Urine trouble if you try to pee on this landmark’s doorstep.
P.O.’d owners of 20 St. Marks Pl. in the East Village installed a megaphone alongside a monitored-24/7 surveillance camera to ward off a growing number of vagrants and drunks attempting to relieve themselves on the vacant building.
Whenever a loiterer even steps foot on the stoop of the three-story landmarked building, a booming voice explodes out of the sound system, admonishing the violator to “stop!” or “move on!”
The “jarring, obnoxious” clarion call can be heard up and down the block at all hours, according to residents.
“We’ll use the bullhorn to scare [them] away. And if that doesn’t work, we send for the cops to make sure they get arrested,” says Chaim Gluck, COO of the Brooklyn-based security company Live Lion, the whiz behind the setup.
P.O.’d owners of 20 St. Marks Pl. in the East Village installed a megaphone alongside a monitored-24/7 surveillance camera to ward off a growing number of vagrants and drunk people. Helayne Seidman
The surveillance camera is to help ward off people attempting to relieve themselves on the vacant building. Helayne SeidmanGluck said he has 300 customers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx looking to address quality-of-life problems and thwart brazen bandits and package thieves.
In one video clip supplied by Gluck, a June 23 loiterer in Brooklyn becomes startled after being ordered to “stay away” by the mystery voice. The agitated individual moves on while repeatedly yelling, “Shut the f–k up!” at the shrill speaker system.
Steven Kashanian, one of the managers of 20 St. Marks, said he hired Live Lion last year after the building had come under siege by miscreants.
Whenever a loiterer even steps foot on the stoop of the landmarked building, a booming voice explodes out of the sound system, admonishing the violator to “stop!” or “move on!” Helayne Seidman
Ranzel Candelaria, 23, who works on the block, said the Lower East Side is “full of characters” and “I wouldn’t want nobody peeing in front of my house.” Helayne SeidmanNeighbors said homeless, drug-addicted “crusties” were among those who plop on the property and tinkle too.
“This is a defensive mechanism. We had multiple break-ins before the service,” Kashanian said.
Gluck claims his proactive service, which changes “guards every five hours, because well-rested eyes see everything better,” according to the company website, leads to eight to 10 arrests a week across his various installations.
The “jarring” clarion call can be heard up and down the block. Helayne Seidman“It stops everyone in their tracks,” said Justin Diaz, 33, who works at the tattoo parlor next door. “It sounds like a police announcement from a patrol car,” he laughed.
Jay Reynolds, 27, who works at punk vintage shop Search & Destroy at 25 St. Marks, said things get “chaotic” on Friday and Saturday nights when the “crust punks” show up in force. But he’s turned off by the “loud” speaker system.
“I understand trying to make where you live a better and cleaner and safer place, but you have to respect the culture and you have to respect people,” he said.
Aaron Aziz, a commercial leasing agent, disagreed: “It’s absolutely genius. It’s such a New York thing to do.”
Jay Reynolds, 27, is not a fan of the creative crime deterrent. Helayne SeidmanThe building at 20 St. Mark’s Place, known as the Daniel LeRoy House, was built in 1832.
It received landmark status in 1971 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
It was also home to the longtime East Village dive bar Grassroots Tavern, which closed due to soaring rents in 2017 after a 42-year run.
