The city that never sleeps is known for its bright lights and big dreams, but now even bigger problems to deal with.
Aside from the usual crime rates typically associated with the Big Apple, there’s another act that is plaguing law enforcement — sex acts and exposure while out and about.
The number of people masturbating publicly has seen a significant rise, according to NYPD data obtained by the New York Post.
There were 378 complaints filed from the start of 2024 up to June 30, up from 251 in the same period last year.
Officers had issued 159 criminal summons to alleged violators across the city through June 30, a staggering 396% increase from the 32 tickets written in 2023, according to data.
The data pointed out that body parts being exposed isn’t all sexual with some being caught urinating, but that was little comfort to Greenwich Village resident Brian Maloney, who told the Post, “There’s too much junk I don’t want to see.
“We’re exhausted by it. We’re trying for help, we’re pleading with our electeds to help and basically getting ignored.”
A community meeting covering the city’s Financial District and Tribeca neighbourhood had outraged residents speaking out over the NYPD’s failure to respond to their complaints about one particular serial masturbator who allegedly is easily identified by the Marine Corps tattoo on his back, the Post reported.
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However, Capt. Joel Rosenthal, commanding officer of the First Precinct, told locals that even if he was arrested for public indecency, he would likely be quickly released.
“This is a desk appearance ticket and a non-bail eligible offence, so he will be out within two hours,” he said.
Many critics, including Carolyn D. Gorman, a mental illness policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, have blamed the increase on the city’s easy-breezy laws and broken mental-health system, according to the outlet.
“If we don’t enforce laws so individuals aren’t in jails or prisons and they’re not receiving psychiatric treatment because the mental-health system deprioritizes the mentally ill … these people are out on the street,” she said.