An arrest was made in the East Village on Wednesday after a massive police presence performed a homeless encampment sweep.
Photo by Dean Moses
An East Village homeless encampment sweep descended into chaos Wednesday, as a massive police presence dismantled the sidewalk lodging, resulting in one arrest.
A swarm of cops pushed their way into the East 9th Street and 1st Avenue encampment during the morning of Sept. 27 as its unhoused residents and local supporters decried the move. The cops were part of a large task force that included sanitation workers and a single DHS worker who sent several of the street homeless individuals grabbing their belongings and scattering.
Formerly homeless Lower East Sider Johnny Grima attended the sweep to support his friends and sat in a single deck chair, one of the only items left. Despite having no tents or built structures, cops lunged at Grima and pulled him to the ground and placed him in cuffs for the defiant sit-in.
The press was also pushed around a bit during the incident. As amNewYork Metro filmed the incident, a lieutenant snatched the reporter’s cellphone despite having press credentials in full view, stating: “This is coming with us.”
The reporter was then pushed by a plainclothed detective before another officer retrieved the device and returned it to the reporter.
It was the latest in the city’s ongoing effort to end homeless encampments on the street — a campaign that has been criticized by homeless advocates and city officials who say it has proven insufficient in servicing homeless residents and connecting them to the help they need.
‘They are coming in strong today’
Before the chaotic sweep Wednesday, a member of the encampment, 36-year-old Eduardo Ventura, told amNewYork Metro that he expected the move.
“They are coming in strong today,” Ventura said, watching as several police cruisers parked across the street from his encampment a few hours before things unraveled.
Ventura claims that…
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