Neither more nor less

Police arrested 2  Crustys for the alleged assault of 2 men early Thursday morning at or near the intersection of 2nd avenue and 10th street .

According to witnesses three Crustys and 2 dogs  had been spanging in front of the McDonald's on 3rd avenue near St. Marks Place . Around 12:30 AM 2 men that had been drinking at Continental Bar began an amicable conversation with the Crustys .Some one of the Crustys then allegedly without warning punched one of the men . A brief fight ensued and quickly the Crustys fled .

There were apparently no really serious injuries but both men were taken to hospital in separate ambulances .Some difficulty was had by police in getting one uncooperative victim into an ambulance

One of the Crustys' dogs was left at the scene of the arrest near a tree. Police sent  a car to find friends of the arrested pair who might take care of the dog .

Ray said that he's known him for 30 years , he met him when he was a 16 year old neighborhood kid , but that he couldn't remember his name  . He said that he's been in and out of prison regularly over those 30 years  . Ray believed that he had just returned to the street  . Tuesday night he was a problem in his candy store .

On the street outside he was a problem too . He accosted folks , shoved them , threatened them , attempted to knock folks down and even punched a few . Perhaps he was looking to get a hand bag or a cell phone ... hit hard , grab and run.We were using a lens that was too narrow so unfortunately we missed some of the evenings action .

After a second round of confrontations in Ray's store , Ray convinced the guy to go to his front window for a free hot dog . He took the hot dog and then cockily ambled down avenue A.

Carl had been missing from T.S.P. for more than 6 months .When one of the park regulars disappears for a while most just assume the worst .Carl though had gone to detox at Beth Israel and then through a rehab program .Later he was placed in housing on the far side of Brooklyn .

Way out in Brooklyn its quiet , too quiet . Carl claims that the confines out there were driving him crazy ... boredom , nothing happening . Out there "the crickets don't even bother to chirp ".

Witnesses that were in Tompkins Square Park Saturday afternoon around 1:30 PM report seeing multiple arrests on the stretch of walkway between the chess tables and Crusty Row .Additionally a press photographer was escorted aggressively out of T.S.P. for having used his cell-cam to photo a portion of one of the arrests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btuwVZPDPmg
Another male was reported by several witnesses to have been taken into custody for using a cell-cam to video the arrest .

Witnesses claimed that police appeared to have placed a bag of some sort on a park  bench . A white male  was claimed by some to have been arrested for touching the bag. Some though said that this male was released . The press photographer showed us  the image of this male on his cell phone .The image was  of a white male with a noticeable tattoo , appearing to be in police custody . The press photographer noted that he thought that the male was released because he was actually part of the police team working with the bag .

In response to the aggressive removal of this press photographer 4 journalist , one writer and 3 photographers , from 2 of New York's 4 major papers spent part of Sunday morning on this stretch of walkway between the chess tables and Crusty row .

Lisa whose tribulations we noted here in 2 earlier posts concerning the TSP chess tables was also arrested . Sunday evening , after her release ,  we spoke with Lisa . She claims that she had warned an older Russian woman  to not touch the bag .She believes that undercover officers heard this brief conversation and an unmarked car was soon at the scene to arrest Lisa . She was cuffed and taken away . Lisa claims that at her arraignment the judge dismissed the charge of interfering with governmental administration  quickly with time served . She noted that the judge stuttered when she read the word Tompkins Square Park .

We've recently also learned  from others that the charge for which Lisa was taken into custody while sitting at the chess tables not playing chess was a disorderly conduct charge resulting from sitting at a T.S.P. chess table while not playing chess .The  warrants for which Deputy Commissioner Browne  claims Lisa was arrested
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/06/woman_not_arres.php
 were found only later after Lisa had been taken in to custody for disorderly conduct. Now the mystery is actually solved .

There were no Crustys on Crusty Row Sunday evening . Jewels was there though and called out "take my picture" . We turned and noticed that Jewels had plopped his ass down squarely in front of two women , certainly not Crustys, sitting quietly on the Row .We took a Crusty Row picture as it was Sunday evening  with Jewels alone swilling vodka .

We left for Ray's Candy Store for a roast beef sandwich . As the sandwich was delivered we noticed flashing lights in TSP .Three police cars were moving in the park . We quickly moved , sandwich in hand ,toward the park . By the time that we arrived on the Row the police had entered the Row from both ends and had  Jewels surrounded . Jewels was still flat on his ass in the Row .

Jewels was ordered to stand  and then to leave the Row .As he began to leave he spotted his vodka bottle on the ground  , bent over and grabbed it . One police officer protested saying something to the effect of , drop the bottle . Jewels stuffed the bottle in his belt and high-tailed it out of the park .

Face bathed in flashing red light , Cochise at the entrance  of Tompkins Square Park , stood in quiet contemplation of the fire truck  across avenue A  attending to Igor . Igor was waiting for an ambulance ,FDNY was waiting with him . Igor didn't get his ambulance immediately because rather than calling 911 he pulled the FDNY lever at the corner call box .Igor got a fire truck right away , the ambulance arrived much later . Igor sat , well soused , in a chair at the corner of 7th street and avenue A waiting .

Half an hour or so earlier this same  chair had another infamous occupant , L.E.S. Jewels , whom we pictured earlier brazenly stopping traffic  on avenue A with a full pint of vodka in his hand .Seems that the vodka must have been  consumed since Jewels was later  found by an ambulance  passed out sans vodka bottle  in this same chair at the corner of 7th street and avenue A.