I predict a continued strong Greenwich real estate market fueled by New York City refugees
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Crime may be down, as Mayor Adams insists, but random, unprovoked assaults are increasing, and that’s what’s scaring residents and tourists alike. For the past couple of decades, so long as one stayed away from the uptown drug dealing areas, the City was pretty safe, but now the streets and subways are awash with violent crazies and constant alertness must be maintained in all parts of town, and that makes for unpleasant living.
An unhinged man clutching a large knife stalked a group of oblivious musicians in Times Square Wednesday morning — then grabbed one of them from behind in a chilling moment caught by an eagle-eyed photographer.
The blade-wielding maniac was standing on a granite bench, flashing the weapon at tourists and inexplicably screaming on Broadway between West 43rd and 44th streets at around 10 a.m., said photographer Richard Moore.
“I thought, ‘Oh, this isn’t very good,’” Moore, of Hell’s Kitchen, told The Post.
As Moore got closer, he saw the erratic man jump off the bench and begin trailing the performers, who appear to be Romanian, he said.
“I noticed he had this knife in one hand and he got close enough to one of the musicians to put his other hand on the musician’s shoulder,” said Moore, who snapped a photo of the tense encounter.
The frightening moment came on the heels of a new Siena College poll that found a whopping 41% of New Yorkers have “never” been so fearful for their own safety — with the majority saying crime is a “very” or “somewhat” serious problem.
Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday downplayed the poll results, blaming the media for reporting on crime, which he claimed “Plays on your psyche.”
Exactly: the randomness of these attacks does indeed “play on the psyche”. And the City’s courts just feed the crisis:
A homeless, convicted sex offender has been terrorizing women in the East Village – and they’ve reached out to The Post for help.
Fritz Marseille — who spent five months in jail last year for allegedly groping two women — hangs out between East 3rd Street and East 5th Street along Second Avenue, allegedly accosting women who ignore his advances, witnesses said.
But he took his alleged misdeeds to another level when he lurked behind Kristen Booth last month and declared, “I’m going to f–king rape you,” the shaken digital artist told The Post this week.
Booth, 49, who was with neighbor Christine Rucci, 60, told Marseille, 38, to “get the f–k away from me!” and the two women screamed “rapist!” to get the attention of others and ward off Marseille during the Jun
Booth lodged a complaint against Marseille with the NYPD, one of five she’s filed against him since Sept. 2020.
Rucci, who carries a safety alarm, said Marseille’s revolting antics include drug dealing, urinating, defecating, and masturbating in and around their East 5th Street buildings. She called him a “predator” and a “ticking time bomb.”
Marseille is “insane,” said a worker at nearby Cooper’s Craft & Kitchen, who noted a number of frightened women have ducked into the pub to escape the vagrant’s verbal abuse.
Lately, the homeless man has become “more aggressive,” said an employee at Coffee Project on East 5th.
Local cops from the 9th Precinct “do nothing,” fumed Rucci, who claims to have been verbally abused by Marseille.
Marseille failed to appear in court on June 1 for compliance and there is now a warrant out for his arrest, authorities said.
But here’s good news:
Marseille has seven sealed cases, according to the state Office of Court Administration. He’s been arrested twice, according to the NYPD, for groping the rear ends of two different women and pleaded guilty in both cases.
Marseille was required to complete a counseling program with Queens Counseling for Change — who said its clientele includes individuals with “problematic sexual behaviors” and “anger management issues” — according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
“We live on a police block which should be the safest block in this area and it’s not and that’s sad,” she said.
