Gothamist: Is Hope on the Way Out in Williamsburg?

jpeditor

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:39:19 -0500

" I've spent my entire adult life working in media," Sounds like you are part of the problem. Doing ZERO background on BHO while "exposing" Palin's clothes and working with govt hacks to use state computers to crawl up the Plumbers crack. "and if a cop smacks your camera it's assault and they deserve to be called out and penalized." Once you get your picture and then keep pushing the camera in someone's face, you deserve to have your camera used for your Couricoscopy. PS - to the elitist who asked "who gets on the train at 1245 AM?": People who have to work for a living and/or can't afford a cab to go to the next "club".

max_impact

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:35:42 -0500

glad this mole got wacked: http://www.flickr.com/photos/threadseven/3004991514/

NannyState

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:51:15 -0500

Anymore, it's just Whack-A-Mole with those hipsters.

brooklyn and i

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:17:02 -0500

noise complaints in wiliamsburg and 311 calls is on of the biggestin nyc 2008 dont blame the cops http://gothamist.com/2008/03/10/volume_of_noise.php

hewins

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:13:02 -0500

If anyone would like to complain about the Police, you can do so here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/ccrb/home.html

ihateregistering

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:24:26 -0500

@mjdiegel Thank you! What you said is exactly how I feel, but you said it much more eloquently than I could have. I feel like the people who hate Williamsburg have never actually been there.

grantrules

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:17:53 -0500

Oh no! Impeding traffic on Bedford! How will Northside Car survive!? Bring in the riot police!

Felix Hoenikker

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:05:16 -0500

As always, Matt Stone and Trey Parker nailed the post election nonsense on both sides, and aired the night after the election. http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/

MisterTissue

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:02:29 -0500

Look, hipsters and gentfification are annoying. But you put guys in helmets and give 'em bats it sets up a paradigm where they feel entitled and even required to use them. It puts the police on a hair trigger. I agree that blocking traffic and screaming at 2am is a legitimate nuissance. I also agree that there are few things more annoying than guys in American Apparel sweatshirts and three day beards with the ink still wet on their Film Studies degrees yelling about "knowing their fucking rights." AT THE SAME TIME: These cops were not as violent as I have seen NYPD be, but in general, the police in this instance and in other instances elevate the tensions with their heightened, peacock-feathers-out, let's-whip-'em-out-and-measure-'em style hyper mascuiline reactions to very minor situations. I respect the badge and the authority that comes with it, but it does not give a police officer the right to not treat me like a man. If I am standing in the street, he has every right to yell at me to get on the sidewalk. The second he physically shoves me, though, he has abused his power. If I shoved him back, I'd end up in the clink. In general, I have often been appalled at the lack of professionalism among the NYPD.

robingee

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:52:13 -0500

"Everyone's just pissed because our taxes are going to go up" All of those people make over $250K a year? WOW!

spiritross

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:12:23 -0500

Damn Hippies Oh wait I mean Yuppies oh wait Yeah, Damn Hipsters Thats it Its difficult because they are all the same just different years

whitecastlerock

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:25:34 -0500

Where were the Trinitarios during these celebrations?

Politburo

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:17:22 -0500

"These kids are making me sound all crotchety." No, you're doing that all on your own.

smilerwithaknife

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:56:35 -0500

um. no one was doing anything illegal here. i despise the atmosphere of fratboy hipsterdom in Wburg as much as the rest of you. BUT the cops here are clearly out of line, these people are celebrating a monumental historical occurrence, peacefully. The cops are the aggressors and they are clearly in the wrong ... are we watching the same tapes ? The police presence in Williamsburg has been ridiculous this past year, a virtual police state . They are basically ticketing people for spitting on the sidewalk. Take a look at Youtube for the same type of celebration taking place at St. Marks and 1st ave where a guy dances on top of a city bus. Same amount (or more) of people blocking an intersection joyously and - NO COPS! NO ARRESTS! send all your asses back to the complacent white suburbs if you can't deal with public protest

fionafee

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 04:48:08 -0500

WOW!! I am so happy there are sooooooooooooooo many people who feel the same way I do about the dirty kids from anywhere else, usa on bedford!! F that geeky know nothing kid with his video!!!I could go on and on to say more but I will end with this.... GO BACK TO ANYWHERE, USA DIRTY HIPSTER KIDS!!!!

The Edge

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:59:18 -0500

#67/68- tl;dr

mihir

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:41:49 -0500

its a huge step backwards in progression of the English language when people think using a sour label defining a particularly irksome group of people will substantiate what they're trying to say. while the civilians involved were quite exasperating with their immature regurgitation of old defense statements, the methods the police used were not necessarily the greatest in dealing with the situation. i don't see how i can sympathize with either of the parties involved in the aforementioned altercations as both of them forgot why they were out there - to celebrate. so please, whether its this concept of Williamsburg so many of you so strongly dislike, or anywhere else in the country, chill the fuck out and grow the fuck up. you think calling names and making bitter remarks makes you sound bigger and badder than the rest? actually, you show that you're just as immature and pretentious as the people you like to attack while you blissfully indulge in your own form of douchebaggery.

mihir

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:41:08 -0500

JacqueMehoff

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:27:27 -0500

these tactics were perfected during the RNC. innocent tourists and bystanders were caught up in reactionary force. expect more of this as the mayor wants this city all for himself and his rich buddies and the Police will be at there beck and call. he's just pissed that he isn't President. that's why he's cutting services to the bone and taxing the middle class to hell.

pierrevonbaron

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:18:50 -0500

Not everyone who thinks he/she knows his/her rights actually knows his/her rights, no matter how much he/she says it, believes it, yells it. Someone earlier referenced the right to peacably assemble: "It's a basic freedom. I wish more people would acknowledge that." Unfortunately for most people (and fortunately for lawyers who like having work to do), it is not that simple.

paolo mastrangelo

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:55:32 -0500

when i was a wee lad being rambunctious and crabby cause i was tired and needed a nap but wouldnt fall asleep, my dad used to sing this weird italian folk song that would put me right to sleep no matter how much I protested, "but im not tired!" while I cried and rubbed my eyes of tears and then promptly feel right to sleep. no shit they did that to me when i was at the dinner table once and I fell asleep in my plate of pasta. No joke. Ive heard this will do the same thing to a hipster.

godhimself

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:23:21 -0500

GO HOME TO WHATEVER STATE YOU FROM,...NO ONE WANTS YOU HERE..so you can say i live in nyc to all your friends at home.

MFer

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:55:30 -0500

Non-story. Move on.

hitlerbaby

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:26:14 -0500

52 - i think the point here is that the cops weren't acting that way against hipsters so much as they were reacting to a crowd of assholes... what the fuck do you think is going to happen when you flick off a cop? why should they have to put up with that shit any more than you would? When you go ahead and consider all cops assholes before anything is done and go up in their face with all this hipster bullshit bravado, you're going to get your skinny ass pushed back.

Wza

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:03:56 -0500

Hehe hipsters vs cops...someone pass me the popcorn, i'm enjoying this! :D

stacher

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:01:24 -0500

Speaking for Fort Greene - there were no incidents similar to what transpired in Williamsburg. Hundreds were in the streets at South Portland and Lafayette and also at Dekalb and Carlton. People were still celebrating at 3:45 AM when I called it a night. Uniformed police officers as well as NYPD Community Affairs members were there, mostly to ensure the remaining single traffic lane was kept open, and no revelers were hit by the slow moving traffic when crossing the street. From my experience (in an area just south of Williamsburg), there should have been no reason for the reaction there. From what I can see in the videos, it was exactly the same set of circumstances.

maevemealone

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:11:17 -0500

As I understood the nights activities, all the other assemblies were very willing to move out of the way of traffic and were generally cooperative with police requests. Those crowds didn't have arrests and everyone came home happy. The Williamsburg crowds did not want to move when traffic needed to get through and it proceeded with that attitude. If cops are facing an uncooperative, unruly crowd they're going to start shutting it down. So there ya go.

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:49:39 -0500

atticaaaaaa!

paolo mastrangelo

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:28:15 -0500

fight the power. soon, if you keep it up, you will win back your right to wear panda costumes in the streets while yelling and screaming. I WILL NOT STAND ON THE SIDEWALK! I WILL WEAR PANDA COSTUMES IN THE STREET! I WILL FIGHT FOR MY RIGHTS TO DO SO! AND I WILL BREAK DOWN THESE WALLS!! The history books will remember you fondly.

thefacts

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:26:13 -0500

The cop was restrained. Drunken hipsters and Trust fund brats screaming at 1 am in the morning in a neighborhood where some people actually work and get up early for school deserve to be arrested. You resist arrest, then the cops play tough.

aaarrr

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:21:30 -0500

yeah, hipsters are annoying- we get the point. there was wild celebration all over the ENTIRE city. (not to mention elsewhere all over the world) All ages, races, demographics... do you people think the cops should've treated the whole city this way? or is this behavior just ok when it's against "hipsters". (and i guess your definition of hipster is any one who happens to be standing on bedford ave)

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:17:06 -0500

I meant the clink but the can works too

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:16:00 -0500

If I was these guys I'd be embarrassed that I acted like such a little pissant on camera. Seriously, how emasculating. I bet their girfriends dump them cause they got a rash while they were in teh can.

jaycjay

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:06:54 -0500

"And why do we, as citizens, have to worry more about the cops starting a fight than about the people they're supposed to be protecting?" Well put. You know, I've worked at a couple of bars thet had to fire bouncers because they caused more violence than they prevented, escalating situations instead of calming them. Unfortunately, the same is often true of the police.

Thespis

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:50:53 -0500

Don't get me wrong -- much of what these Williamsburg kids were doing in support of their constitutional rights was pure jackassery (and I'd like to enjoy my constitutional right -- or at least I view it as my constitutional right -- to slap each of them silly). But... The police have a bad habit in this city of over-reacting and inciting bad situations, leading to both police officers and citizens getting injured. It's unconstitutional, but it's also stupid. Why (other than nostalgia for high school football) would any cop want to create a situation where violence is guaranteed to happen? Why create an ugly scene when you don't have to? (And why do we, as citizens, have to worry more about the cops starting a fight than about the people they're supposed to be protecting?) Pushing people onto a sidewalk when there's no sidewalk to go onto, ordering them down the block when they have a right to be where they are -- these things are not about safety, they're about intimidation. (And why always down the block? What's so much better about down the block?) Intimidation leads to distrust, anger, and violence, which leads to injured people and injured cops. Is that unconstitutional? In a situation like this, where the gathering is clearly political -- yeah, I kinda think so. But regardless of your view on that, it's also mind-numbingly stupid.

HUGO_MEGO

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:50:12 -0500

I think the cops are innocent.

mjdiegel

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:37:56 -0500

I've lived in Williamsburg for 6 years and have grown tired of the ignorance surrounding the circumstances of the residents of this neighborhood. It is indeed part of the gentrification of NYC, but so is the entirety of Manhattan. It does have a nightlife that seems college like, but look at the UWS - beer pong tables in every bar, Midtown east - fresh out of college kids downing beers in a shirt and tie. Its no different than these neighborhoods, it just looks a little different, or at least used to. In an effort to dispel these generalizations of the make up of the North Brooklyn neighborhood, i've been taking street portraits for the last 3 months and posting them on famefamefame.blogspot.com. Not everyone here is white, not everyone is rich, and not everyone is a hipster - and even if they meet all these criteria, most certainly have much less hate in their hearts than the majority of the people how consistently generalize Williamsburg. Please check out the website famefamefame.blogspot.com and please stop promoting ignorance.

Jesq

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:31:29 -0500

Is that Clooney in the bottom of the shot at the top of the post? Hahaha

henricus

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:23:45 -0500

I'd like to see a timestamp on this. I heard the Bedford Ave crowd lasted till 2:30 and later. If that's the time the cops were called out, well then yeah, it's time to disperse the crowd. I find it interesting when people tell cops they "know their rights." Sometimes they don't....yes, you have a right to assemble peacefully, but you don't have a right to disturb the peace, block traffic, and go wherever you like. Again, the same self-entitlement to do 'whatever the hell I please' runs rampant in this city. I was out in Harlem cheering the victory, but the crowd dispersed fairly early. Yes, there were police and everyone followed instructions and guess what hipsters...no one got hurt or arrested! Amazing how that works. If you have a bunch of 20 something know it alls gathered together yelling at cops and generally not being amicable to the wishes of the police..well..yeah, people are going to get arrested and some cell phones shoved in a cops face are going to get broken. This is a non-story...and the person who compared them to stormtroopers...give me a break..lay off the nazi bull.

GodLost

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:18:58 -0500

The police were very reserved in their handling of the situation. From experience, I can assure many this would have very different outcomes in different neighborhoods. Camera phones, college/trust fund kids with parents willing to hand over retainers for pricey attorneys, and the media attention on both the election and the neighborhood in general are probably the only reason these kids weren't beat the fuk down and forced to sit on the floor in bookings with no phone privileges. I couldn't even think of complaining at this joke that just wasted 5 minutes of my time. That being said, a persecuted nypd officer is always a good thing, if only for those not as fortunate as these kids were.

nice job

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:09:28 -0500

Here is Robert Johnson's account of the circumstances surrounding his arrest in that video. Courtesy of our friends on williamsboard Home from 20 hours in jail. It was about an hour after the party ended, the streets were dead and I was standing outside of the Charleston smoking. Was asked to move. Moved walked up and down the block. Cop came back to me while moving and said "I told you move" I said "I am" and then he said "I am going to arrest you." I asked "for walking down the street not doing anything? you can arrest me for that? " and he responded by cuffing me and hauling me in. Made up a report that I was sitting on a fire hydrant they needed access to and refused to move. Judge threw it out as a false arrest and called it ridiculous. Same cop that beat the guy on the sidewalk. Pretty nice, eh? Also... As a real new yorker born and bred, these hipster idiots are going to be in for a big suprise in the next few years when new york city goes back to the REAL NYC more mental midget "native new yorker" dopes like you need to be told to SHUT UP ALREADY.

meowster

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:06:22 -0500

Also PTG- the riot police weren't the first on the scene. There were regular beat cops all over the place way before riot cops arrived and they couldn't handle it. It's not like riot geared, freak cops converged on the scene with no warning. It sucks the cops had to show up at all- but my guess is since it's a residential area also, (contrary to what sites like gothamist make it out to be-just a playground for fashionable drunk youngsters) people called the cops. For the record, I am usually on the side of the civilian, but this was just stupid and some people were just asking for trouble. Literally in one case I saw.

pazzia

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:00:10 -0500

what neighborhoods do you guys live in?

cary whittier

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:57:47 -0500

Cops mixed with drunk dumb-ass hipster douches is always a reason to avoid Bedford and take Driggs home! these kids clearly wanted shit to film for there lame ass Youtube reel. fuck 'em most of them will move back to CT after they're failed art career lasts 2 semesters!

jrd550

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:57:23 -0500

when are these pigs going to be held accountable?

zodak

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:53:50 -0500

hipsters > pigs

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:52:52 -0500

I hope these idiots get 150 hours of community service with some black kids to see what it's really like not being able to peacefully assemble on a street corner. I'm with godhimself - these kids just don't know where they live. Try doing that in Chicago and you are going to get if not your ass kicked then 72 hours in cook county. Try screaming about your rights then. These kids are making me sound all crotchety. But go back to whatever suburb you're from. ugh.

PTG in nyc

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:49:51 -0500

When cops show up in riot gear, do you expect the hipsters to be nice? I'm not saying the cops should congratulate and shake hands with them, but bring a German Shepperd to a business deal, and likely you're a criminal. We all know hipsters are pussies and do not mandate the need for riot gear. They are not a threat to society, and they should probably be treated a little less harshly in the first place (ie. ditch the riot gear).

godhimself

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:46:34 -0500

As a real new yorker born and bred, these hipster idiots are going to be in for a big suprise in the next few years when new york city goes back to the REAL NYC with the down turn in the economy, hate to say it but a lot more crime and fires on the way for the city...lets face it we lived in a prosporus time for the last 12 years or so here...and the old times of the 70's and 80's are cycling back in...i think with due time these morons will be making an exodus and going back to whatever part of the country they came from

meowster

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:36:08 -0500

Let's assess the situation - it's 230-3am and there are 400 people blocking the streets, drinking, getting naked, screaming and whatever else. I understand celebrating (which I did, also in Williamsburg) and drinking, getting naked and whatever else but after like what... 3 hours- take it down a notch or two for fucks sake. These people just seemed retarded to me. I mean, when the riot police and helicopters show up- it's time to go home! Also, I see no beating. Smacking the phone out of that idiot's hand wasn't a great display for any cop (even though he was being taunted) but I mostly see people not leaving when they were told, challenging the cops, provoking the cops and looking for a fight all in the name of "cool". Fucking stupid and a shitty way to end a great night.

hungryghoast

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:36:00 -0500

@neckbeard... speaking for Fort Green and Prospect Heights, which saw similar celebrations... No, nothing like this happened, not that i saw anyway. And as far as I've seen, nothing like this happened at Union Sq, which seemed just as insane (but in control). Why is it that the cops were dispatched in Williamsburg to rope in the crowd but seemingly nowhere else? Curious.

nice job

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:34:27 -0500

when a bunch of kids are blocking the street at 1am yelling, "I KNOW MY FUCKING RIGHTS" right in cops faces, what do you expect? maybe it's just me but i'd expect them to be able to yell "I KNOW MY FUCKIGN RIGHTS" whenever they want and not have to worry about the threat of arrest. same goes for filming and taking pictures of police officers.

edEx

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:30:29 -0500

"Everyone's just pissed because our taxes are going to go up" Our taxes were going to go up no matter who the President is, Obama or McCain–it's silly to think or believe otherwise. Bush and his cronies managed to fuck up this country so badly that it will take over ten long, dreadful years to fix. Whoever inherits Obama's presidency in 2012 will have to deal with this shit as well. The good thing about Obama is that whatever good he does, will be felt between 2012 and 2024.

pazzia

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:30:06 -0500

ft. greene was out of control and all that happened was the streets were blocked off by the police so people could get on with their celebrating. i don't understand how that couldn't have happened in this neighborhood as well.

RatherBe

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:27:52 -0500

matty, did you miss the other question? what justice were they obstructing?

Dude69

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:25:32 -0500

I feel a lot safer knowing the NYPD is doing their job and keeping the rawdiness from escalating into bedlam. So what if some hipsters got slapped around a bit!? Just because some liberal President got elected we can throw Law and Order out thw window! I'd have gone down there to initiate some citizen arrests if I were some jobless artist like these dirty hipsters!

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:24:58 -0500

Oh is it a figurative reference? I'm sorry I didn't go to Vassar. Maybe I should learn how to read more good.

PTG in nyc

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:23:08 -0500

Uh there were massive amounts of massive celebrations all over the city. Hipsters are annoying and might act like brats (see: Pandamonium), but there seems to be something about the cops across the East River in Billyburg that has them extra mad at the highest percentage of hipsters than anywhere else neighborhood in the city (again, see: Pandamonium). I'm a borderline hipster, but I have a full time 9-7 job, and hipsters tend to be "quasi" employed artists. Nonetheless, I feel like half the people that bitch about hipsters and gentrification are holed up in their rent control from 1975 apartment. Congrats, you've lived here longer than hipsters and during the darker days of NYC, but they've gotta live somewhere. Get over it and let them act like asses if they're not going to be violent. Half the world was going nuts on Tuesday night, and I find it hard to believe that the actions of Billyburg residents warranted what appears to be the most arrests than anywhere else.

dglass

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:23:05 -0500

Dude, you should be arrested just for living in Williamsburg.

jaycjay

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:21:11 -0500

"Jen Carlson called it a beating" Nowhere did she call anything a beating. The opening sentence, "Just when you thought hope was on the way, the NYPD comes to beat it out of you," is clearly a figurative reference. Somewhat inciting, perhaps, but not a statement that anyone was literally beaten.

Shinobi Shaw

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:20:05 -0500

This is only the beginning....

ganghiscon

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:18:48 -0500

I agree with Matty. While the mustachioed cop was way out of line and I generally side against the police in these situations, this post and the videos are making me turn against the self-righteous hipsters. It's one thing when an overzealous cop tackles a cyclist, but when a bunch of kids are blocking the street at 1am yelling, "I KNOW MY FUCKING RIGHTS" right in cops faces, what do you expect? I actually think the cop in the "Angry cop" video was rather restrained (especially for the NYPD in riot gear).

emilydickinson

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:18:22 -0500

@Matty I see your side, and agree that beating is a poor choice of words. I don't think peaceable assembly on election night is obstructing justice. I think this is mainly about people hating on Billyburg. If this happened in Bed-Stuy, LIC or Bay Ridge everyone would be reacting differently.

iancurtisjackson

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:18:19 -0500

obstructing what justice?

JenChungsBra

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:17:46 -0500

In my neighborhood the cops were celebrating right along with everyone else.

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:11:05 -0500

If anything these kids were obstructing justice and creating a dangerous situation for the police. They had every right to be arrested and those videos prove it. Sorry but this just really pissed me off.

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:08:51 -0500

@emily I am not saying smackign the camera wasn't wrong...I am saying that THAT IS NOT A BEATING. What a whiny little fuck. 1968 Grant Park - getting beat with a night stick is a beating. (incidently I was at grant park the same night as this kid and I went home when i was told to - just like 250,000 other people). Jen Carlson called it a beating and I am saying that it isn't in any sense of the word a beating.

neckbeard

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:06:17 -0500

was anybody here in harlem, times sqaure, or union sqaure? was it rowdy? were the cops acting like storm troopers there too? just curious at how those celebrations were.

bmfesq

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:05:46 -0500

COP should used his billy club, it is more effective and gets people to obey his commands to clear the streets and sidewalks. A-S-S_H-O-L-E got what he deserved, probably less. Next time pick your fights more wisely.

Art Stewel

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:03:02 -0500

I feel bad for the cops. Who the hell wants to police those assholes in the video and be disrespected for such crappy pay. Of course people have a right to film their interactions with the cops, but they also have a duty to follow a lawful order. A large group like that is a tinderbox waiting to happen. The cops did a great job, which they generally do. I love the presumptuous douche who thought the cop was some McCain autocrat.

emilydickinson

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:02:44 -0500

@Matty I usually agree with a lot of your comments, but I think the police physically assaulting a peaceful person for filming is definitely newsworthy. I've spent my entire adult life working in media, and if a cop smacks your camera it's assault and they deserve to be called out and penalized. With new technology, anyone can act a citizen journalist, and the last time I checked the police do not have the right to intimidate a journalist because they don't like the story.

Half Chemical

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:01:32 -0500

To the guy yelling "I know my rights" in the second video...you are so lucky that the cop had as much patience as he did. Just watching the video I felt like cracking you in the head.

frost

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:01:23 -0500

whatever you liberal hippies. they were being obnoxious, and if you don't think so, move to France. In other news, hipsters take their cues from TMZ paps.

neckbeard

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:01:02 -0500

@1 One of the things that I absolutely hate abou tliving in Williamsburg is the feeling of it being a college town. That being said, that doesn't give cops the right to treat somebody like that. Also, how many people are going to work at midnight? The few that are can deal with one night that brings in a celebration like this. New Yorkers complain about EVERYTHING. If you don't like it, don't live in New York. Even if you're a native, if you hate the noise, then leave the fucking city.

neckbeard

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:00:47 -0500

emilydickinson

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:56:06 -0500

Are you watching different videos than I am? Clearly at least one officer smacks the guy with the camera phone around for no reason. C'mon, this absurd. If anyone else smacked a police officer like that, they would be in a holding cell with bruises in a minute. Officer #1897 deserved to be charged in some way. Filming the police is not provoking them. Journalists and citizens have a right and duty to film the police.

Roquentin

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:55:45 -0500

You have a constitutional right to peaceably assemble. It's a basic freedom. I wish more people would acknowledge that.

RatherBe

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:55:16 -0500

The cop knocking the cellphone out of the guys hand was out of line. Nobody was getting beaten on though. @matuko how many people are getting on the L to go to work at 12.45 am? not enough to be seriously inconvenienced by this. @matty actually in a lot of the videos the people are moving out of the way, however slowly. why'd they need to knock cellphones and cameras out of people's hands id they were backing up?

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:54:09 -0500

This is a beating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROn_9302UHg What you posted is nothing. A non-story. *breathes* Kids my age make me so mad sometimes. They think that rules don't apply to them because their baby boomer parents instilled a sense of self worth far beyond what they deserve.

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:51:42 -0500

Those kids turned what should have been a celebration and escalated it into an altercation between police and themselves. They were clearly provoking these cops under the pretense that they would be filmed and would cry to gothamist later on. Total...bullshit.

matty

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:48:53 -0500

Jen no one got "beat" in that video! What the heck? Seriously, what the hell are you even talking about? Beating? What beating? That video shows some retarded kids not getting out of the way when they were asked to do so. From riot police. The idiocy of these kids ASTOUNDS me.

matukonyc

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:48:12 -0500

F**k these spoiled brats. This is not a college campus; it's a city. What about people trying to get to work on the L or just go about their business? Should they be inconvenienced because a bunch of drunk hipsters want to block the street and cause a nuisance?