BP Streets Quiet After Arrest Sparks Demonstrations

VIN News - Community leaders are calling for calm in the wake of a Hachnasas Sefer Torah in Borough Park that dissolved into chaos, leading to the arrest of one participant.

The incident took place at approximately 6 PM last night.

Police said that they arrived on 16th Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets to disburse a large crowd that had gathered on the street without a permit. According to the NYPD, one individual who was walking down the center of the roadway was taken into custody after becoming “combative” when asked to move to the sidewalk.

Numerous onlookers took out their cellphones and began filming as the NYPD attempted to restrain the man, whose name has not yet been released by police.  Cell phone footage shows several police officers attempting to handcuff the unidentified man who refused to comply with their requests to put his hands behind his back, with onlookers screaming loudly at police.

Shmira head Levi Leifer said that he had been contacted by organizers of the hachnasas sefer Torah yesterday about the procession.

No officials permits had been secured for the celebration said Leifer, who told organizers that there was no way to secure a permit on such short notice, suggesting instead that they move the procession through quickly to avoid any problems.

But issues cropped up quickly when an NYPD officer arrived on scene to discover that the street was inexplicably closed to traffic, with throngs of people taking to the roadway, explained Yidel Perlstein, chairman of Community Board 12.

After participants refused to listen to a directive to move onto the sidewalk and began pushing police officers, additional units were called to the scene and chaos ensued.

In front of the New York City Police Department 66th Precinct in Boro Park