Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Video: Teen Does Victory Dance After Alleged Assault Outside McCarren Park Pool
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 19, 2012
Modified Jul 19, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 19, 2012
Modified Jul 19, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Two teenage girls have been arrested in connection with an assault outside the McCarren Park Pool that was gleefully documented in a series of disturbing cell phone videos. (YouTube has since removed two of the videos.) A Walk in the Park reports that police have arrested a 13- and a 16-year-old, and are pursuing three others. And a third video, which claims to show one of the bullies doing a victory dance after the alleged assault, is still up. It's titled "Alicia fight this white girls," and it's pretty depressing:
The alleged assault occurred last Tuesday afternoon, on July 10th, and was sparked after two groups of teenagers exchanged words inside McCarren Park Pool. Sources tell Geoffrey Croft:
The assailants — aged 13 to 17 — followed the girls outside and confronted them on the sidewalk. The first video — entitled, Alicia jus smacked her — shows the horrifying experience. The girls are confronted by a pack of five bullies at the Abate Playground on Lorimer Street in McCarren Park yards away from the pool. It begins with the group standing in a line in a standoff. The video is 49 seconds long.
"Why do you want to fight us," one of the terrified girls asks.
"You need to watch what you say," one of the bullies responds. A 13-year-old girl turns to walk away. She gets about 10 feet away, when the videographer says, "Go get her."
Another girl runs up quickly from behind and curling her arm around from the rear and sucker-punches her in the face, landing a solid blow to her nose. The assailant, whom police say is also 13, runs back to the group laughing. The video ends.
A second video, which lasts for more than four minutes, shows the victim sitting on a park bench holding a towel to her bloody nose as the alleged assailants mock her repeatedly. "Whoa," one of the attackers yells in delight, "you f**ked her up good. You're the baddest bully, you're baddest bully. You got her good." The third video, above, appears to show one of the girls doing a post-fight victory dance, but it's unclear if she was one of the teens arrested. The NYPD press office could not immediately provide any information about the arrests or charges.
On the one hand, this incident could be summed up with the simple headline "Teens Bully Teens" and shrugged off as a "Dog Bites Man" non-story. But it's also another unsettling example of the violence spilling out of the high-profile McCarren Park Pool, which the city spent $50 million to renovate and reopened with great fanfare last month. Many locals were relieved when the pool closed down in the mid-'80s because of the waves of rowdy teenagers it attracted, and some even chained themselves to the construction fence to make sure it stayed closed.
Former Parks Commissioner Henry Stern recently told The Awl that the pool was almost reopened in the mid-80s, but "there was a limited amount of money and there was competition to that money between different councilmembers. Why give money to McCarren if the community was divided? Some people liked it but others, typically older white residents, complained about it. There were racial issues. The neighborhood was afraid of violence and that the police would be unable to contain it."
And Jennifer Badamo, who has lived in Williamsburg for over four decades, tells Capital New York her parents wouldn’t let her to use the pool in the early '80s. "It was a horror show,” she says, recalling how "pool-bound teenagers threw punches and stole bikes as they walked to and from the L and G trains." How did she know they were coming from the pool? "They always had towels draped around their necks."
Tagged
brooklyn
greenpoint
McCarren Park Pool
summer
teenagers
williamsburg
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Staten Island fire injures two, but spares historic 'Godfather' church
Dozens of firefighters responded to the blaze, which started in a vacant warehouse. It was contained within three hours.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 18, 2026 at 10:34 a.m. ET
Bail reform remains major issue in NY governor's race, 7 years after it became law
Repeat offenders are a big talking point in the governor's race.
By
Gino Fanelli
News
Bail reform remains major issue in NY governor's race, 7 years after it became law
Repeat offenders are a big talking point in the governor's race.
By
Gino Fanelli
NYPD searching for 'person of interest' in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Ryan Kost
and
Elizabeth Kim
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .