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December 26, 2010
The Gothamist is an online blog about New York City news and events. They quite often have good posts. However, we noted one recent post that was misguided, and unfortunately represents the views of many.
The Gothamist posted a picture of several NYPD officers scolding teenage skateboarders, and suggested that the police were being overbearing with the title, “How many cops need to talk to skateboarding kids?”. The assumption was that skateboarders are harmless nuisances. Per our previous reporting, this is not the case.
These gangs of underage skateboarders have started to maraud the city and cause physical violence. They taunt adults and exploit the fact that adults are limited legally in their ability to lay hands on underage kids (see video).
BatteryPark.TV caught one gang beating up a hot dog vendor. Earlier, a teenage victim on South End Avenue was beaten with a pipe by a group identified as teens from Brooklyn (not confirmed). More recently, a large adult male Parks Conservancy officer was struck over the head with a skateboard has he tried to address a small gang on the esplanade by the Hudson River.
The NYPD officers in this Gothamist photo were properly lecturing the group and attempting to dissuade them from further menacing behavior. Arrest, summons, and shows of force like this are effective means of deterring teenage criminal behavior and should be appreciated by the citizens of NYC.