(Photo: Scott Lynch)
Despite a noticeable police presence around Tompkins Square Park and a viral video of Santas brawling near Union Square, SantaCon posed few problems in the Ninth Precinct, police brass said last night.
At a monthly meeting, the precinct’s executive officer, Steven Hellman, said there were just two Santa-related violations — “one for drinking from an open bottle of alcohol and another for disorderly conduct.”
“They’re not bad people,” he told B+B. “There are just a lot of them.”
Neil Barsky, the new president of Ninth Precinct Community Council, said he had no beef with revelers who showed up at his cheesesteak joint, 99 Miles to Philly. “There weren’t as many as in years past,” he said. “It was snowing so hard.”
While the precinct didn’t take down any faux Kris Kringles, they did nab a faux survey taker known as “Murder Mike.”
A 16-year-old going by that name was arrested for robbery at a Starbucks earlier this month after impersonating a survey taker with a clipboard. Hellman said the perp would steal things like cell phones and cash while his victims were signing. One fought back, he added, and Murder Mike allegedly bit him. He’s now in lockup. Hellman described him as a “bad kid” with a long rap sheet.
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