Latino Biker Gang Terrorizes Upper Manhattan Neighborhood

The neighborhood in question is Inwood which I lived in with my wife for a little while. It was an “upwardly mobile” community meaning that it was a ghetto that a bunch of rich White people moved into. It had a large Hispanic population that had internal problems, mostly Dominicans vs Mexicans and Central Americans, and Black people weren’t getting treated too well by any of those groups. The hope was that urban renewal would change Inwood into a enclave for what we envision as the typical rich New Yorker but even when I lived there it was kind of rough once you left the two block radius of “good” area.

Apparently it’s gotten rougher:

UPPER MANHATTAN — What appeared to be a parade of Halloween-masked bikers out for a joy ride took an unpleasant turn over the weekend when the riders drove into oncoming traffic, crashed sidewalks and yelled threats at pedestrians.

Police said they were aware of the marauding crowd on expensive racing bikes, most without license plates, racing through the streets of Washington Heights and Inwood, but were unable to apprehend the riders.

“They had moved on by the time we got to where the call originated,” said Officer Christian Perez.

Twitter and Facebook lit up with posts about the riders who were seen and heard all the way from the Allen Pavillion parking lot, at Broadway and 220th Street, to 181st Street in Washington Heights.

“Wonders why 200 costumed idiots decided 218th and Allen Pavillion were the ideal places to ride their motorcycles and 4-wheelers(!) on the sidewalk and generally break multiple laws. Also, the police were where?” wrote Inwood resident Jane Lowers on her Facebook page.

“What’s with the motorcycle rally up and down Broadway??? #Inwood #wheresthcops,” Twitter user Grimace2271 wrote.

Several residents have complained recently about bikes roaring through the neighborhoods, which have been documented by the police and community groups.

But Captain Jose Navarro of the 34th Precinct has said it’s difficult for the police to stamp out the problem due to the dangers of chasing fast bikes and inexperienced riders.

Officer Perez echoed that sentiment.

“We really have our backs up against the wall, it’s a catch-22, Perez said, explaining that the force wants to catch the riders, but are worried about doing more harm.

In other words the cops don’t want to clash with 200 gang members and have witnesses see that who ever they are (and some reports are that they may be affiliated with Dominicans Don’t Play or Trinitarios but those are rumors at best) literally control the streets.

And understand that this is in the city with the largest militarized police force in the nation. But 200 bikers can openly challenge the law there. What happens in a few years when a bankrupt New York is laying off cops?

An emailer told me that this is related to the Mamajuana Cafe which I thought was some sort of upscale club but according to this person it is a focal point of all sorts of suspicious activity. I’m inclined to think that because the area around the cafe is seedy Mamajuana may be getting a bad rap on this one.

Here’s video near the cafe of some of the bikers that have been raising hell in the area, but not from the incident in question:

One thing you’ll notice is that even on what looks to be a hot night (judging by how many of the women are dressed) the bikers are wearing full leathers. This probably means that they are planning on racing and may be carrying weapons. Also, racing leathers are armored these days and are popular with people looking for a fight with people who probably don’t carry guns but might have a knife on them – like a law abiding immigrant minding his business.

Needless to say NYC does not allow the average peon to defend themselves in any way, so when police cede the streets to gangs the common citizen is left at their mercy. Time to leave NYC my friends, when the cops start abandoning the rich things are starting to get bad.