Until recently, the "socialization" of New York under newish mayor Bill DeBlasio mostly involved snowfall snafus [5], exploding manhole covers [6], giant sinkholes [7]in the middle of the city, and boycotting NYPD cops [8]. The rest was mostly still on auto pilot, and as a result, worked. However, slowly but surely, even the mecca of crony capitalism where at least 1% of the population has never had it better, is starting to succumb to the general economic malaise of the second great depression. Case in point, crime in Central Park is up 26% this year, which at a time of record wealth, gentrification and all time high stock prices, should be unheard of.
It also confirms that not all is well with the "recovery" propaganda.
Here are some of the relevant NYPD crime stats through Aug. 9:
- A 100 percent increase in robberies so far this year — From 11 in 2014 to 22 in 2015
- Grand larceny is up nearly 14 percent, from 29 in 2014 to 35 this year
And with de Blasio avoiding the ugly reality literally in the middle of his city, the Guardian Angels have resumed crime patrols for the first time in 20 years. Many park-goers said they were happy to see them. Some even posed for pictures with them.
According to CBS [9], the increase in robberies and other crimes this year has Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa calling it a “mugger’s delight” and he wants Mayor Bill de Blasio to do something about it, CBS2’s Marcia Kramer reported Monday. “The mayor, he’s impervious to it. He’s oblivious,” Sliwa said. From CBS [9]:
The Guardian Angels want to take Mayor de Blasio on a tour of Central Park to show him what they see every night.
“He acts like, ‘oh, but it doesn’t indicate it in the stats.’ He needs to leave Gracie Mansion and City Hall and stop worrying about the future of the world and start worrying about the here and now of our city,” Sliwa said.Their patrols are mostly at night, but when CBS2 cameras followed them Monday — and it was daylight – there were still some scary moments.
Not surprisingly, Sliwa, who is also a conservative radio talk show host, laid the increase in crime in Central Park squarely on the mayor’s doorstep. "It’s no question that the cops no longer rule the park at night, and if they don’t rule the park at night they may not rule the city at night and that means the thugs, thug life will rule," Sliwa said.
One such example was homeless man with his pants seen cinched below his underwear, running around and screaming. He was drinking openly from a liquor bottle. City laws make it illegal to drink alcohol in public spaces like parks and streets.
“That gentleman that you have on video, imagine if he would be in the rambles or a secluded area,” Guardian Angel Ben Garcia said. “Out of nowhere he pops up and starts screaming. Someone could get a heart attack and God forbid he decides to rob that person."
It could get much worse.
And the truth is that while crime may have jumped in recent months, it is still a far cry from 2 decades ago. Since 1994, overall crime including rape, robbery and felony assault is down 80 percent. During this same time, the number of visitors has climbed to 40 million a year. The likelihood of being a victim of crime in Central Park is roughly 1 in 350,000 visits or so.
So for now there is no reason to panic, however if the current trend persists, and if at least one resident or visitor is violently mugged or, worse, killed in Central Park, that may mark the moment when NYC's gentrification officially went into reverse.
