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On Saturday morning, 86-year-old Betty Zengel, who suffers from Alzheimer's, managed to disappear from her caretaker's watch on the Upper East Side—and somehow ended up outside a Chelsea nightclub at midnight. M2 Ultralounge's owner and head of security contacted the NYPD, whose officers escorted Zengel away. But later the club's owner and security noticed Zengel wandering in the rainy streets a few blocks away—and now the club claims the NYPD abandoned Zengel.
Security director Scott Rice told the NY Post, "I'm used to 25-year-olds, and this wet little lady comes over. She wasn't homeless, you could tell. She was very old-school looking, [wearing] going-to-church kind of clothes." When he saw her left on the corner alone, Rice said that he confronted cops, "The officer said, 'She's fine," but Rice retorted, "Dude, she's not fine. You take care of the woman."
This second time, the police took Zengel to a station house, where it was discovered she was missing. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the club's allegations were untrue, "The club approached us because they didn't like having an elderly woman outside," and said that Zengel appeared to be fine, claiming she was from the neighborhood. Zengel's son William is simply relieved his mother is safe; according to the NY Times, "In February, Ms. Zengel boarded a bus that took her some 80 blocks south, where she was found wandering around the East Village by a police officer."
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Not reported in the Post:
She was found later tripping on X and drinking Grey Goose with an orange faced douche.
The son is simply happy that she is safe? I wonder how long it will take him realize (or be advised by a lawyer) that he could sue the city for negligence?
What's the over/under on M2 getting shut down by the cops Friday night?
It's either mild dyslexia, or just coming to expect the worst, but I had to read the headline twice before (thankfully) realizing that it wasn't "Claim: Cops Club Abandoned Lost Granny, NYPD Denies It".
Admit it, it wouldn't be the most surprising story...
Before anyone goes and sues the city, you might want to find an adequate care taker for this woman. Clearly the person who let her disappear in the first place is lacking ability.
NYPD fail (again... and again... and again).
i don't blame the pigs for assuming that booming granny was just there to party. she was there in her "old-school" threads and glow stick necklace. her only problem was that she didn't make the foo foo A-list.
The bouncer should've let the old lady in the club. Nothing more cool than seeing a disco granny on the dance floor. They were always a fixture at the Tunnel and Twilo :)
NY club scene just ain't the same no more.
Someone needs to strap her up with Lo-Jack, doesn't sound like this will be the last time she does this.
If you've ever had a relative with Alzheimer's, you'd realize how true that is. Alzheimer's patients literally get up in the middle of the night and start wandering around and get easily confused.
We had this with my grandmother, and apart from our watching her all the time, we'd hire nurses to watch her for $12-20/hour, but they'd fall asleep at 3-4 am, and she'd see a stranger on her couch and call the fire department. Locking her in her house would cause her to freak out and call 911.
Nursing homes are often too much care for Alzheimer's patients because they're often still quite mobile, but assisted living may not be enough care. It's literally like living with a 3-year old in a 90-year old's body.
There was an article about that in last month's NYTimes.
All Night Care for Dementia's Restless Minds:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/nyregion/14cover.html
@Manitoba - I completely understand. That's why i made that comment, 'm just surprised nothing has been done, or something invented specifically for this type of thing, i think it's about time.
@JS -Thanks for that, really cool thing they're doing.
There are lots of GPS locators for children out there. The hard part would be getting the elderly to keep it on. Children you can more or less talk to, but with the elderly, there's no guarantee that they'll remember to leave it on or take it with them, and unfortunately, there's no way to have it surgically implanted.
Just strap a cellphone around her neck and use the family locator website.
This is the second time this happened. Why doesn't this son take the proper steps to get her the assistance she obviously needs?
I like Scott Rice. Most people (myself included) would ignore the old lady.
Ashamed to say I can't stop laughing at the thought of granny dancing away and tripping on drugs.
Just drop 'em off at any Duane Reade and they're home.
A former landlord of mine lived in the building with his family, including his mother-in-law with Alzheimer's. She used to wonder away over 50 blocks, even in the worst weather. She also would forget she just ate, beg the neighbors for food and a few times ate raw ground beef from the fridge. If they locked her in her apartment, they would be liable if something happened to her.
She was a pretty happy person, but if that happened to me, please shot me.