Hundreds of NYPD cops are expected to be patrolling the streets of Inwood in upper Manhattan this weekend to prevent a “teen takeover” of area streets — a wild event that sparked chaos in the area and ended in one death, city officials said Saturday.
A takeover following last Sunday’s Dominican Day Parade sent thousands of teens swarming onto Dyckman St. and other surrounding blocks throughout the night, where they ran amok, stomped on cars and destroyed property, local leaders said.
During the madness, Steven Bodner and another man, both 23, were stabbed on Nagle Ave. near Arden St. at about 12:45 a.m. Monday.
Bodner, who lived in Holbrook, N.Y., was rushed to Harlem Hospital and died a short time later. No arrests have been made in his death, officials said.
“It was like, you know, a movie,” Inwood resident Nancy Preston told ABC Eyewitness News Friday about last weekend’s madness. “A disaster movie, a horror movie.”
When a new teen takeover was advertised on social media for this weekend, local leaders mobilized into action.
“Last week’s events cannot and will not be repeated in the Dyckman area,” local elected officials said in a joint statement released Friday. “A person lost their life, two others were injured, private property was damaged, our businesses were forced to close down early, residents were unable to access their homes, and our public spaces were left completely trashed.”
Local leaders have gone to both City Hall and the NYPD “to ensure there is a plan in place to prepare for an influx of people into our neighborhood.”
“Hundreds of police officers will be in the area around the clock, enforcing street closures and barricading areas across Dyckman St. and throughout our neighborhood,” the statement read.
During a press conference on their plans to protect the community, City Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa (D-Inwood) said that about 700 officers will be in the area this weekend.
“Our community should not be experiencing this level of violence and this level of disrespect,” De La Rosa said. “We’ve been informed that we will have 700 police officers on the ground in Washington Heights and Inwood this weekend to make sure that no unsanctioned gatherings happen.”
NYPD officials do not release deployment numbers and could not confirm the number De La Rosa coined, but said there will be additional police presence in Inwood this weekend.
“The NYPD is aware of the planned gathering,” an NYPD spokesman said. “We will have a police presence in the area and will continue to monitor information regarding the event.”