Greenwich Village pushing for more cops as once liberal village is riddled with drugs and crime | Law Enforcement Today

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY - According to an exclusive report from the New York Post, the liberal bohemian Mecca made famous for its anything-goes attitude, counterculture musical scene, and clashes with police is now asking and pushing for greater police presence as its neighborhoods are seeing increases in crime and drugs.

A new survey conducted by the Sixth Precinct Community Council found that after polling 600 of its neighborhood residents, 487 of them or 83 percent, want more police on the streets. The survey also showed that 74 percent of Villagers said that New York state needs stronger prosecution for drug dealing, while 80 percent thought the state needed stricter bail laws.

The survey was conducted in February and March of this year and is the first of its kind. Precinct council member Steve Zammarchi said, "The village is frequently criticized for being liberal, but clearly the numbers here indicate that we're not happy."

In Washington State Park, where Bob Dylan used to sing songs about social injustice is now overrun by drug addicts and dealers while repeat offenders are arrested and released back to the streets by lunchtime. Despite falling citywide crime, this green space continues to be riddled with crime and drugs.

Village-raised and president of the Washington Square Association, Trevor Sumner said, "Enough is enough. Liberalism is being challenged and people are realizing that our attempts to honor some ideals are leading to worst outcomes."

Sumner said he would have described himself as "quite liberal" up until two years ago, but his personal views have shifted after conditions in the park took a nosedive after the pandemic. However, it's not just the park. The Sixth Precinct routinely posts on X about arresting drug dealers plying their trade in broad daylight on Sixth Avenue — something that would have been unimaginable only a few years back.

Sumner said, "It's very hard for me to unsee the realities of the outcomes on the streets. It's shifted how almost everyone I know who's active in the community is thinking about voting." He went on to blame Albany's bail reform and discovery changes for the unending cycle of lawlessness.

Major felonies have surged over pre-pandemic levels, with 1,789 reported in 2024, up from 1,534 in 2019 — a 16 percent climb. So far this year, felonies are down 21 percent compared to 2024. The conservative shift is showing up in voting records too. A Post analysis found that nearly 13 percent of voters in the neighborhood backed President Trump in 2024, up from the eight percent of 2020 supporters. 

Eli Klein, who runs an art gallery in Greenwich Village, grew up in a very prominent liberal family. His mother Janet Benshoof was the founder of the Center for Reproductive Rights and a champion of the left. But, the former lifelong Democrat said the party abandoned them. He said, "The left has gotten more extreme as opposed to us really going the other way. There's a lot of recidivist criminals on the streets. The progressives push really soft on crime stuff. It's hard to believe that a huge section of our population wants career criminals on the streets."

Longtime village residents say the free-love energy of the past has morphed into something less poetic. Philip Spinelli, 75, who's lived on Christopher Street since the 1960s said, "There's a lot more crazies, unstable people. It's just an eyesore, it's disconcerting." Back then, he said, they were protesting for a cause. Now, not so much.

Sumner said, "We have literal zombies walking through the streets and framing it as somehow these reforms have given them some kind of dignity. This is not dignity. 

The New Yor Police Department (NYPD) insists that there have been "historic declines in violence and major crime reductions in every patrol borough," including a 20.7 percent decrease in index crimes so far this year in the Sixth Precinct compared to the same time in 2024.