(Photo: Melvin Felix)
The NYPD’s Ninth Precinct, along with the rest of the city, is on “high alert” after the Paris terror attacks on Friday, but that shouldn’t stop East Villagers from “doing what you do normally,” Deputy Inspector Peter J. Venice told a gathering of about 30 locals last night.
“Manhattan is the top city in the country, if not the world, as a target” for terrorism, the commanding officer said during the precinct’s community council meeting at the East 5th Street stationhouse. “But we have many programs in place to combat that. So, happy Thanksgiving.”
Earlier in the meeting, Venice noted that crime for the last month was down by 4 percent with felony assaults dropping by a whopping 56 percent. But he noted that half a dozen motorcycles were stolen off the street at the end of motorcycle season and a rash of burglaries by thieves entering through windows left open during the warm weather while vics were at work. The perps, he said, would then steal valuables and waltz out the front door.
Asked by B+B about SantaCon’s band of merry revelers, Venice said he did not know where they would land this year, noting they didn’t head for the East Village last year for their annual pub crawl.
Detective Joseph Dellauniversita, who deals with cabarets and bars in the Ninth, told us he has stepped up patrols of Artichoke Pizza in response to complaints about noise and public urination.