Daily Archives: August 16, 2019

Multiple arrests for robberies last week

By Maria Rocha-Buschel  

Police arrested multiple people for alleged robberies in the neighborhood, including for a violent incident at the bus stop on First Avenue at East 14th Street last weekend.

Jason Vincente, 39, allegedly approached a woman in her 20s while she was waiting for the bus at the northeast corner of East 14th Street and First Avenue on Saturday, August 10 at 12:25 a.m.

Police said that Vincente attempted to grab the victim’s bag and when the victim refused to give it to him, he allegedly said, “Gimme your money,” and reportedly grabbed the victim by the shirt.

When she refused, police said that Vincente forced her into the wall of the bus stop enclosure, hitting her head against the glass multiple times, causing a bruise on her head and substantial pain. The victim was transported to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital for treatment but no further information about her condition was available.

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Safety concerns about new Kips Bay bike lane

Waterside Tenants Association President Janet Handal expressed concern last week that the new shared bike path underneath the FDR at the heliport is too narrow for both bikes and pedestrians. (Photos by Maria Rocha-Buschel)

By Maria Rocha-Buschel

Waterside Plaza tenants rallied last Thursday to protest the newly-installed shared bike/pedestrian path for the East River Greenway that runs adjacent to the heliport at East 34th Street that the Department of Transportation installed within the last month.

Waterside Tenants Association President Janet Handal told Town & Village this week that there are a number of issues with the new configuration, primarily around the newly-painted lane by the heliport.

“It is a major thoroughfare for parents with children in strollers going to the United Nations International School and the British International School,” she said, noting that before the lane was painted recently it was a pedestrian path, but the new lane between 33rd and 34th Streets designates it as a shared bike and pedestrian path, making it cramped when both cyclists and pedestrians are there at once.

“It’s certainly not room for bikes going both directions and people walking,” she added.

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