An enraged man was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly shoved a cook into a plate class window when asked to leave a Manhattan diner.
Around 9:45am, a man police identified as Gregory Conwell, 27, of Red Hook in Brooklyn, was reported to be bothering customers at the Washington Square Diner in the West Village, workers told the New York Post.
Conwell was asked to leave the restaurant, which led to him becoming enraged.
The NYPD tells DailyMail.com that Conwell was attempting to use the restroom when he was denied by a 77-year-old employee of the restaurant, sparking an argument.
Diner manager George Takos said Conwell ‘started cursing and screaming and yelling and doing whatever he wanted, and then he grabbed the chef and threw him on the window.’
Around 9:45am, a man police identified as Gregory Conwell, 27, of Red Hook in Brooklyn, was reported to be bothering customers at the Washington Square Diner in the West Village
The cook, a 77-year-old named Constantino, was trying to escort Conwell out of the restaurant when he was allegedly thrown into the window.
He suffered a gash to the back of his head and required treatment at a hospital, according to police and diner workers.
After the alleged assault, Conwell allegedly fled the diner towards Washington Square Park, with three diner employees chasing him.
The employees claim they managed to catch up to Conwell and hold him down until police arrived on the scene, though not before Conwell allegedly bit one of them in the arm.
After Conwell allegedly assaulted a cook at the diner, he was chased to Washington Square Park (pictured), where he was detained by diner workers before the cops arrived
One of the employees also told The Post that a crack pipe fell from Conwell’s pocket during the detainment.
Diner workers claimed that they had previous run-ins with Conwell prior to Saturday’s violent incident.
One time, he even pretended to be a waiter in the restaurant, workers said.
Being mere footsteps away from Washington Square Park has caused frequent problems for the diner.
‘That window has been broken at least five times in the past five years,’ Takos said. ‘Same situation. They get upset, and they see the best way to hurt you is to break your windows.’
Another employee added, ‘This happens a lot and the cops can’t do anything unless someone gets hurt.’
The diner seems to be moving forward with business as usual, though, reporting that it was ‘very busy’ in the afternoon when reached by The Post.
Meanwhile, the NYPD says Conwell with criminal mischief, as well as two counts of assault.
One count is for felony assault because Conwell’s alleged victim is over 65 years old.
Police say the current upswing of crime is driven by robbery and grand larceny
The attack comes amid a surge in violent crime in the city as it reopens from lockdown.
Overall crime was up by 22 percent in May compared with the same time last year, according to the crime numbers released by the NYPD at the end of May.
Police say the current upswing in crime is driven by a 47 percent increase in robbery (1,182 v. 806) and a 36 percent increase in grand larceny (2,848 v. 2,101).
Felony assaults last month increased by 20.5 percent (1,979 v. 1,643) compared to May 2020, when much of the city was still in lockdown from the coronavirus.
Murders remained the same last month, though the total number of murders this year is up 17.4 percent compared to what they were at this point in 2020.
This year’s tally of rape and felony assault are up 2.4 and 7.7 percent respectively through the end of May compared to the same time last year, according to NYPD stats.
Washington Square Park needed to be cleaned up after a party at the park in defiance of a curfew earlier in the week
Washington Square Park has also become a trouble spot for some of the violence in NYC
Washington Square Park has also become a trouble spot for some of the violence in New York City.
Last week, violent scenes erupted in Washington Square Park as cops imposed a new 10pm curfew, with at least 22 arrested and five police officers injured.
People still in the park after the curfew was enforced were filmed jeering and shoving cops after being told to leave, with scuffles breaking out as NYPD cops moved to enforce the new curfew, which is aimed at tackling rampant anti-social behavior and crime in the Manhattan hangout spot.
Police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd afterwards, with some people throwing bottles at officers. One shirtless man was arrested after he was caught on camera trying to square up to officers with a metal barricade.
Cops could then be seen using physical force, including pushing and grabbing. Some were filmed using their bikes and batons to shove parkgoers who had formed a human chain.
Several police cars entered the park from different sides announcing over their speakers that the park was closed and that people still inside had to leave – or face arrest.
Those who decided to remain had to be forcibly remove by police before metal barricades were pulled across the entrances to the park in order to keep others out.
The park was cleared within 15 minutes of police arriving on the scene.