On Wednesday morning, a husband and wife were walking their 5-year-old twins when they were assaulted by a homeless woman on 72nd Street (pictured above in front of 121 West 72nd Street).
“Unprovoked, the woman lunged at our friend and pushed her to the ground and then swung at her husband who fractured his finger deflecting her,” said our tipster, who is friends with the couple.
The police were apparently called, but when we reached out to the NYPD for a statement they had nothing on record. The officer we spoke with did, however, acknowledge an increase in similar incidents.
A doorman who works on this street said he first noticed the woman on Tuesday. Another individual spotted her “screaming and laughing” this morning.
The woman is a brunette but has been seen recently wearing a blonde wig, and we’re told she can frequently be found by the subway station in front of the Dakota.
We’ll provide updates if and when we learn more.
Huh, totally unfamiliar homeless person to me and I spend a lot of time walking those corners blocks.
I’m a resident of 121. The police were called after this woman parked at our entrance and displayed erratic behavior. The police came and said they could do nothing and the building should be careful not to harass her, and let her stay put. The next day she attacked the family across 72nd Street as you reported. The police were called again, but again refused to do anything. They do not have a report of this incident because they refused to take any action. This woman needs assistance. Where is our city government? Where are are our Social Services? Multiple calls to Gale Brewer’s office have not been returned or resulted in any action. This is a shocking and shameful situation.
Michael:
Except I was saying that’s my neighborhood and she’s new to the area, whether or not the police had been called on her.
Specific to this same neighborhood, there was a guy who yelled at people. Worse, in fact, once from 30 feet away he silently approached me from behind, tapped me on the shoulder while I was eating pizza outdoors, and then pushed my grocery bag off a chair next to me, smashing it to the concrete. This was in March of 2021. No, the jar of pasta sauce didn’t break, but the young women at the next table sure said, “what the eff?”. I thought about calling the cops, but didn’t, since I don’t trust them to right by me or by the assailant.
A bar owner I know slightly confirmed that this guy is a known problem, but the police claimed their hands were tied. This also was in 2021.
Not an Adams supporter, and obviously not someone who thinks calling the police is usually a good idea — though 20+ years ago I did once call the cops about a neighbor screaming at his kid for hours repeatedly over weeks: This guy is gone from the area after having been more than a nuisance since at least 2019. I hope he’s housed, not in a shelter, because when he did go away and then reappear in 2020/21 he’d at least be calm for 2 weeks before ranting.
So I can’t speak to your specific experience with this woman at 121 West 72nd Street and your calls to the police. But generally they do seem able to do something reasonably effective, if they choose.
Email Gail Brewer’s office:
Her email: gbrewer at council dot nyc dot gov
Her chief of staff: spuder at council dot nyc dot gov
Saw her this morning. Scary looking person.
I’ve been seeing her this week near Juice Generation sitting on the ground. I noticed her as she seemed more put together than many homeless people. There is another homeless person on 72nd near the bank by Amsterdam who sleeps in the middle of the sidewalk blocking traffic and picking at her hair. She’s been on 72nd St for years now and used to live under scaffolding by the old Hurleys Bar. Amazing the city permits this as its unsanitary and unsafe for pedestrians as we see now with the latest attack.
JL:
Does the woman picking her hair assault people, or even scream at them?
I first saw her in front of the Dakota, at the corner of 72nd and CPW, almost two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon. Then I saw her again this week, early in the morning (about 5:25, while on my way to Equinox) on the west side of Columbus, by the post office and produce stand (where another homeless woman with red hair and a smoker’s voice usually sits with her cat). The woman in this article has a crazy, somewhat threatening look, and I thought that perhaps I should call 311 to get some help for her. But when I left Equinox later that morning, she was gone.
She’s only been around the neighborhood for a week or so. She was in front of the Dakota last weekend and tried to trip me as a ran by. After the police were called about the assault they told the doorman there was nothing they could do–not sure why she could not at least be arrest/charged with something for hitting the woman across the street.
She has a lot of lace type items on sidewalk too
Thank you for posting this —- while we as a community need to come together to do what we can to help those with mental issues, there is no room for unprovoked violence. As we try to come out of this pandemic and create a safer more vibrant UWS community, it is important we stay resilient when such situations occur, communicate with each other, our reps and our public media, and collectively work together to make positive steps forward for everyone.
Saw this woman tonight (around 9:50 pm) sitting outside of the UPs store on 72nd Street between Columbus and Broadway. I had never seen any long blond younger-looking homeless women around the neighborhood and thought it was odd that she was wearing a black leather jacket. Thanks for posting!!
I dont Understand. You mean in NYC if someone is physically assaulted the police can’t/won’t do anything?
If this is allowed to continue and our neighborhoods become more and more unsafe several things could happen.
People will leave the city. Tourists will stop coming,
Real Estate prices are based on supply and demand which means the values will begin to drop. Something must be done. Now!
Concerned, that is correct. According to Gail Brewer’s office, this was the police response:
“I can only give a general answer to the question. If this woman pushed someone that only constitutes harassment which doesn’t give us an automatic right to take her to the hospital. She would be evaluated on scene and a decision would be made from there. As for Bellevue, ambulances generally take patients to the closest hospital, in this case Mt Sinai West on 59th Street which also has it’s own psychiatric wing.”
Another reason I had to leave NYC. How do people tolerate this?
After decades, enough is enough.
Same. I had to leave due to the insane increase in mentally deranged homeless people all over the uws and manhattan for that matter. Now i feel at peace and can walk around without having to look over my shoulder
She was arrested, but the cops admitted she would likely be back on the street shortly….