Violence Comes to Christopher Street

While Mayor Bloomberg was out marching for gay pride, New York City’s gay Mecca, Christopher Street, was being overrun by violent crime. Link here. Via Instapundit.

The New York Daily News reports: “Christopher St., the Village's most iconic block, has been taken over by drug peddlers, prostitutes and marauding youths, residents and shop owners say.

“Teenage troublemakers regularly wreak havoc along the colorful strip of boutiques, bars and restaurants extending from Seventh Ave. to Hudson River Park, merchants say.

"You take your life into your hands when you come down here, especially after dark,’ said Bob Goodman, 69, who has lived in the area for more than three decades.’Friends of mine have been mugged. Places have been broken to. There are fights all the time.“Crime has spiked in recent months, prompting cops to step up patrols and longtime residents to retreat indoors.

“‘I''ve never seen it like this. Fifteen years ago, you could walk down the street and you wouldn't have to worry about getting mugged on your way home’."

Where has Mayor Bloomberg been? As Glenn Reynolds suggests, he is been acting like Nanny Bloomberg, fighting the good fight against trans-fats and cigarette smoke.

Of course,  these Nanny state solutions to the city’s problems bespeak weakness, and weakness invites violent crime.