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Accused Christopher Street Vandal Punches Out Restaurant Window

By Andrea Swalec | October 14, 2011 9:49am | Updated on October 14, 2011 9:59am
Christopher Golden Woks on Christopher Street near Washington Street said the business is plagued by groups of young loiterers and occasional vandals.
Christopher Golden Woks on Christopher Street near Washington Street said the business is plagued by groups of young loiterers and occasional vandals.
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DNAinfo/Andrea Swalec

WEST VILLAGE — A Bronx man has been charged for allegedly punching through a window at a Christopher Street Chinese takeout restaurant Friday night, police said Thursday. 

Bronx resident Jackie Williams, 22, was sent to Rikers Island on Saturday and charged with second-degree criminal mischief. He was initially held on $5,000 bail or bond and was released on Thursday, according to city records

Steve Lu, the owner of Christopher Golden Woks at 159 Christopher St., east of Washington Street, said he heard a man yelling outside his restaurant around 11 p.m. Friday. He couldn't make out what the man was saying but soon heard the sound of one of his windows shattering.

"He got crazy and punched his fist through the glass," Lu said.

The head of the 6th Precinct said Oct. 13, 2011 that Christopher Street has quieted down since early September.
The head of the 6th Precinct said Oct. 13, 2011 that Christopher Street has quieted down since early September.
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DNAinfo/Andrea Swalec

Lu said he watched the man walk toward Pier 45, then he called police, who arrived within minutes. The restaurant's deliveryman, who witnessed the incident but was not available to speak with DNAinfo, helped lead police to the man on Pier 45, Lu said.

Lu said he was pleased to hear that Williams had been charged. 

"That's good for him. He shouldn't have done anything," he said. 

Lu said the window cost approximately $400 to replace, and is not covered by insurance. He will also have to pay an additional $150 to replace a painted panel on the window.

He added that his business has been plagued by groups of loiterers and occasional vandals since he began working at the family-owned restaurant roughly 15 years ago. 

"The kids get loud around here and sometimes they get violent," he said. "It's nothing new." 

A young woman kicked through another window at Christopher Golden Woks a few years ago, Lu said, but the restaurant more often has trouble with loiterers.

"People will come in a group and only one will buy anything. We try to ask nicely [for them to leave], but sometimes they won't listen," he said, estimating that he calls the police to report loitering about once a week from May through August, which he called "the high season."

Lu said he felt satisfied that police caught the alleged vandal, but that he would like to see a stronger police presence near his business.

"I would like to see the police more often on this block," he said.

Residents and business owners have long complained about groups of disruptive and violent young people who spend time on Christopher Street and Pier 45. An unprovoked rampage in a Greenwich Village Dunkin' Donuts by about two dozen youths on May 16 intensified concerns, and prompted the NYPD to boost police presence in the area.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said June 7 that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was "personally" monitoring the situation on Christopher Street. 

Sixth Precinct Commanding Officer Brandon del Pozo, who said at a July 21 community board meeting that officers patrolling Christopher Street have been instructed to make arrests rather than issue summonses, said Thursday that the strip has quieted down recently. 

Del Pozo said officers have found fewer incidences of public alcohol consumption, marijuana use, urination and lewdness on Christopher Street since late summer, and have received only a handful of calls about disorder on streets recently. 

The 6th Precinct has made five felony arrests on the entire length of Christopher Street, which stretches from Sixth Avenue to the Hudson River, since approximately Sept. 9, all for theft, del Pozo said.

Sixth Precinct Captain Maria Codd-Perez said at a Sept. 28 community meeting that police made an increased number of arrests on Christopher Street in August and September, including three felony arrests, "a lot higher" from past periods.

Criminal ticketed offenses in the 6th Precinct rose about five percent from 2009 to 2010, according to DNAinfo.com's Crime & Safety Report