Greenwich Village and the East Village are usually known as hot spots for trendy restaurants and late-night Manhattan revelers. Lately, they've become a hot bed for violent street crimes.
"I've never seen it like this before -- never, ever," photographer G. Simon Chafik told the New York Post.
There have been 40 assaults in Greenwich Village this year, an increase of 43 percent compared to the same period last year, according to The Post report.
"I'm a big New Yorker. New York is one of the safest cities," said Simon, who's lived in Manhattan for 15 years. "[But] I'm beginning to question that."
Last week, a 50-year-old man from Buffalo was punched in the face while he was walking down a Greenwich Village street by four street thugs. Police suspect he was targeted because his attackers thought he was gay.
"I feel anxious -- there are muggings on my block," West Village writer Warren Ransom told The Post.
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly told the paper that "our Hate Crimes Task Force is doing an investigation. We are addressing the issue."
Days later an off-duty cop need six stitches to close a gash he suffered after he was attacked near West 14th Street and Sixth Avenue on Friday while walking with a woman.
Police said they believe the uptick in crime to the trendy neighborhoods is due to the area's huge restaurant and bar scenes, which attract large numbers of late-night revelers, Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne told The Post.
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Tribeca and Gramercy also have seen violent-crime increases of 17 percent and 24 percent, respectively.
Conversely, violent crime in Chelsea has been going in the opposite direction, down 17 percent compared to the same time last year.
