At long last, the city is taking action to bring safety to an East Village intersection plagued with violence connected with an illegal open-air market that has operated there for years.
Mayor Eric Adams, a slew of elected officials, and the NYPD announced on Thursday that they will be making a $1 million investment to implement a mobile command center along 14th Street and 1st Avenue — the scene of a violent stabbing in June that left one man dead and several others wounded.
The corner of 1st Avenue and East 14th Street looked vastly different on Aug. 8 than it did on June 23, when the violent stabbing occurred amid a deadly brawl at the illegal market. The NYPD set up temporary lights to illuminate the area during evening hours and further boost safety.
On Thursday, Mayor Adams announced the NYPD would assist the 9th Precinct covering the area with a $1 million mobile command center to 14th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A as an extra layer of security.
“Our efforts are being anchored by a $1 million investment in a new NYPD Mobile Command Center, which will maintain a visible presence and allow our law enforcement to be mobile to meet the communities’ needs,” Adams said.
Despite constant complaints from community members who say they have repeatedly dialed 311 and 911 over the years, local politicians said the June 23 violence truly opened their eyes to the problem.
“We had this terrible tragedy not so long ago that has, it should be said, been a catalyst for a renewed focus on this,” state Sen. Brian Kavanagh said.
As a part of the effort to tackle quality-of-life at the location, Police Commissioner Edward Caban said the neighborhood would see an increased surge in officers, many of whom would work in tandem with other city agencies to ensure the area is safe and clean.
“The community concerns we are confronting along the 14th Street corridor show that quality-of-life issues are just as important for the police and our partners to address as serious crime, which is down this year both locally and citywide,” Caban said. “Public safety is a shared responsibility, and our coordinated, multi-agency strategy to improve conditions and reinvigorate this neighborhood will assure New Yorkers that every person and every business in every community matter.”
When amNewYork Metro first reported in 2020 on the violence, drug use, and thievery allegedly taking place on the block, local store owners pointed the finger of blame at the Immaculate Conception Church who held and continues to hold flea markets every Saturday and Sunday.
Unlicensed individuals, many of whom are homeless, would latch themselves onto the market in an attempt to sell found and stolen merchandise, slowly creating the out-of-control, illegal bazaar.
While officials have charged that they are ensuring the street does not, once again, become ridden with crime, they told amNewYork Metro that they have not yet committed to shutting down the church’s flea market.
“Our parishes are in financial trouble. They are relying on the revenue from that market to help sustain them, but we have been in talks with them and the Archdiocese to really figure out how we help some of these parishes to not be dependent on something that is so hard to manage,” said local City Council Member Carlina Rivera. “So, while the flea market continues, we are looking towards maybe suspending it.”
