Is Greenwich Village Turning Purple?

Once upon a time Irving Kristol explained that a neoconservative was a liberal who had been mugged by reality.

I cannot tell you whether the inhabitants of New York’s Greenwich Village have morphed into neoconservatives, but they are currently up in arms about the crime in their beautiful neighborhood.

People who have happily voted for liberals like Mayor Bill DeBlasio and District Attorney Alvin Bragg, both of whom are pro-crime and pro-criminal, have now decided that they want more police in their neighborhood.

So much for: Defund the police.

The New York Post reports the story, one that will give new and special meaning to Schadenfreude:

The bohemian Mecca made famous for its anything-goes attitude, counterculture musical scene and clashes with police is begging for law enforcement, a shocking new survey found.

The Sixth Precinct Community Council polled 600 neighborhood residents and found 487 of them — 83% — want more cops on the streets.

And 74% of Villagers said the Empire State needed stronger prosecution for drug dealing, while 80% thought New York needed stricter bail laws, according to the first-of-its-kind survey, conducted in February and March.

It is almost too obvious to mention, but these same citizens voted for the policies that they now want to get rid of.

Take Washington Square Park where Bob Dylan used to sing about social injustice:

Despite falling citywide crime, the green space continues to be overrun by junkies and dealers — and repeat offenders are on a loop – arrested, released and back by lunchtime, neighbors said.

“Enough is enough,” said Village-raised Trevor Sumner, president of the Washington Square Association. “Liberalism is being challenged and people are realizing that our attempts to honor some ideals are leading to worst outcomes.”

Idealism is wonderful, until the bill comes due. One might call it, after Rob Henderson, a luxury belief, something that you believe until it is no longer a luxury.

But it’s not just in the park. The Sixth Precinct routinely posts on X about nabbing drug dealers plying their trade in broad daylight on Sixth Avenue — something that would have been unimaginable only a few years back.

“It’s very hard for me to unsee the realities of the outcomes on the streets. It’s shifted how almost everyone I know who’s active in the community is thinking about voting,” he said, blaming Albany’s bail reform and discovery changes for the unending cycle of lawlessness.

Is this going to change the way these people vote? Are they now going to start voting Republican? We should not be too optimistic:

The conservative shift is showing up in voting records too, a Post analysis found. Nearly 13% of voters in the neighborhood backed President Trump in 2024, up from the 8% of 2020 supporters, according to Board of Elections data.

It will take far more to produce a majority, and to rid the city of the politicians who are underwriting the trend.

“The left has gotten more extreme as opposed to us really going the other way. There’s a lot of recidivist criminals on the streets. The progressives push really soft on crime stuff. It’s hard to believe that a huge section of our population wants career criminals on the streets,” he said.

Actually, it’s not that hard to believe. This did not just happen. It happened because citizens did not care.

“There’s a lot more crazies, unstable people. It’s just an eyesore, it’s disconcerting,” said Philip Spinelli, 75, who’s lived on Christopher Street since the 1960s.

Back then, they say, they were protesting for a cause. Now, not so much.

“We have literal zombies walking through the streets and framing it as somehow these reforms have given them some kind of dignity – this is not dignity,” said Sumner.

So, Greenwich Village is turning purple. We wish it all the best.