We the >new-yorkers believe it's time the NYPD started enforcing the law in the Lower East Side no man's land known as "Hell Square"! And, no, closing the streets does not count! The NYPD presents the street closures as a necessary evil, but it creates a lose-lose situation for LES residents. It does not reduce noise--drunken, aggressive shouting at all hours is no better than honking cars or garbage trucks--but it does provide a safe, *inviting* space for transitory bar patrons to lose all sense of responsibility, awareness, and respect for residents. Closing the streets and setting up a weekly petting zoo for NYPD horses is worse than security theater--it's security mockery. There have to be better solutions. Why not leave the streets open but scale up foot patrols, to issue citations *left and right* to unruly members of the public, non-compliant bars, and road violators? You know, to actually enforce the law rather than turning their backs on the neighborhood!
