a weapon was involved . Clearly there had been some sort of violent disorder but as in most situations on the street it's never immediately clear what has happened . Many of the people who are involved in an incident do not want to talk about what happened . Police are not especially talkative and often direct one to ODCPI( Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information) . With events of this sort this office rarely has any useful information .
At these crime scenes we often listen to police as they question witnesses . We also listen for other conversation tidbits that might provide clues . Initially this night people were claiming that a latter day Mike Tyson had bitten on an ear at 103 avenue A .
But there were two ears that appeared to be bleeding . As time went on we noticed that though police were looking more closely at the male's left ear , with a very bright light no less , both ears seemed to be injured , with blood visible . This male , reportedly an employee of the restaurant , had suffered something more than just a single Tyson-esque chomp .
Shortly those claiming an ear biting seemed to be less certain about their claims . Then we witnessed the injured male with his head placed between the front door jamb and the edge of the door . With his head so positioned the male was claiming that an enraged patron had slammed the door closed on his ears . Unfortunately we missed this shot .
This is as of this posting what we know of the event . One man was cuffed and taken away in an unmarked police car . We believe that the male with the two injured ears ,if it was actually two and not one , was taken to hospital by ambulance .



Comments:
Hey bob don't publish this -- hit the delete button but the new york times piece on the alleged rape refers to the new york post and the new york daily news talking about integrity, talking in literary terms it is a rape to take someone else's work and copy it or use it with our referencing it.

Anyway -- the report is damning and NY1 noted the incident occurred Dec 7 and according to a piece of information in nyt my guess is because the officers got a key they are saying it was consensual.

I sometimes come back to your blog to check it out because aspects of it are very good and gritty.

But it also reflects how closed off your world is how much you are stuck in your own vicious cycle. I thought it was compassion and maybe it was but now it seems more like fear of becoming one of them more than compassion.

I stopped using my name when you took away freedom of speech and I am glad I don't want to be connected with your blog after you attempted to use me like you do booze -- that was an honest photo you showed of your booze -- lucky you have a place to go home to drink or you would end up like the major focus of your photography.

I am really going to stop visiting your blog although it is what it is and often really quite good courageous and gutsy.

When I needed a friend you couldn't be a friend and I would like to tell you about the chapters of my life post you being such an asshole. You could have helped but instead you had a false fantasy of what love is...pretty sad

Like Jim Power you have something magical but also something so screwed up. You really need to reach out and get some help like Mickey Rourke and take better care of you and be nicer although booze may be preventing that.

You do help the community and that is powerful.

good bye.
 
I do feel sorry for all the people in the drama, the police for having to deal with the more than ever complicated challenges of policing and prejudice dumped on all of them when one of them screwed up and for people so lost they don't get how much they harm themselves and others including the people just trying to live in the community.
 
Thankyou for the commentary Suzannah
 
I like ya Bob!!!
 
The I still love ya Bob is not Suzannah's post by the way!!
 
What is her problem anyway??? No one can possibly have a problem with/and-or/when it comes to anything or everything!!! What is the term Bob for someone who finds a fault with everything? I think we need to get the thesaurus out for this one...It is something much stronger than a pessimist!!! I am sure she is a Misanthrope though!!!! Especially,having utter detest for unfortunate,homeless drunks,(of which you are soon ready to join in the bowels of mediocrity!),or should I refer to them as "THEM"!!!! I,unlike yourself Bob,have no compassion whatsoever for this"ONE"...(Er,"THEM",or whatever...)....
 
"Up with the police and those just wanting to live in the community!!!",and "Down with the homeless and the drunks!!!",and down with the "BOB"!!!!
 
Ow..Head slammed in the door..not so much fun!
 
This comment has been removed by the author.
 
It is Bob's blog, and a great one at that, and he certainly has the right to delete or post whatever comments anyone makes on it. To the first anonymous poster, it is no wonder you have problems getting your comments posted on here-just look at what you wrote!
Mean spirited, judgmental, assuming, not to mention poor grammar, punctuation and nonsensical sentences. I felt embarrassed for you even as I read it. Wow.
 
people who try to get on others about their grammar, improper usage of a word or that shit are usually not too bright themselves. i dont know what the first poster was trying to get at, but it does seem, from some people's perspective, and not just those whose minds are clouded, that bob kinda plays both sides of the fence. i mean you have got some shots of people at their lowest, you got pictures of fights, drug abuse, derelism, this les jewels character who is a cancer, yet you seem to encourage this behavior. like if your camera wasn't there, all that shit would still occur of course, but would it be so extreme? and the fact that you have been seen talking to police on many an occasion and have supposedly tipped them off about a few things, it makes me question your integrity. i also find it odd how you sorta encourage and laugh at jewels' behavior, cause i know for a fact that he is NOT from around here, so fuck him, he was a tourist then and hes one now. and hell, i'm sure you yourself were once a tourist/transplant to this great neighborhood bob, but what are you now, a hypocrite? i was born into this neighborhood, my grandfather was from 10th and d when it was poor white, roasting mickeys in a fucking garbage can. taking pictures of the less fortunate is nothing new, and i dont wanna sound like a dick when i say this, but its gonna come out like that, just cause you got a fucking police scanner, and a few cop "friends" (hahaha) does not make you a modern day weegee. take a look at his work compared to yours, and see who is into exploitation.
 
To : "call it like I see it" . We're not trying to be Weegee . That would be impossible today .He had a special relationship with public officials including police that is impossible to have today . He was one of a kind in a unique situation that lasted but for a breif period of time .

Though we have a scanner and often talk to police we do not tip anyone off to anything . We are though aware that some believe that we do . Covering news requires that one work with all parties involved , including police .After 15 years of working at what we do we have come to know all kinds of people out on the street ,among them police officers .

We mostly try to entertain . In the process of producing the sort of tabloid blog that NMNL is we recognize the obligation to also present a fair and accurate picture of what is really going on here in this neighborhood .We attempt to do so . Of course others have done the same . We are not setting any new journalistic or artistic standards or establisning precidents in doing what we do .

John Thompson using a large format camera was photographing the reality of the streets in London back in the 1880s . And consider Jacob Reiss and his photographs of the old East Side .These photographers and many more walked and photographed city streets long before Wegee .

Though NMNL is primarily entertainment we do attempt at times to show what is really out there on the street and when truly necessary try to do so rigorously.We try to portray in some detail the diverse reality of the East Village . We know that it is necessary at times to show the warts , wounds, grit ,etc inorder to do so .We know that some see this as sensationalism and exploitation .We appreciate that this assessment exists but to achieve our end we can do nothing more nor less than what we have been doing at NMNL .

What is out there happening , for instance Jewels exposing his privates , is going to happen and regularly does without us . We are aware that some perform for the camera and we work with that in mind .

It remains true though that there are things that are wrong , things that shouldn't be , so we photograph them just as others for the last 150 or so years have done .We believe that the people have a right to know of these things . The Supreme Court of the United States has routinely supported this right of the people to know in it's rulings concerning the first ammendmant .

And finally as to the lenght of the tour in the East village , we,ve only been here for 38 years but our mothers family has been in NYC for at least 300 years .
 
That's telling em' Bob!!! And,God bless "our mother's family"!!!!
 
Bob,

You do provide a great service both to those in New York and those who wish to keep ware of this specific neighborhood after they have left.

Everyone loves to pick on someone who is respected. This comment list obviously proves that you are. I live in BPC, but attend Mass and drink in your neighborhood. I enjoy your blog.

You have your bias, and you are cool with that. What else can anyone ask? The whole police conspiracy theory is what boring people fill their day with imagining. Do not worry about living up to Jacob Riis. That is not your job.

You have a great site. Keep it up. Do not let others get you down. Definitely do not let some woman ruin your soul. I am learning that the hard way (post-divorce).

Many love your site. We do not know you. Many are former residents teaching English in Japan, working as actuaries in Bermuda, or just trying to survive doing whatever in the Middle East.

This web page matters. It makes people's lives better. I know it matters to me, and I am going through the worst period in my life.

This site matters. People look forward to posts. People are better off because of it. You are performing a great service. We appreciate it.

Please keep it up. You are making a difference, at least in one life. This world sucks so much. There are always armies of critics. You are CREATING SOMETHING. That matters. That matters significantly.

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