The police say that this man is a suspect in five robberies.

The authorities are looking for a man suspected of committing five robberies — including three in the East Village — over the course of four days.

The first incident occurred on May 12 at 315 East 18th Street, when the thief approached a 26-year-old woman at around 10:30 p.m., brandished a knife and demanded her wallet. He fled the scene empty-handed.

The next morning the suspect struck again, this time in our neighborhood at Second Avenue and East Houston Street. The police said he grabbed a 27-year-old woman from behind, covered her mouth and once again failed to steal his victim’s wallet.

Investigators said that on May 14, the suspect struck twice more in the East Village. At 1:20 a.m. he wrapped his arm around a woman’s neck at 202 East Sixth Street and stole her cell phone. Then, the police said that at 9:10 a.m. the man covered another woman’s mouth at Lafayette and Bleecker Streets and demanded her wallet. He again left empty-handed.

In the fifth incident, the police said that the man pushed a 24-year-old woman against a wall at 44 Wall Street at 3 a.m. and stole her cell phone.

Police said the man — who is pictured above in a pair images from surveillance cameras — is roughly 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds.

Timothy J. Stenovec Detectives at the scene of the stabbing Monday morning. Jairo Pastoressa, 25, a resident of the East Seventh Street tenement where the stabbing occurred, faces murder charges.

A 25-year-old East Village man was charged with murder last night in the fatal stabbing of another man early yesterday morning, the authorities said.

The suspect, Jairo Pastoressa, lived in a tenement at 272 East Seventh Street where the police said that Christopher Jusko, 21, was stabbed around 5:30 a.m. Monday. The authorities said that Mr. Pastoressa surrendered to the police shortly after the attack.

While detectives did not immediately provide details about a possible motive, Mr. Pastoressa’s neighbors said that the killing occurred after a dispute over a woman in whom both had a romantic interest.

The arrest of Mr. Pastroressa was confirmed by The Local this morning. It has also been reported by other news organizations.

One of Mr. Pastoressa’s neighbors, John Bonilla, said that a friend of Mr. Pastoressa’s family indicated that Mr. Pastoressa told investigators that he was acting in self-defense.

Mr. Bonilla described Mr. Pastoressa, his neighbor of about four years, as a “personable young man” and said that he “generally kept to himself.”

“We’d exchange hello and goodbye when he’d go out and walk his dog,” said Mr. Bonilla.

Mr. Bonilla said that neighbors along the stretch of East Seventh Street where the stabbing occurred were jolted by the crime.

“It’s very unnerving,” said Mr. Bonilla. “It doesn’t give you a good sense of security, and makes me wonder about staying in New York.”

Timothy J. Stenovec Detectives have continued working at the crime scene along East Seventh Street through the afternoon.

The authorities this afternoon identified the victim of a fatal stabbing on East Seventh Street even as detectives were still trying to determine a motive for the crime.

Police said that the victim, Christopher Jusko, was stabbed once in the neck about 5:30 this morning inside an apartment at 272 East Seventh Street. Mr. Jusko, who was 21, was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Timothy J. Stenovec Detectives are continuing their investigation into a fatal stabbing that occurred this morning on East Seventh Street.

Detectives are investigating a fatal stabbing that occurred this morning on East Seventh Street between Avenues C and D.

The police said that the victim is a 21-year-old man who was stabbed in the neck around 5:30.

The authorities have a taken another man into custody in connection with the incident.

Reporters from The Local are on the scene and we will post a full report as soon as we have more details.

Timothy J. Stenovec Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lehr, pictured at a police ceremony earlier this month, told the Ninth Precinct Community Council Tuesday night that cyclists who violate traffic laws in bike lanes will receive tickets just as motorists do.

The head of the Ninth Precinct issued a stern warning to East Village cyclists at the Community Council meeting Tuesday night – traffic laws don’t just apply to vehicles.

“They are under the same rules and will get a moving violation just like a motorist would,” said Deputy Inspector Kenneth Lehr, referring to neighborhood cyclists. “They’re required to adhere to the same rules as the road.”

Much of the council meeting focused on enforcing traffic laws in the re-designed bike lanes that were introduced this summer along First and Second Avenues from Houston to 34th Streets.

Kurt Cavanaugh of Transportation Alternatives called bike lanes the “new hot button issue” and asked the Ninth Precinct to step in to prevent bike lanes from being blocked by vehicles, delivery trucks and even pedestrians.

“We ask the local precinct to increase the bike lane blockage enforcement,” he said. “There’s still a lot of bike lane blockage, which is really unsafe for all parties.”
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Timothy J. Stenovec Officers Edward Thompson (left) and John Sivori were honored at a ceremony Thursday night saluting officers of the Ninth Precinct.

A loaded .22 caliber semi-automatic weapon, eight daggers and a silencer.

Those are the items that Officer Edward Thompson and Officer John Sivori, both of the Ninth Precinct, discovered on a burglary suspect in the East Village early one morning in March.

The officers, who are also Marine veterans and have served in Iraq, were two of the 34 police officers who were recognized last night for their “outstanding service to the safety and well being of our community” at the annual Ninth Precinct Recognition Ceremony.   The Ninth Precinct Community Council, a volunteer organization focused on strengthening the relationship between the community and the police, put on the event, which highlighted specific instances in which officers had acted with exceptional bravery.

“Not a lot of people know what we do on a daily basis, and it’s nice for my guys to get the recognition,” said Sergeant Elias Miranda, who supervises the unit that includes Officers Sivori and Thompson.
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Dan Nguyen

Earlier this week, we wrote about a meeting of the state liquor authority committee of Community Board 3, where neighborhood residents successfully opposed the granting of a liquor license to a diner on Avenue A. One reader, Josef, commented in the forums:

Who are these people? Obviously they do not deserve to live in such a cool neighborhood. There are thousands and thousands of people who would love to move to the East Village and revel in its bars, restaurants, noise, traffic, and graffiti. Instead, the best hood for partying in the city winds up populated by shrinking violets with sensitive eardrums and early bedtimes.

Later in the week, we posted a story about the Ninth Precinct Community Council Meeting where at least 25 people showed up to voice their complaints about noise and fighting outside East Village bars.

As the weekend approaches – with Oktoberfest celebrations and other events planned – we’d like to know what you think.

Are complaints about noisy bars and congested streets overblown?

Or do residents have a legitimate expectation that business owners control the riff-raff?

Let us know.

Timothy J. Stenovec Makeba Thompson, 41, holds a photograph of her brother Devin Thompson who was fatally shot outside the Sin Sin Lounge Aug. 22.

It’s been a month since the slaying of Devin Thompson outside the Sin Sin Lounge, and speaker after speaker at the Ninth Precinct Community Council meeting tonight told the police that things aren’t getting any better.

Of the more than 150 people who attended the meeting – residents and business owners – at least 25 indicated they had come expressly to urge the police to act against continued problems with noise and fighting at Sin Sin, which is located on East Fifth Street near Second Avenue.

“They have carefully crafted a bar where anything goes,” said Bill Koehnlein, who is in his early sixties. He lives down the block from the nightclub. “They cater to people who aren’t from this neighborhood to do what they would never do in their own neighborhood.”
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Rachel Wise

Hello, East Village.

We wanted to let you know that the Ninth Precinct will be holding a Community Council meeting tonight at 7 at the Ninth Precinct station house, 321 East Fifth Street.

NYU Journalism’s Timothy J. Stenovec spoke with Jeremiah Shea, the president of the Community Council, who anticipates a large crowd because it is the first council meeting since June. Mr. Shea recommends that people arrive early to get seats.

Tonight’s meeting does not have an agenda – although such topics as last month’s shooting outside the Sin Sin Lounge are likely to be discussed. The Neighborhoodr blog posted a flier calling on members of the community to attend the meeting and rally around the issue of violence in the East Village.

The Community Council sessions offer those who attend a chance to speak during the public comment period. “It’s a community expressing their opinions, their problems,” Beth Neuman, the council’s first vice president, told Mr. Stenovec. “It’s a place for them to vent.”

In other neighborhood news, in case you missed it, here’s a link to our earlier post about Monday night’s meeting of the liquor authority committee for Community Board 3.

There are several stories about the East Village resident who was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Canal Street. You can find them here and here.

And The Observer weighs in on the Sukkah City architecture competition up in Union Square. And here’s another image of it via Neighborhoodr.