It’s a tale of two Chrystie Streets…

With glitz, glamor, and gold up above, for Public Hotel, there’s violence and poverty at the proverbial doorstep. The latest is a broad-daylight stabbing in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, immediately across the way from 215 Chrystie Street.

Yesterday morning, a 34-year-old man sitting on a park bench was reportedly stabbed in the back by an unknown assailant. According to published reports, the victim told police that the perp approached him at around 10:20am and the two began arguing. The second man stabbed him in the back, then fled from the park.

This area of Sara D. Roosevelt Park can be rather shady at times. It’s a known hotbed of drug activity for both users and dealers (usually K2), a refuge for the homeless, and violence isn’t out of the ordinary. For instance, a fifty-something woman was beaten unconscious in roughly the same area of the park last May.

Some neighbors, however, are of the mindset that Ian Schrager’s Public Hotel will gentrify the block enough to spur park cleanup. Or that the proposed conversion of the Stanton Storehouse to community use could mitigate the localized violence and illicit activity.