Public Safety: they always seem to be there to shut down improv shows and boot you off the lawns, but never when you’re walking home bleary-eyed from Butler at 3am. As if you didn’t already have to reassure your parents of your safety in the big bad city, now you can go home for Thanksgiving dinner and admit that, yes, some very scary crimes have occurred recently. Yesterday, Public Safety published a security alert to their website about a suspect who followed a student into Ruggles before demanding the victim’s iPhone. Today Dean Martinez emailed this alert to all students and attached a two page statement from James McShane, Vice President of Public Safety. He discusses the spike in crime, especially along 114th St, the measures Public Safety is taking in response, and how security has improved over the past semester. Here’s the shorter version:

• More security on West 114th: Public Safety has deployed another patrol vehicle and security officer to patrol the street on foot “during the evening hours.” Changes will be in effect “begin[ning] at 4 pm and will continue until 3 am each night.” Note that the most recent crime occurred after the additional vehicle was deployed, but Public Safety did not specify if that vehicle was on patrol at the time of the crime.
• NYPD: Public Safety is working with the NYPD to bring “additional personnel, both uniformed and plain clothes, to help increase security in the 114th street area.” No word yet on what exactly this entails or the extent of this partnership.
• Security cameras: Currently, Public Safety has 24 hour surveillance of all residence halls where “all students and visitors are screened” along with 24-hour video surviellance. Yet despite this, the perpetrator was able to enter Ruggles on Monday, a building where the security guard is actually far away from the main entrance.
• Increased patrol on campus: Due to the crimes, security is being bolstered all over campus. The guards at the main gates on 116th and Broadway and Amsterdam are both staffed 24 hours, 7 days a week, together with “foot and motorized patrols.”
• Public Safety emphasizes that there are two 24-hour emergency operation centers, one on each campus. For the Morningside campuses, in event of an emergency, call 212-854-5555. For non-emergencies, call 212-854-2797. You can also reach Public Safety at any of the emergency call boxes on campus—all are connected to Public Safety 24/7.
• If you’re anywhere between 108th and 122nd between 7 pm and 3 am, you can call 212-854-SAFE to request a foot escort, or ride Columbia’s evening shuttle, which runs from 6 pm to 4 am.

Check out McShane’s full message after the jump

Last night we received the following tip from a concerned student:

Today, a friend and I (both Barnard students), were strolling in Morningside Park at 6h00pm. We heard three shots fired. It was followed by a bunch of guys yelling and we saw a group of guys run away. We weren’t in the exact vicinity but it took place closer to Manhattan ave. Two minutes later, a bunch of police and ambulance arrived. I have no idea if someone did or did not get hurt.

Bwog confirmed with Public Safety that only one shot was fired, no one was hurt, and no motive was established. One suspect has been arrested in relation to the shooting.

Around 5:30, students received a Security Alert e-mail from Dean Terry Martinez about about a robbery on 114th. While this was supposed to be a reaction to an event that occured last night, the attached flyer reported an incident that occurred last year. Public Safety confirmed that the crime that actually occurred last night (and which should go out to students in a new email soon) was as follows:

Two Columbia students were accosted last night at 10:30pm on the stoop of ADP on 114th between Broadway and Amsterdam. Two males approached the students, threatened them with a box cutter, and demanded an iPhone before fleeing south.

Update (8:56): The correct flier has now been distributed, and can be read here.

There is no need to fear. DNA Info’s Crime and Safety report for Morningside Heights has produced mainly positive results. In summation,

• Morningside Heights is the 38th safest neighborhood in Manhattan the city, and the 7th safest in Manhattan
• There has been a 76% drop in crime since 1993
• There was a 3% rise in major crimes from 2009 to 2010
• Morningside ranks 10th safest in the city for property crimes
• Felony assaults and rape have risen by around 30% since 2009
• There were only 2 murders in 2009 and 2010
• Robberies have dropped 11% since 2009

Tayshana Murphy, a high school senior who happened to be one of the nation’s top-ranked basketball players, was shot and killed in the early hours of Sunday morning in Grant Houses on 123rd Street.

DNA Info reports that police have identified two suspects in the murder, and that Murphy seems to have been the victim of a “long-running feud between Grant Houses and Manhattanville Houses” on 129th Street.

Spectator has a story with reactions from the neighborhood.

Murphy was a senior at Murry Bergtraum High School in Lower Manhattan, where she was nicknamed “Chicken” by her friends.

Last night at 11:40 p.m., a student was assaulted and robbed on 113th St. between Broadway and Riverside. Terry Martinez’s e-mail (below) includes details about where to send information if you know anything about this incident. Pictures are included in the security alert, available here.

Students:

Please review the attached security alert regarding a robbery that
occurred in the neighborhood last night. If you have any information
about this crime, you are asked to contact Det. Shannon, 26 Pct.
Detective Squad at 212-678-1318.

Please be mindful of your surroundings at all times and exercise
particular caution when walking alone or at night. Remember to utilize
the Columbia University Public Safety escort and shuttle service. The
telephone number is 212-854-SAFE (4-7233).

Public Safety may also be reached at any time by calling 212-854-5555
(4-5555).

Terry Martinez
Dean of Community Development and Multicultural Affairs
Division of Student Affairs

At about 3:10 a.m. this morning, a female student was approached, followed and grabbed on 115th and Broadway. The suspect then walked away. The victim described the suspect as Hispanic/5’3”-5’4”/ 20’ s. Pictures are included in the security alert. If you have any information, call Ken Finnegan, at 212-854-4790. Text of the alert after the jump, full security alert here. Read more…

Public Safety sent out an alert this morning about two related armed robberies that occurred late last night. On 110th St. between Broadway and Amsterdam, three victims were robbed in two separate incidents around 1:30am. One of the victims was also assaulted and knocked to the ground. The official police description of the suspect is “Male / black / dark complexion / 30’s / 6’ / 300 lbs / stubble on face / red baseball cap / white T shirt / dark pants.”

There is no word on whether the victims are associated with the university in any way. If you have any information that will be useful to investigators, you are urged to contact the 26 Pct. Detective Squad at 212-678-1318.

Full security alert after the jump.

Read more…

Morningside Heights crime wave!

We heard reports that there was a car crash, and then that there was a shooting last night on 113th Street between 3-5 AM. There was a car crash and an arrest, but no shooting. We just got off the phone with Public Safety, who told us there was an “altercation” and an arrest made by the 26th Precinct at Campo late last night, and that no one was hurt. We called Campo but the night manager was not at the restaurant. Murky details, but we can confirm that no one was hurt and one arrest was made. Details to follow.

Update, 4 PM: McShane confirms that there was an arrest at Campo last night. There was also a separate incident, a car crash, outside the new Book Culture on Broadway and 114th. A commenter below was outside at around 2:30 AM and saw a van “make a U-turn against the light” and crash into a barrier on Broadway. Photo of the accident below.

Photo by HSG

A tipster just wrote that he saw 10 cops handcuff a man outside Lerner and take him away. Apparently there were a lot of cops and Public Safety folk around. Bwog was outside Lerner a few minutes later, but found nothing- no cop cars, no Lerner personnel. We’ll update you as soon as we get more information, but if you saw or heard anything, please email tips@bwog.net or leave a comment.

Update: Public Safety confirms the arrest, and we’re waiting on details.

Update, 3 PM: Alright, here’s the lowdown from James McShane, VP for Public Safety. A man named Daisuke Mizouchi was arrested last night outside Lerner Hall. He was “engaged in a bogus theater ticket scam.” Basically, he would offer Broadway tickets for sale, take the money, and not deliever any tickets. “In at least five cases,” McShane wrote Bwog in an email, “he used Craigslist to promote his sales.” Last night the 26th Precinct of the NYPD (Columbia’s precinct) and CU Public Safety caught Mizouchi outside Lerner and arrested him “after a brief chase.” Bizarro!

In other news, Rangel will officially stand trial on ethics violations after a possible settlement fell through. He is accused of violating 13 counts of House rules. Not good news for your adopted Congressional District, good old reliable #1-5.

Update, 4 PM: Another tipster, Aryeh Hillman, CC’11, sends along this photo of the suspect being arrested, and recounts what he saw of the incident: on College Walk at about 9:15 an undercover police car started flashing its lights for students to get out of the way. The car then did a U-turn and parked on Broadway and 115th, outside Lerner. When Aryeh walked by the 115th gates, Mizouchi was pinned down by a plainclothes cop with his knee on the suspect. The suspect was then handcuffed. Another witness watched the chase and said Mizouchi looked like he was “flying” he was running so fast. As Mizouchi ran past Lerner, plainclothes cops ran out from multiple locations on campus. Mizouchi tripped and fell outside Lerner, where he was handcuffed. According to Aryeh it was all over very fast (which makes sense, as Bwog was on the scene just a few minutes after the arrest), the suspect was whisked away in an undercover police car, and the scence was clear. Also mysterious: the suspect has a Japanese name, but he didn’t look Asian, according to Aryeh and the photograph below. Curiouser and curiouser!

Photo by AH

learned more from the NY Post“>

Photo via NYPost of Cortright and the "person of interest" in the case

Yesterday CU Public Safety sent out a security alert that a “University affiliate” had been assaulted at 5:30 AM on Monday morning, during a jog in Riverside Park around 120th Street. Public Safety has not responded to Bwog’s inquiry about the specifics of the incident, but today we learned more from the NY Post.

Marisa Cortright, a rising BC sophomore from Oregon, was “grabbed from behind, punched in the face and had her head slammed into a wall” by her attacker, who also stole her iPod. The NYPD is searching for a “6-foot-2 heavyset blackman in his mid-40′s” who was seen exiting the park after the attack.

Cortright was found slumped and unconscious on a bench by tennis players entering the park, who called 911. Cortright is in stable condition at St. Luke’s and “doesn’t remember anything,” according to a policeman. She is an RA at Barnard this summer. Our best wishes for a speedy recovery for Marisa, and anyone with information about the incident should contact CU Public Safety at 212-854-5555 and the NYPD —either call 1-800-577-TIPS, visit the website, or text “TIP577″ (plus your message) to “CRIMES” (274637).

Update, 7/9: According to City Room, another woman was attacked on 98th Street about twenty minutes after Cortright was attacked. The second victim described her attacker as a slim man in his 20′s, while the “person of interest” in Cortright’s case was said to be heavy-set, in his mid-40′s. No word yet on any correlation between attacks.

Early this morning, Bwog received an urgent message: “Chairs Piano Lounge,” wrote the anonymous tipster. ”They’re new. They’re now.”

Accompanying these cryptic messages were photos of the old beige chairs in undignified stacks by the ramps.

This afternoon, Bwog Private Eye Carolyn Ruvkun went to investigate.

“Verdict: firm, supportive back. Less butt cushioning,” she wrote in her notes. She called the color choice “practical” but noted that the “grey chairs on grey carpet with grey and black tables” was a little “drab.”

They may be stain-proof, yes, but Bwog would have preferred a deep blue.

Photos by Caitlyn Gillikan, Pat Blute, and Carolyn Ruvkun, and Gavin McGown

Here’s the latest from the NYPD’s Department of Public Information on the shooting that took place Friday night, as Bwog reported:

On Saturday 4/24/10 at 0025 hours, police responded to a call of a male shot in front of 357 W118th Street, located within the confines of the 28th Precinct. Upon arrival a M/B/31 was discovered lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. EMS also responded and transported the victim to St. Luke’s Hospital where he was pronounced DOA. Two suspects were later taken into custody and brought to the 28th Precinct in regards to this incidents. The investigation is ongoing.
The DOA is identified as
James Williams M/B/30 of Brooklyn NY

Check back for updates.

Gothamist Newsmap is reporting that around 1:30am tonight, there was a shooting at W. 118th St. A tipster informs us that the incident happened at 118th and Morningside, and that residents of East Campus could hear it from the dorm.

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more.

Update, 11:13 a.m.: Bwog has been in touch with the precinct; however, they have yet to release any information.

Image via Google Images

We’re used to the occasional mugging by underage punks around campus but March has seen greater than its fair share of crime. Perusing our beloved campus crime blotter, Bwog noted several horrific incidents that happened in the last month.

Harassment via mobile devices and Internet-enabled computers is up sharply this month. Five students and faculty reported being electronically harassed, including one professor who even received “annoying emails from a former student” and a student repeatedly getting “unwanted chat sessions.”

Clearly moved by the unwanted emails and impolite graffiti spotted during routine patrols, students here began to act out. Two students fell off horses at the Equestrian Center and had to be hospitalized while another yelled at public safety officers towing her car near Brigham Hall. One student reported an issue with a peer but “didn’t feel threatened in any way.” Last week alone, a student was heard screaming in a room but could not be located when officers responded and another became “very emotional” after a fire drill.

This all culminated with a student who was so distraught that she doused herself in perfume and the odor purportedly set off the building’s fire alarm.

We understand that midterms are stressful especially with the lure of beautiful weather outside, but we beg you: take a step back and inhale deeply. There’s only six more weeks to go!