Mayor Bloomberg said judges need to crack down on those arrested for the Easter "Wilding" riot in Times Square. "We are not going to tolerate behavior like that, and I think -- if the district attorney really prosecutes -- that will send a message," he said on his weekly radio show. Even though 350 cops were assigned to monitor the yearly Easter Night gang initiation, four people were shot and 33 were arrested.
Bloomberg said that although the police planned for violence, the initiation brawl between Bloods, Crips and other gangs didn't happen as it had in previous years. "What was different this year is [the gangs] didn't go to the auto show, leave about 7 p.m. and march to Times Square. They showed up around 9:30 directly in Times Square. Don't ask me why." Though previously those arrested for minor crimes could avoid jail time if they stayed out of trouble for six months, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance instructed his staff not to take plea bargains from any of those arrested. Bloomberg commended Vance for that decision, saying, "We've got to make sure it's a big deal. That's the only deterrent that is really going to work . . . You've got to make sure you change the mindset of people."
Times Square has been flooded with cops ever since the brawl. One Hot Dog vendor told the Post, "There is always police out here and it's even better that they have more security now. The more, the merrier." However, the NYPD is being forced to downsize due to recent budget cuts, leaving many to worry whether the Easter mayhem was a sign of more crime to come. Maribel Garcia of the Upper West Side told WCBS, "I think it's bad because you have to get protected. We have to be protected." Another man said, "Look, it is what it is. The budget and the economy in New York is bad. You got to make cuts. I'd rather it be there than teachers or something like that. It's not good, but you're stuck between a rock and a hard place."
