THE BRONX (WABC) — Officials in the Bronx are ramping up security this weekend in response to a possible Dyckman Street Takeover.<\/p>\n
Some 700 officers will be deployed across the area, working to prevent a repeat of last week’s takeover, a chaotic night that left one person dead and several businesses damaged.<\/p>\n
Local leaders say with worries of another ‘teen takeover,’ they’ve escalated their concerns to the “highest level of NYPD.”<\/p>\n
They say what happened last weekend can’t happen again.<\/p>\n
Nancy Preston says she was stuck in her home. “It was like, you know, a movie, you know, a disaster movie, a horror movie.”<\/p>\n
Julia Venuti, witnessed the ‘teen takeover’ as well, “It was outrageous. It was like an abuse of I don’t know what.”<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the day started with community and celebration for the Dominican Day Parade.<\/p>\n
But local leaders from Inwood and Washington Heights say the good times quickly faded.<\/p>\n
According to council members for the neighborhoods, the parade went off without a hitch.<\/p>\n
They say a ‘teen takeover’ with thousands of young people swarming Dyckman, overwhelming traffic, stomping on cars, and damaging businesses followed into the night.<\/p>\n
“Our community should not be experiencing this level of violence and this level of disrespect,” Council Member Carmen De La Rosa said.<\/p>\n
De La Rosa said police were overwhelmed, teens were in from several other states and the losses to property and vehicle damage numbered in the hundreds of thousands.<\/p>\n
A 23-year-old was stabbed to death.<\/p>\n
Just as the neighborhood begins to heal, several social media posts were found about another planned ‘teen takeover’ on the block for this weekend.<\/p>\n
De La Rosa and others formed a coalition to try and stop it.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been informed that we will have 700 police officers on the ground in Washington Heights and Inwood this weekend to make sure that no unsanctioned gatherings happen,” De La Rosa said.<\/p>\n
Tensions among residents reached a boiling point during Friday’s planned press conference.<\/p>\n
“It’s terrible. We’ve been here 50 years. I’m like, I don’t know. I don’t know what to make of it,” Julia Venuti said.<\/p>\n
“What do we do? I don’t want to be forced out of my home,” Nancy Preston said.<\/p>\n
Local leaders say this is not them trying to make villains of young people and that they’re welcome.<\/p>\n
But with businesses paying upwards of $20,000 a week to operate, they simply can’t afford to shut down again.<\/p>\n
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