I asked Karen for his name. She said the plainclothes police officer never offered his name or showed his badge to her. A police officer must identify himself and that includes plainclothes officers. He was with uniformed officers from the 9th Precinct. I told her next time to make sure to get names and badge numbers.Karen served in the military and because she is a vet, she applied for a vendors license and she did show it to the officer. She has a right to be there.
Karen asked why did she have to move? The plainclothes officer, a big husky guy, said he had a complaint about her. Karen doesn't know who complained. He told her it was about garbage. Karen said she did not understand why she had to move. She always cleans up any garbage around the area. The plain clothes officer said "Because I said so." She was upset. He said she could come back tomorrow. We don't understand but we are all keeping our eyes open and wondering.
I have a previous posting from months ago showing Karen sweeping the street. We have many witnesses who will attest to the fact Karen sweeps the streets actually far beyond the sidewalk where she sets up. She goes beyond the call of duty helping to clean up the area. I spoke with someone who works across the street. She was stunned. She said Karen is always there. It just evokes a bad feeling amongst the community.
Karen said, people from the bank in front of where she sets up often come out and thank her for cleaning up the mess out there which is not caused by Karen. Karen is well liked by many people and she had to move because "Love Saves the Day" was forced out along with so many small businesses. It is like Mike Bloomberg is making a "clean sweep" and he doesn't bother with one way tickets like he did with the homeless.
I have stood up for the NYPD when I can because I admire their heroism and good deeds that many might take for granted. Some actions by NYPD officers are not excusable like the reports of the "rape cops" from the 9th Precinct. The victim has picked up and left the neighborhood.
What does that say when women leave the neighborhood because they don't feel safe and in this case because of the officers that are supposed to be protecting you?
When Charles Barron demanded Commissioner Kelly step down, I wrote a letter published in AMNY saying Commissioner Kelly must stay. What I did not state in the letter is after a commissioner like Bernie Kerik, someone as rock solid as Commissioner Kelly is needed.
I had a letter published in The New York Times asking for a sizable raise for the NYPD. I went to the 9th Precinct Community meeting and I went to talk about the brutal rape and murder of Imette St. Guillen and nightlife concerns but I stated the NYPD needed a raise and with that, constant reform and change which includes better community relations.
Karen has an assistant, a local character. He was visibly upset. He said with all the crime around here why aren't they police working to stop the crime on the street instead of bothering us.
