OFF THE WIRE
By Tina Moore, Daniel Prendergast and Bruce Golding
A biker shot a man in the gut after he moved an orange
traffic cone that was holding a parking spot outside the Hells Angels
East Village clubhouse early Sunday, cops said.
David Martinez, 25, was riding in the passenger seat of his
Mercedes-Benz around 1:20 a.m. when his friend driving the car had to
stop because a livery car was blocking his way on East Third Street,
cops said.
Martinez got out to move the cone — one of several the
notorious motorcycle club had set up to hold spots bear its headquarters
— so the Mercedes could pass, sources said.
But a Hells Angels member wearing the group’s distinctive
insignia on his jacket came out of the clubhouse and told Martinez not
to touch it, cops said.
The two began arguing, and three other men who were
traveling with Martinez piled out of his car, at which point the biker
threw a punch at him, cops said.
Other bikers spilled out of the clubhouse at 77 E. Third St.
and a street fight ensued, during which an Angel was knocked to the
pavement by a man who was preparing to kick him, cops said.
A prospective Hells Angels member, who was also on the
ground, pulled out a handgun and fired a single shot that struck
Martinez in the abdomen, cops said.
The shooter is believed to be a “prospect” because he wasn’t wearing the Hells Angels’ official death’s head patch.
Martinez’s pals — which included a woman — loaded him into the Mercedes and rushed him to Bellevue Hospital.
His wound wasn’t considered life-threatening, and family members said he underwent surgery and was in stable condition.
Three suspects, all described as white men believed to be riding motorcycles, were being sought by cops.
The shooter was described as wearing black boots, jeans and a jean jacket over a red hoodie. He may walk with a limp, cops said.
The NYPD was reviewing surveillance video from the area, and
was also seeking a search warrant for video from inside the Hells
Angels clubhouse, which has four cameras outside.
The Hells Angels zealously protect the parking spaces
outside their clubhouse, which has an official-looking sign that says
“NO PARKING EXCEPT AUTHORIZED HELLS ANGELS” affixed to the brick facade.
A Google Maps image also shows traffic cones blocking spaces
on both sides of the street out front, with large amounts of space
between three covered motorcycles.
Cops took the cones they found on the street Sunday morning, sources said.
Famed civil-rights lawyer Ron Kuby, who has represented
several members of the club in the past, was unaware of the shooting
when reached by The Post.
“No white man on a motorcycle has contacted me with respect to this incident,” he said.
East Village residents have complained for years about the
parking situation outside the Hells Angels clubhouse, saying the
infamous biker gang was known to routinely use traffic cones and
sawhorses to reserve spaces on the block.
“If you try to park, they say you can’t park there, and
people move away,” one resident complained to The New York Times in
1999.
At least eight cones and a sawhorse were found blocking
spots on both sides of the street just a week before that resident spoke
to the newspaper.
Although there have been no reported incidents or arrests on
record relating to parking disputes, many in the neighborhood have come
forward and voiced their concerns, including members of Manhattan
Community Board 3.
“They have nothing but curses for their neighbors,” one
resident told the New York Observer in 2005, when a new NYU dormitory
was erected next door and was threatening to push the bikers out.
“The s–t hasn’t hit the fan yet with whoever’s going to go
in and out of that dorm building and park their cars in front of that
building,” that resident added ominously.
While the parking situation outside the clubhouse has been a
thorn in the side to residents, most who live in the area have said
they enjoy having the bikers around — because it lowers the crime rate.
“They’re not the nicest people in the world. I mean, they
would cut your leg off in a heartbeat,” Don Muldoon, a retired cop who
served in the East Village’s Ninth Precinct for 26 years, told the
Observer. “But the funny part was, there was very little crime on their
block, although we did find some unconscious people lying there once in
awhile, you know? Of questionable moral fiber.”
Additional reporting by Nick Fugallo and Chris Perez
